Last weekend we enjoyed a Giant’s-Dodgers exhibition game in San Francisco. Enjoying the dramatic vistas and freedom from traffic, we took the ferry from Vallejo. After our visit we returned to the Ferry Building to get the ferry back to Vallejo and found this sign where the taxi dropped us off. I stopped and laughed because something was off with this request.
Stepping back to get the full impression, you see the stairs leading to the second floor of the Ferry building. It is occupied by lawyers and the stairs are clearly intended for use as a means to walk from ground level to the second.
So what’s the deal with no sitting? I have not seen any prohibitions for sitting on any other stairs in San Francisco, historic or not. Would you prohibit sitting just because stairs are historic? I can’t think of any possible reason that makes any logical sense but I do have a guess.
I think that the sign is to keep the homeless from enjoying the comforts of the ‘historic’ stairs and scaring off tourists. The ‘historic’ reference is merely a cover to confuse the reader that there actually is a justification for this sign.
What do you think? Is it cover for the two-faced City fathers of San Francisco who provide payments to San Francisco homeless people on one hand and want to keep them away from tourists on the other or is there another reason that makes sense? Help me out.
The trip to San Fran did EVERYTHING to perpetuate the stereotypes I’ve heard about the city:
1. Liberal Politics: As soon as we exited the Ferry Building I witnessed a public rally(probably about how Liberalism is the way out of the Darkness that is Conservatism, complete with a guy yelling through a megaphone to his (mostly) sleeping homeless or teenage rally go-ers.
2. Homosexual Paradise: Like Jerry Seinfeld said “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” – It started in Vallejo with a man in a leopard print jacket with purple nailpolish. Once in San Fran, the weird-ness hit another level. I can’t complain, that’s what I get for venturing outside my bubble.
3. Self Glorification: As displayed by that ridiculous sign you posted, it’s a city with a big ego. And rightfully so. But to turn a staircase into a City Monument seemed weird, especially with all the other really cool things Frisco has to boast about.
4. National Wonder: From the moment we say the Ferry Building on the horizon with the beautiful city skyline behind it, the Golden Gate bridge around the way, the seagulls, the ocean, I was hooked. The overwhelming feeling might be because it is so rare when the shade I walk in is produced by hundred-story skyscrapers. But the ultra-modern vibe the city gives off really sucks you in. Sprinkle in a bunch of vintage trolley cars and cable cars and it really leaves you wondering if any other city in America could be this beautiful or this unique.
San Francisco- Love it or Hate it…..I prefer to Love it AND Hate it. But when it comes down to it, I’m glad this beautiful city belongs to the United States. And it’s all ours to show off.
Micah,
Wonderful comment. It’s a whole blogpost by itself.