San Francisco

My family has long, deep ties with the city of San Francisco. At the time of the 1906 earthquake, one of my grandmothers was three years old and living in the city, the other was born two months later just south of the city.
I grew up near SF and have a deep fondness for what is good and beautiful about it. That is where I fell in love with beautiful architecture and developed an appreciation for cloistered religious. I was introduced to lots of neat things from Middle Eastern Food to roller skating in Golden Gate Park. When I was in high school, my brother and I were allowed to take public transportation all the way into the city to visit my sister, who lived in the flat above Ignatius Press. Homeschooling allowed for long visits and a broad range of experiences within the very Catholic community that exists within the city of San Francisco.

I want to share a little of all this with my children, and the 100th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake, on April 18, seems like a perfect occasion. Here are some links I'm collecting (haven't read or even skimmed through all of them yet) for the occasion:

Links relating to the quake:

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/info/1906/
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/info/1906/othereqs.html
http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/06.html
http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/1906EQ/
http://1906centennial.org/
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/sfeq.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake
http://www.outsidelands.org/shacks.php
http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/Journalism/sfearthquake.html
http://www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=1481

General San Francisco History:

http://www.sanfranciscomemories.com/

Links to some favorite S.F. places and things:

http://www.jnelson.com/Church%20Installs/carmelite_monastery.htm
http://www.ignatius.com/
http://www.thinker.org/deyoung/index.asp
http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/ggpark.shtml
http://www.exploratorium.edu/
http://www.sfstation.com/business.php?blId=1720
http://www.boudinbakery.com/
http://www.fishermanswharf.org/
http://www.ghirardelli.com/
http://goldengatebridge.org/
http://www.nps.gov/fopo/
http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz/
http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/national/3compk.htm http://www.calacademy.org/aquarium/

I couldn't find a link to this one - Its-its Cookie Sandwiches (unique to the Bay Area, I believe)

A neat book published - just last year - (Images of America: San Francisco Bayview/Hunter's Point by Tricia O'Brien) gave us an extra jump-start on this family history/geography project. My aunt was involved in putting together this book and there are many photos of my grandmother and her family.

These two are highly recommended:

I Remember Mama (Irene Dunne)
Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes

More mature:

Yours, Mine and Ours (Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball)
The Maltese Falcon (Humphrey Bogart)
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)
Dark Passage (Humphrey Bogart)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier)