Bruce-Michael Gelbert, Joseph R. Saporito, Rob Reed & Naphtali Offen at the Presidio Social Club
Joe was a San Francisco virgin and I, a veteran of half a dozen visits between 1978 and 1996, hadn't been there in more than a dozen years, so it was time for an excursion to one of the gayest cities in the Golden West. We enjoyed the hospitality of our hosts, my longtime friend Naphtali (Hal) Offen, with whom I'd stayed during most of my past jaunts, and his partner, Rob Reed, who opened their home to us, prepared home-cooked meals, including homemade sourdough bread, and gave us direction and assistance with an informed enthusiasm that assured that our adventures would include some experiences that were new even to me. Joe's mother, who had visited twice before, flew with us and stayed with her sister in Walnut Creek and we got together several times during our fortnight's stay, which occupied the latter half of February. What resulted was a blend of visits with friends and family, traditional touristy things, adventures in the great outdoors, and some intimate experiences as well.
Helpful guides, beside our hosts, of course, were the Lonely Planet San Francisco City Guide, 6th edition, published in February 2008 (www.lonelyplanet.com), the Gaypocket San Francisco guide (415/864-8869, www.gaypocketUSA.com), the San Francisco and Sonoma County Fun Map, 2007 edition (973/275-1700, www.funmaps.com), and the Streetwise San Francisco map, revised 2008 (www.streetwisemaps.com). Also invaluable was having a MUNI (San Francisco Municipal Railway) monthly fast pass, enabling us to get on and off buses, metro rail line streetcars, and cable cars with ease, as often as was needed (415/701-2311, www.sfmta.com).
photo by Naphtali Offen
Bruce-Michael Gelbert & Joseph R. Saporito in Muir Woods
These are some of the things that we did, thanks to our hosts, which made our trip most memorable.
Naphtali and his Dolphin Club buddy, Doug, took us rowing on San Francisco Bay, where we were able to see sea lions, pelicans, grebes, cormorants, and Alcatraz up close. With Rob, we walked halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Both of these were entirely new experiences for Joe and me.
Naphtali and I, veterans of early 1970s gay liberation, had a reunion with longtime friends from Gay Activists Alliance, Arthur Evans and Corona Rivera. Rob took us to pay a visit to the 'painted ladies,' colorfully decorated Victorian houses, on Alamo Square, which survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906; to walk through national park Crissy Field, to enjoy views of Golden Gate Bridge and encounters with seabirds; and to his artist's studio, on Folsom Street, to see his paintings.
Naphtali drove us across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin [County] Headlands (415/331-1540, www.parksconservancy.org), for breathtaking views of San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, and then we hiked through Muir Woods National Monument, home of awe-inspiring redwood trees, on Mount Tamalpais (415/388-2595, www.nps.gov/muwo).
At our request, Rob took us to the western end of Golden Gate Park to see the windmill and Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden, and to visit the resident buffalo herd, and drove us down the famously crooked block of Lombard Street, between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets.
At our friends' urging, we attended a performance of playwright and actor Michael Philis' new play "Dolls," directed by Andrew Nance, which played from January 22 to February 22 at the New Conservatory Theatre Center (25 Van Ness Avenue, 415/861-8972 and 4914, www.nctcsf.org), near the War Memorial Opera House, Herbst Theater, Davies Symphony Hall, and San Francisco City Hall.
Our friends also pointed us toward the recently renovated California Academy of Science (55 Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, 415/378-8000, www.calacademy.org), which includes, under one roof, an all-digital planetarium; a rain forest, alive with birds, butterflies and amphibians; the aquarium; a colony of penguins in the African Hall; The Swamp, where alligators and turtles live; and the Living Roof Garden, where we saw native species of plants, flowers and birds and met friendly Academy worker Audrey, who shared that she and her wife originally came from the East Coast. Naphtali also saw to it that we went up to the observation tower of the MH De Young Memorial Museum (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, 415/862-3330, www.thinker.org/deyoung), for panoramic views of the city. In Golden Gate Park, we also made our own way to the San Francisco Botanical Garden and Strybing Arboretum (Martin Luther King Drive 415/661-1316, www.strybing.org), where many exotic South African plants and flowers thrive; the Japanese Tea Garden (Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, 415/831-2700 or 415/752-4227); the AIDS Memorial Grove; the Rhododendron Dell; Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill Island (boathouse: 415/752-0347).
