This is close to a final  itinerary.  There may be a few changes as we approach April 18th.  Please check back a few days before the tour for last minute updates.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

(optional pre-tour gathering)
7:00-9:00pm  Meet for "non-hosted" cocktails at the Pied Piper Bar in the Palace Hotel.  Named by Esquire Magazine as one of the "World's Seven Greatest Bars," this historic space dates from 1909.  The backdrop is the Pied Piper mural by Maxfield Parish, a rather fitting beginning to our tour that will feature many murals!  En route to the bar, be sure to stop and admire the equally famous Garden Court (also 1909)--with its arched glass ceiling and crystal chandeliers.   This is a very short 0.2 mile, 5 minute walk from the Galleria Park Hotel.  
Yes, with a name like The Palace, it's pricey.  And it usually attacts a dressy crowd. 
The Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery St (at Market St.)  (www.sfpalace.com/pied-piper-bar)

Monday April 19, 2010

8:30am Registration and opening day breakfast buffet at the Galleria Park Hotel. We are very pleased that Therese Poletti will be able to join us and provide a brief introduction about Timothy Pflueger.  She is author of the book: Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pfleuger. She will also be one of the tour guides on Saturday for the Downtown Deco Tour.
10:30am Depart Galleria Park Hotel for an introductory tour (via minibus) of San Francisco.
11:00am First stop will be Coit Tower (Brown & Howard, 1933) This 210 foot Art Deco Landmark has PWA murals by 26 different artists.  Our private tour by San Francisco City Guides will include some areas not typically open to the public.
12:30pm Depart Coit Tower (Telegraph Hill)
1:00pm  Ferry Building Marketplace for lunch.  (www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com)
2:00pm Depart the Ferry Building.
2:25pm Arrive Alamo Square.  Take pictures of the "Painted Ladies" (row of Victorian Houses) with the San Francisco skyline in the background.
2:45pm Depart Alamo Square.
3:00pm Arrive at the corner of Powell St and Clay St in Chinatown.  Short--mostly downhill--walking tour of Chinatown: highlights include the former Chinatown YWCA (Julia Morgan, 1932.)  
3:30pm Reboard the minibus near the corner of Grant St and Bush St, at the Chinatown Gates.
4:00pm Arrive Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.
4:45pm Depart Tea Garden.
5:00pm Arrive Beach Chalet, to see some historic murals, and have a drink.  Drinks on your own, but we'll provide some light appetizers.  (www.beachchalet.com)
6:30pm Depart Beach Chalet and return to the Galleria Park Hotel.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Our day in The Mission.
9:25am Leave Galleria Park Hotel and walk to Montgomery St MUNI station.  The outbound "J" MUNI train is scheduled to arrive at 9:39am.
9:50am Arrive at Church & 16th Streets.  Walk to Mission Dolores.
9:55am Arrive Mission Dolores, the birthplace of San Francisco.  The Old Mission dates from 1782, and is the oldest intact mission in California and the oldest building in San Franciso.  The adjacent Basilica was built in 1913, but we'll only have time for a short visit at the Old Mission and Gardens. (www.missiondolores.org)  
10:20am Leave Mission Dolores and walk to the 16th St BART station.  We'll ride BART to the next station outbound.  Mick will also demonstrate how to add money to your BART pass.
10:40am Arrive at 24th St BART station.  Walk to the starting point for our Mission Mural tour (corner of Harrison St and Precita Ave.)
11:00am  Mission Mural Tour by San Francisco City Guides.  The Mission District, usually called "The Mission" is a historically Latino neighborhood, rich in art, music, and culture.  Some of the most beautiful murals in the city--and San Francisco is well known for murals--are located here. 
1:00pm Lunch on your own in The Mission.  We'll provide a short list of suggested places in the neighborhood, or you could explore on your own.
3:30pm Depart 24th St BART station to Downtown.
3:45pm Arrive Montgomery St BART station.  Walk to the City Club.
4:00pm Private tour of the City Club of San Francisco, located on the upper floors of the former Stock Exchange Tower (Miller & Pflueger, 1930.) The highlight will be Diego Rivera's Allegory of California mural, his first in the US.  The City Club--normally closed to the public--also has one of San Francisco's best Art Deco interiors! (www.cityclubsf.com)
5:00pm Walk to the Galleria Park Hotel.

