Thanksgiving Eve (For Declan)

The rains blew into San Francisco yesterday sweeping away the smoke and bringing a small comfort to the victims and firefighters of the Butte County Camp Fire. I took a walk in the rain around the city yesterday enjoying some of the fresh vistas.

Market Street in 1972, across from the old Emporium Department Store, looking east toward the Call and Humboldt Buildings: (amazingurban.com)

Powell Street looking down Sacramento Street in 1952: (Skyscrapercity.com)

Looking west along Geary Blvd. from Kearny St. in the early 1950’s: (opensfhistory.org)

O’Farrell Street looking east from Mason toward Macy’s and the Call Building in 1971: (amazingurban.com)

Thomas Kinkade has sometimes been accused of being just a crowd pleasing painter with no artistic ingenuity. I don’t know about that, but I like his San Francisco paintings. He painted San Francisco in a way that the city would be nice if it looked like that, but doesn’t. Many of his San Francisco works are set in the rain. His painting looking down Nob Hill along Powell toward Market Street has almost everything wrong, but it’s still fun to look at. For instance, The Manx Hotel is on the wrong side of Powell Street and the Bay Bridge isn’t south of Market Street. He did get something right, though; the tall building on the left is the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, and would have looked like this from here once. It’s now blocked out forever by the Union Square Marriott Hotel there now.