We climbed the steep steps, to see homes, gardens and views, of the Filbert Street Steps, on Telegraph Hill Boulevard in North Beach, marked by a wooden boardwalk and a flock of wild parrots, and accessible from Sansome Street or Washington Square; of Macondray Lane, between Taylor and Leavenworth Streets on Russian Hill, which served as a model for Barbary Lane in Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" books; and the Haven Street steps, off Leavenworth, between Filbert and Union.
Joe and I found our way to Chinatown, with shops, restaurants and picturesque Chinatown Gate, or Dragon's Gate, at Bush Street and main street "Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California, USA," as the song in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song" puts it, and visited historic Old St. Mary's Cathedral in that neighborhood (660 California Street, 415/288-3800, www.oldsaintmarys.org). We walked around the monastery-like courtyard of the San Francisco Art Institute (800 Chestnut Street, 415/749-4563, www.sfai.edu), home to a fresco by Diego Rivera.
A part of many of my past visits here has been spending a day at the San Francisco Zoo (One Zoo Road, near Sloat Boulevard, last stop of the N Judah MUNI line, 415/753-7080, www.sfzoo.org). Joe and I were present for feeding times for the penguins and the grizzly bears, and enjoyed our own lunch sitting beside the flamingos. We spent time with the lemurs, the big cats, the kangaroos, and the laidback koala. Peacocks posed for us and we were photographed for www.sfzoo.photogra.com.
We spent time with Joe's aunts, uncle and cousins. Joe's Uncle Dick picked us up at San Francisco Airport and drove us to the city. We celebrated Joe's and his mother's birthday with a home-cooked family dinner, including Aunt Carol's homemade birthday carrot cake, in Walnut Creek. In the city, Joe, his mother and Aunt Ann and I rode cable cars, walked around Fisherman's Wharf souvenir and candy shops, and visited Pier 39, where California sea lions live, protected by the Marine Mammal Center (415/289-7325, 415/981-PIER, www.pier39.com).
San Francisco has many restaurants, encompassing food from a variety of nations. Here are some of the eateries we experienced. On our last night in town, our friends took us to La Méditerranée (288 Noe Street, 415/431-7210, www.cafelamed.com), serving Middle Eastern food. At this restaurant, not far from Castro Street, Naphtali ran into some Front Runners that he knows and we saw Ken and Bob, a couple we know from Cherry Grove. Earlier in our stay, Naphtali and Rob took us to Burmese and Mandarin restaurant Mandalay (4348 California Street, 415/386-3895 or 3896, www.mandalaysf.com) and we took them to the Presidio Social Club, formerly a military officers' club (Building 563, Ruger Street, 415/885-1888).
In North Beach, the Italian neighborhood, Joe and I had a lunch at Piazza Pellegrini (659 Columbus Avenue, 415/397-7355, www.piazzapellegrini.com), near Washington Square, the park at Columbus Avenue and Union Street, and Saints Peter and Paul Church (666 Filbert Street, 415/421-0809, www.stspeterpaul.san-francisco.ca.us). To a family dinner, we brought Panforte Margherita, a super-sweet dessert, from A.G. Ferrari Foods (468 Castro Street, 415/255-6590, www.agferrari.com. We took Joe's mother and aunt to dinner at McCormick & Schmick's (formerly McCormick & Kuleto's), a seafood restaurant I knew, in Ghirardelli Square (415/929-1730, www.McCormickandSchmicks.com). On another day, Joe and I stopped at Ghiradelli Chocolate (900 North Point, at Ghirardelli Square, 415/474-3938) for hot chocolates and candy. A late night staple for us was a stop at Pizza Pino (1534 California Street, at Polk Street, 415/775-2525, www.SFpizzapino.com).
