Journeys›Photograph

Late October Waterfront Walks in San Francisco

·San Francisco, California·#photography#bay area#autumn#san-francisco#city-life
An In-N-Out Burger sign illuminates a multi-story yellow building at dusk, with a red flag on a pole.

Walked the same stretch of San Francisco waterfront twice — once in the dark, once in full sun. The first pass ran past the In-N-Out near Fisherman's Wharf, its arrow the brightest thing on the block, then down to the Cannery, where the clock face and letters were lit up over a locked gate and nobody was out but us.

Daylight made it a different street. From up the hill you could see the Hyde St. Pier gate sign with the bay flat behind it and Marin brown across the water. Then Ghirardelli Square from Aquatic Park: Domenico Ghirardelli built it as his chocolate factory in 1864, and after the chocolate operation moved out it became one of the first major adaptive-reuse projects in the country — shops, restaurants, and hotels in there now, with the rooftop Ghirardelli sign still standing on its scaffolding above the bay. The beds in the park below were thick with Mexican sage, purple spikes tangled through grass, still blooming at the end of October.

On the walk back, two Waymos sat parked nose to tail along a schoolyard fence, both empty, waiting for whatever it is they wait for.

A brightly lit green tree at night, with a blue parking sign and a multi-story building visible on the left.A brick building at night with a large "THE CANNERY" sign, trees, a flag pole, and green light flares in the dark sky.An uphill city street with red brick buildings on the right, trees on the left, and a stop sign on the pavement.Buildings, a red car, and people on a street with a bay and mountains in the background, featuring a 'Hyde St Pier' sign.A sunny view of Ghirardelli Square with its iconic sign, a park in the foreground, and a tall building under a blue sky.A park path runs alongside a long bed of purple flowers, with palm trees, buildings, and a person under a blue sky.Purple spike-shaped flowers intertwine with bright green grass and dark ground cover.Multiple white Waymo autonomous vehicles are on a street beside a wall, buildings, and a tall fence under a blue sky.

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