Day Five

Pacific Heights • North Waterfront

Pacific Heights, just west of Van Ness Avenue from Post to Pacific, is an architectural museum of 19th century mansions. Some of the more noteworthy: the grandiose 1886 wood-gabled 58 Haas-Lilienthal House (2007 Franklin), home of the Foundation for San Francisco’s Architectural Heritage (441-3000); 59 1896 Whittier Mansion (2090 Jackson); 60 1890 Eastlake-style house (2027 Pacific); the cluster of 61 1890 Queen Anne houses (2019, 2021 and 2023 Pacific); 62 1894 Queen Anne-Colonial Revival house (2000 Pacific); and 63 1859 Octagon House (2645 Gough), designed by a physician who felt an eight-sided house was healthier. 64 Fort Mason (Laguna and Bay; 441-3400), originally a U.S. Army installation, today is a vital cultural center, a venue for special events and fairs and home to nonprofit organizations, the Magic Theater, Museo Italo-Americano and SFMOMA’s rental gallery. 65 The Palace of Fine Arts (Bay and Lyon; 563-6504), designed by Bernard Maybeck as a temporary building for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition, is situated in a small lush park with a man-made lagoon. It houses the Exploratorium (561-0360), a fun science museum for adults and children. A short bus ride away is the elegant, 1.7-mile single-span 66 Golden Gate Bridge, as stunning in fog as clear weather.

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