On our first night in San Francisco, we had dinner in Chinatown at New King Tin, on Washington Street. Nearer our home base was the Golden Horse Restaurant (1060 Hyde Street, 415/441-8889). Also in the neighborhood (Lower Nob Hill), we found Darbar, a Pakistani and Indian restaurant (1412 Polk Street, 415/359-1236, www.pakistani-restaurant.com). After a day in Golden Gate Park, we stopped for a snack at Sukhothai, a Thai restaurant (1319 Ninth Avenue, near Irving Street, 415/564-7722). This branch was going to be closing soon, but there is another branch. Check www.sukhothai.citysearch.com for the location.
On our last afternoon in the city, we split a small pizza at Capri Ristorante, near Castro Street (2272 Market Street, 415/552-3000, www.caprisf.com). On Castro Street itself, one day, we ate at The Cove on Castro, formerly Norse Cove, a well-remembered, favorite gay restaurant (434 Castro Street, 415/626-0462).
At home, we watched the Academy Awards and cheered when Gus Van Sant's film "Milk" won Oscars for best actor (Sean Penn) and screenplay (Dustin Lance Black). On Castro Street, the traditional heart of gay San Francisco, we saw "Milk," for our second time, at the Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street, 415/621-6120, www.castrotheatre.com) and, having seen it in New York, found it a very different experience to see it with a knowing San Francisco audience, which caught the subtleties and local references that New Yorkers may have missed. In front of the theatre, we bought political buttons, urging the repeal of Proposition 8, the heinous anti-same sex marriage measure passed on Election Day.
We saw the Harvey Milk mural, incorporating the famous quote, "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door," on the wall at Given, the furniture store at 575 Castro Street (415/865-0353, www.givenonline.com), site of Milk's shop, Castro Camera. Some scenes in "Milk" were filmed here. At Harvey Milk Plaza, outside the MUNI station at the corner of Castro and Market Streets, we saw the plaque memorializing Milk. We bought an icon of 'Harvey Milk of San Francisco,' by Robert Lentz, complete with halo and pink triangle armband, at the shop (415/749-6304) at Grace Cathedral (1100 California Street, on Nob Hill, 415/749-6300, www.gracecathedral.org), where we also were moved by the Interfaith AIDS Memorial Chapel. Grace Cathedral serves as the setting for some key scenes in Armistead Maupin's "More Tales of the City."
We paid a visit to the GLBT Historical Society (corner of Castro and 18th Streets, 415/777-5455, www.glbthistory.org, main office at 657 Mission Street, Suite 300) to see the exhibit "Passionate Struggle: Dynamics of San Francisco's GLBT History," featuring memorabilia of the likes of Harvey Milk; of Empress José Sarria-early openly gay political candidate and founder of the Imperial Court-and of his club, the Black Cat Café; of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who were the founders of early lesbian organization the Daughters of Bilitis and its publication, the Ladder, as well as the first same-sex couple to marry on the two different occasions when it was, briefly, legal in San Francisco; and of singer Sylvester.
At A Different Light Bookstore (489 Castro Street, 415/431-0891, www.adbooks.com), we met writer Christopher Rice, making an appearance there to speak about his fourth novel, "Blind Fall," newly issued in paperback by Pocket Books; to sign copies; and talk about his previous and forthcoming works and what it is like being the son of Anne Rice and late poet Stan Rice.