8:30pm (optional activity) Late night run to Ghirardelli's--via cable car--for a hot fudge sundae. 

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

8:00am Leave Hotel Galleria Park for our day in Napa Valley.  Our trip takes us northbound across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County.
10:30am Arrive at Clos Pegase, a vineyard designed by Michael Graves, and completed in 1987.  The vineyard also has a fantastic art collection!  We will sample 3 wines and tour the vineyard, art collection, and wine caves.  (www.clospegase.com)
12:30pm Lunch on your own and a chance to shop in downtown St. Helena.
3:30pm Leave St. Helena and head south to Larkspur.
5:30pm Rather than driving all the back to San Francisco, we will take the Golden Gate Ferry back to the city.

9:00pm (optional activity)  A visit to Bourbon & Branch--a former Speakeasy!--for a premium cocktail or two.  (www.bourbonandbranch.com)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Our day in Downtown Oakland.
9:15am Leave Galleria Park Hotel and walk to Montgomery St. BART station.
9:45am Arrive Downtown Oakland 19th Street BART station.  Walk past the Oakland Floral Depot (Albert Evers, 1931) and admire the cobalt blue and silver glazed terra cotta.  We'll also see the exterior of the Fox Theater (Weeks & Day, 1928,) a fantasy combination of Indian, Moorish, and Medieval styles.
10:30am Arrive at the Cathedral of Christ the Light (Craig Hartman for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 2008.)  The new cathedral for the Diocese of Oakland uses concrete, glass, aluminum, and Douglas Fir to create a unique and stunning structure.  We'll only have time for a brief visit.  (www.ctlcathedral.com)
11:00am Leave the cathedral and walk towards Broadway.  En route, we will encounter the former John Breuner Company Furniture Store (Albert Roller, 1931) with its pale green glazed terra cotta exterior.   Near the Paramount Theatre is the former I. Magnin Department Store (Weeks & Day, 1930) noted for a facade of vivid green glazed terra cotta on top of a black serpentine base.  Really cool lettering too!
11:30am Private tour of the spectacular Paramount Theatre (Timothy Pflueger, 1931.) One of the finest Art Deco theaters you will ever see! (www.paramounttheatre.com)
1:00pm Walk to the 19th St BART station to return to San Francisco.
1:45pm Arrive Embarcadero BART station.
2:00pm (optional activity) Dim Sum lunch at Yank Sing. Most people agree this is among the best in San Francisco. Prepayment required.  (www.yanksing.com)
In the same building complex as Yank Sing (Rincon Center) is a former Post Office (G.S. Underwood, 1940.) A Streamline Moderne structure with murals by Anton Refregier--and worth a visit.
3:30pm (optional activity) Wendy's Thrift Store shopping.  Our friend Wendy is an expert on thrift store shopping.  She will lead those interested to a few of her favorite places.

