Weird SF: Experience the strange, unusual, eccentric side of San Francisco
Posted by Mary on Apr 12, 2010
When in San Francisco… you may not want to do like the locals — this city and its inhabitants can be downright weird. But maybe you are too! And if nothing else, visitors can at least enjoy the spectacle.
Case in point: the May 16th Bay to Breakers 12K road race, one of many occasions San Franciscans use as an excuse to wear a costume. Some groups run as a "centipede" — an officially registered team of 13 runners decked out with feelers and a tail in addition to whatever else they choose to wear. Tommy the pink gorilla made his debut appearance last year, joining the annual hordes of Star Wars storm troopers, all kinds of faux-furred creatures, people in every color of Afro, and plenty of others (including elite runners from around the world) competing for prize money. Parade-style floats join runners for a section of the course, ending near the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.
Naked runners used to be commonplace but the practice was banned last year (alcohol on the course was also banned). Nevertheless, there’s still a group encouraging runners to "bare it" as a practice of free speech. Though clothed (mostly) and sober, we still expect it to be a wild and raucous seven-mile affair, whether you’re running, walking, or watching.
There are plenty of events in San Francisco featuring costumes and craziness (see a few upcoming events below), but they’re not the only weird attractions this city has to offer.
Embrace the Weird
Wave Organ
End of Yacht Road
Admission: Free
Do you wonder what sort of music waves would make if they lapped against long PVC and concrete pipes? Peter Richards did. An artist at the Exploratorium, in the 1980s he researched the wave organ phenomenon and had the acoustic sculpture installed on a jetty in the Marina District — it’s about two miles from our Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel. The jetty itself is something of a piece of art as well, since it was constructed with granite and marble from a demolished cemetery. Pieces of tombstones are also scattered throughout the area — the rubble dates to the early 1900s when the Board of Supervisors voted to move most cemeteries out of the city, and the headstones were dumped along the waterfront.
Shoe Garden
Alamo Square
Admission: Free
Plenty of tourists visit Alamo Square to photograph the "Painted Ladies," a row of Victorian houses on Steiner Street. Some of them are also lucky enough to find the shoe garden, nestled beside the gardener’s shed at the center of the park. As the gardener tells the story, he’d find solo shoes in the park, and rather than toss them he started planting them. There are rollerblades full of tulips, baby shoes sprouting primrose, pumps, pansies, sneakers, ranunculus, and more.
Musee Mecanique
Pier 45, Fisherman’s Wharf
Admission: Free
Remember life before iPod and Wii with this museum’s 200+ coin-operated mechanical musical instruments and antique arcade games. They work, and you can play them! Some were rescued from old local attractions — Playland at the Beach, the Sutro Baths, and the Cliff House — the rest come from around the world.
Castro Slides
Near Douglas and Seward streets
Admission: Free
A few years ago, SF Weekly deemed Seward Slides Mini Park the "Best Place to Be a Kid Again." Concrete isn’t the most comfortable surface to slide down, but there are often sheets of cardboard there for people to sit on — otherwise wear jeans! The slides aren’t totally kid-friendly, since they’re concrete and it’s a hike back to the top. To get to the hidden slides, climb up the hill on Douglas Street just south of Market, then turn right on Seward. The park is on your left.
Camera Obscura
1096 Point Lobos Avenue (near the Cliff House)
Admission: Free
The laws of optics were known long before film was invented — this giant camera doesn’t take photos (it doesn’t have film), but is rather a 360-degree viewing room. Lenses in the camera obscura display large, sharp images of Seal Rock just offshore. Originally a part of the Playland at the Beach amusement park, it was saved by the public in the 1970s and placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 2001.
Aunt Charlie’s Lounge
133 Turk Street
Admission: Cover charges are usually $4-$5
Do enough people-watching in San Francisco, and you’re bound to see a few drag queens. You might run into one on the bus or pass another strutting through the Castro, but if you want to see one (or a few) in her element — performing live on stage — try to get to a drag show. There are plenty of venues in San Francisco — one close to our Downtown and City Center hostels is Aunt Charlie’s Lounge. They have varying shows Tuesday through Saturday.
The Cartoon Art Museum
655 Mission Street
Admission: $6 ($4 for students, $2 for kids)
The Cartoon Art Museum’s exhibits show the history and modern development of cartoons, comics, animation, illustration, and videogames. If you’ve ever wanted to know the history of Batman, you’ll want to come here — Batman: Yesterday and Tomorrow is open through June 6.
Buffalo Paddock
Golden Gate Park
Admission: Free
Against all odds and despite being in the heart of San Francisco, there are buffalo in Golden Gate Park. There have been herds near Spreckels Lake, at the west end of the park, since the late 1800s, when the park was a free-range zoo of elk, bears, and other animals.
The Beat Museum
540 Broadway Street
Admission: $5
The Beat Generation of American writers may have gotten a start in New York, but by the 1950s most of them — including Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac — were here in San Francisco, where the term "beatnik" was born. According to San Francisco Chronicle art critic Kenneth Baker, this museum is a "trove of memorabilia, displayed as it might be in someone’s bedroom," consisting of old photos, letters, magazine and news clippings, books, album covers, etc. Regardless of the oddities of the museum, he adds, "the first-floor bookstore will more than repay the investment of time and curiosity."
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
Ross Alley, Chinatown
Admission: Free
Bet you’ve never eaten a fresh, warm fortune cookie! Come see how (and how quickly) they’re made, and sample them straight off the line. Walking down Ross Alley to get there can be cool too — once known for brothels and gambling, it’s now lined with murals depicting the lives of Chinese Americans. The factory is a stop on our weekly Chinatown Walking Tour for hostel guests, if you want a guided excursion through this otherworldly district.
Get Weird in May
How Weird Street Faire
May 9
The Street Faire — themed BollyWeird this year — is centered at Howard and 2nd streets, just a couple blocks from the Montgomery BART station. Listen to electronic music, shop "unique and creative wares," and be part of what aims to set the world record for the Largest Synchronized Bollywood Dance. The fair runs from noon to 8 p.m., and after hours the party moves to several area nightclubs. Costumes are welcome all day, and get you half off the $10 admission.
Carnaval
May 29-30
"The west coast’s largest annual multicultural celebration" takes over the Mission district on Memorial Day weekend for a festival and parade fusing Latin American, African, and Caribbean cultures and traditions. Find food, music, and artistry at the festival Saturday, or start the Sunday festivities with the 9:30 a.m. parade down Mission Street between Bryant and 17th.
Bay to Breakers
May 16
If you’re more into fitness than fairs — or want another excuse to see crazy people in costumes — check out (or participate in) the 99th Bay to Breakers 12K road race. The course starts near the Embarcadero, and continues up Market Street before cutting up 9th Street to Hayes, then Fell, and continuing all the way to the western edge of Golden Gate Park. Spectators line the entire course, but race organizers suggest the best places to see the runners are Alamo Square at the top of Hayes Street Hill, in front of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, and at the ING Cheer Zone at the Finish Line.
Escape from Alcatraz
May 2
A slightly tamer athletic display this month is the 30th annual Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. In its entire history as a maximum security prison, no one ever escaped alive from the shores of Alcatraz. But this month, 2,000 of the world’s best triathletes will bear the frigid waters for 1.5 miles — before biking 18 miles and running eight through the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It isn’t nearly the same spectacle as Bay to Breakers, but is an impressive feat nonetheless.