Also part of our Castro Street experience were some visits to the bar The Edge (4149 18th Street, off Castro, 415/863-4027, www.edgesf.com) and a stop at Worn Out West (582 Castro Street, 415/431-6020 and 800/556-0311, www.wornoutwest.com), the place for new and used leather, uniforms, and Western wear, where we got a very friendly greeting from a nearly naked man (shades of Fancy From Delancey, which used to be on the dock in Cherry Grove).
photo by
Bruce-Michael Gelbert
Castro Theater
If Castro Street has been the heart of mainstream gay San Francisco, Folsom Street, south of Market Street, is the heart of the San Francisco leather scene. On a Thursday night, a couple of nights before our return to New York, we began our leather bar crawl at Chaps II (1225 Folsom Street, between Eighth and Ninth Streets, 415/255-CHAP, www.chapsbarsanfrancisco.com), where we happened upon a gathering of Hell Hole (www.HellHoleSF.com), a fisting organization, at which we, the Messrs. Fire Island Leather 2001 and 2005, were introduced as guest celebrities, invited to draw raffle tickets, and photographed with luminaries of the bar and the organization. At Powerhouse (1347 Folsom Street, near Ninth Street, 415/552-8689, www.powerhouse-sf.com), we chatted with Don, formerly from the Bronx and the Jersey shore, and now living in San Francisco. At the Hole in the Wall Saloon (1365 Folsom Street, 415/431-4695, www.holeinthewallsaoloon.com, a 22-year-old gave us an enthusiastic greeting and kissed us. Looking in at the venerable and fondly remembered Eagle Tavern (398 12th Street, 415/626-0880, www.sfeagle.com), we found it, on this particular night, catering to a crowd that looked neither leathery nor gay. Our final stop was the sex club Mack Folsom Prison (1285 Folsom Street, 415/252-1221, www.mackfolsomprison.com), open 24/7, but not terribly entertaining on the night we were there.
The next day, we hit leather shops A Taste of Leather (1285 Folsom Street, 415/252-9166, www.badboyshopping.com), where we bought white leather bowties; Leather ETC (1201 Folsom Street, 415/864-7558, www.leatheretc.com); and Stompers Boots (323 10th Street, off Folsom, 415/255-6222 and 888/bootman, www.stompersboots.com), where Joe's boots, bought at a Bucks Motorcycle Club Santa Saturday (r) auction, originated.
In the course of our visit, we stopped in at several branches of the Out of the Closet thrift shop, where the proceeds help provide care and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS (www.outofthecloset.org). At the one at 1295 Folsom Street (415/558-7176), friendly Cornelius Washington informed us about his website, www.cuirphoto.com. The other branches we went to are at 1498 Polk Street (415/771-1503) and 100 North Church Street (415/252-1101).
Close to home, bars we went to were The Cinch Saloon (1723 Polk Street, 415/776-4162, www.thecinch.com), which had just had a Mardi Gras party on the Tuesday night we went there; Gangway Bar (841 Larkin Street, 415/776-6828), billed as the "oldest gay bar in the city," where we had a 'no good deed goes unpunished' experience-a rude man at the bar snapped at us when we helpfully pointed out that his wallet had fallen to the floor; and Deco Lounge (510 Larkin Street, between Turk and Eddy Streets, 415/346-2025, www.decosf.com), where we attended a Bearracuda (www.bearracuda.com) underwear party-"friendly, furry guys every 1st & 3rd Saturday," says the literature-highlights were getting massages from Donovan; having an encounter with one Dirk from Köln; and leaving with souvenir stuffed teddy bears.
To round out the picture of our trip to San Francisco, I should mention that we also took photos outside Coit Tower (Telegraph Hill Boulevard, 415/362-0808), heiress and firefighter buff Lillie Hancock Coit's fire hose-shaped monument to her heroes, and spent some time poring over new and used sheet music, scores, and books about music at the Music Center of San Francisco (207 Powell Street, second floor, 415/781-6023, musicsf@ix.netcom.com). We covered a fair amount of territory while we were way out west, but still left some adventures for a future visit.
