by Karen Misuraca, Gary Crabbe (photographer)
Voyageur Press
Hardcover, 95 pages, 9" x 11"
Available at your bookstore or

A big, beautiful tribute to America's favorite city, Our San Francisco is a triumph by photographer Gary Crabbe, along with fascinating stories and anecdotes about the history, culture, people and famous attractions of the city. Here are a few excerpts:

Snugly compact on forty-three steep hills and surrounded by water on three sides, this small jewel of a city lies at the end of a forty-six-square-mile peninsula. When the fog is thick and the seas are gray, they flow together and silently cover the city, with only the lighted towers of the Golden Gate Bridge peeking out over the moist swells.

On sunny weekends, the bay is dotted with hundreds of sailing vessels, from sloops to catamarans to a 19th century Brigantine schooner, and flotillas of windsurfers flying like butterflies under the Golden Gate. Local mariners share the bay with visitors on sightseeing and whale-watching cruisers, Naval vessels, freighters, ferries and deep sea fishing boats.

The long, sandy stretch of Ocean Beach bravely faces the Pacific, while a forest of piers and wharves reach out into the bay. Like lemmings to the sea, tourists and residents alike are irresistibly drawn to the waterfront. They never seem to tire of the salty air and the world-famous views of bridges and islands and watercraft.

Walkers, runners, cyclists, rollerbladers and baby strollers share the salty air and the sea breezes on the palm-fringed Embarcadero, one of the most beautiful seaside esplanades in the world. Along the way are dockside cafes, public art, Victorian benches and light stands, and zowie views of the Bay Bridge, Yerba Buena Island and the city skyline.

Walking is the best way to explore this city of neighborhoods and districts. From the taquerias in the Mission District to the trattorias in North Beach, the mysterious temples in Chinatown, the noodle shops in the "avenues", sushi bars in Japantown, and the rainbow flags of the Castro, San Francisco is joyously cosmopolitan.

Clinging to steep streets on Telegraph Hill are vintage apartment buildings and little wooden houses -- once fishermen's shacks -- snug with cottage gardens. Once a grubby industrial port area, South Beach is now a stylish stretch of condominiums, brew pubs, cafes and shops, a trendy new neighborhood. Old money built Pacific Heights, a bastion of Victorian mansions with lacy trim. Whimsical, art nouveau facades line up on Nob Hill -- sometimes called "Snob Hill".

Our San Francisco Table of Contents:

City by the Bay: Along the Waterfront
A Colorful Past: History and Landmarks
Playing Around: Parks, Gardens and the Outdoors
In the Neighborhoods: People and Places
The Lively Arts: Music, Drama, Dance, Museums
The Urban Landscape: Business and Architecture