The remainder of Thursday is intentionally left free for you to explore San Francisco on your own.  Participants should note that the Museum of Modern Art (www.sfmoma.org) and the Asian Art Museum (www.asianart.org) are open late Thursday evenings.  The special Shanghai exhibit at the Asian Art Museum may be of particular interest to our group as it displays some Art Deco treasures.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Our day in Berkeley.
8:45am Leave Galleria Park Hotel and walk to Montgomery St BART station.
9:30am Arrive Downtown Berkeley BART station.  Walk through part of the University of California, Berkeley campus and see Art Deco exterior of the Valley Life Sciences Building (George Kelham, 1930.) We'll see additional work by George Kelham on the Downtown Deco tour Saturday.
10:30am Private tour of First Church of Christ, Scientist (Bernard Maybeck, 1910.) Considered Maybeck's masterpiece, it's a creative fusion of several architectural styles: Arts & Crafts, Asian, and Gothic to name a few. (www.friendsoffirstchurch.org)
11:30am Leave the First Church and walk towards the Berkeley City Club.
12:00pm Arrive at the Berkeley City Club (Julia Morgan, 1928.) We'll have lunch here.
1:30pm Private tour of the Berkeley City Club. (www.berkeleycityclub.com)
2:30pm Leave the City Club and walk towards the BART station.  En route, we'll see Edwards Stadium, (George Kelham, 1932) done in a monumental "Soviet Deco" style.
3:10pm Leave Downtown Berkeley BART station towards San Francisco.
3:35pm Arrive Montgomery St BART station, walk to Galleria Park Hotel.  There's a short break here to "freshen up" and change clothes.
5:05pm Leave Galleria Park Hotel and walk to Montgomery St MUNI station.  We'll board a "K" MUNI train towards Ingleside/Balboa Park at 5:24pm.
5:50pm Arrive at the corner of Ocean Ave & Aptos Ave in the Ingleside neighborhood.  Our destination is a 10 minute walk from here.
6:00pm Wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres at the home of Chris and Pam Rupright (Mick's friends from college.) 
8:05pm Depart the Rupright residence and walk to the corner of Ocean Ave & Aptos Ave.  The "K" train is scheduled to arrive at 8:25pm.
8:50pm Arrive Montgomery St MUNI station; walk to the Galleria Park Hotel.


Saturday, April 24, 2010

9:45am Depart Galleria Park Hotel lobby, walk to starting point for Downtown Deco tour.
10:00am  Downtown Deco tour by San Francisco City Guides.  Our guides will be Therese Poletti and Michael Varner.  Highlights include the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Building (Timothy Pflueger, 1925) and the Medico-Dental Building (450 Sutter St.) (Timothy Pfleuger, 1929) with its Mayan inspired design motifs.
11:30am Downtown Deco tour concludes.  Walk back to the Galleria Park Hotel for a restroom break.
12:00pm  Depart Galleria Park Hotel via minibus to Lombard St.
12:10pm  Arrive at the corner of Union St & Hyde St.  Walk to Lombard Street.  Walk down the "crookedest street in the world."  Continue to the corner of Lombard St. & Columbus Ave.
12:35pm  Board minibus at the corner of Lombard St & Columbus Ave.
12:45pm  Arrive Ferry Building.  Stop here for lunch on your own; a farmer's market is also outside the building on Saturday.  Meet the families who grow your food!
2:15pm  Depart Ferry Building.
2:25pm  Arrive 1360 Montgomery St (1936,) a spectacular Art Deco apartment house.
2:45pm  Depart 1360 Montgomery St.
3:05pm  Arrive Roosevelt Middle School (Timothy Pflueger, 1930) and enjoy the marvelous brick work.
3:20pm  Depart Roosevelt Middle School.
3:35pm  Arrive Chestnut St & Fillmore St.  Walk along Chestnut St to see some nice Art Deco buildings.  Feel free to stop for coffee, shop, along the 4 blocks to Divisadero St.
4:00pm  Depart Chestnut St. & Divisadero St.
4:15pm  Arrive George Washington High School (Timothy Pflueger, 1936.)  A Depression-era school notable for its simplicity of line and paucity of extaneous ornament--but monumental nonetheless.  Another highlight is Sargent Johnson's wonderful "Frieze of Athletics" on the athletic field.
4:35pm  Depart Washington High School
5:00pm  Arrive Galleria Park Hotel.

8:00pm (optional activity) Italian Feast and Live Jazz at Rose Pistola in Little Italy.  Prepayment required.  (www.rosepistola.com)


Sunday, April 25, 2010

9:00-11:00am Farewell breakfast--a "Mexican Breakfast Buffet" at the historic Hotel Rex, 562 Sutter Street, less than a 10 minute walk from the Galleria Park Hotel.  The buffet will include Mexican chocolate granola, chorizo and green chile scrambled eggs, and pineapple banana pancakes with tequila maple syrup...yum! The hotel's ambience recalls the arts and literary salons of the 1930s.