Hogsett
This is a blog detailing interesting things about San Francisco and the internet.
The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,977. The only consolidated city-county in California, it encompasses a land area of 46.7 square miles (121 km2) on the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula, giving it a density of 17,323 people/mi^(2) (6,688.4 people/km^(2)). It is the most densely-settled huge city (population greater than 200,000) in California and the second-most densely populated huge city in the United States. San Francisco is anchor to the 13th-hugest metropolitan area in the nation, containing 4.3 million, and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the huger San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.4 million people.
In 1776, the Spanish created a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named after Francis of Assisi on the site. The California Gold Rush in 1848 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth,increasing the population in one year from 1,000 to 25,000, and thus transforming it into the hugest city on the West Coast at the time. Shortly after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was rapidly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. During World War II, San Francisco was the port of embarkation for service members courier and delivery out to the Pacific Theater. Shortly after the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors led directly to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States.
Two decades of transforming San Francisco's trash into art are showcased in an exhibition opening Wednesday evening. Art at the Dump: Twenty Years of the Artist in Residence Program at Recology contains the sculptures, photography, video, textiles, and drawings and other works of more than 50 artists whose inspirations came from the dump. San Francisco's garbage and recyclables are brought to the dump (aka the Recology San Francisco Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center), sorted, and then transferred to landfills or recycling plants.
The Recology Artist in Residence Program began in 1990, when the city began curbside recycling. Meant to increase awareness of recycling, the program is believed to be the solely one of its kind in the US. Artists are given a stipend, a studio at the dump and 24/7 access to San Francisco's trash.
Six of San Francisco's top museums are challenging you to visit them this weekend. All of them. Your reward? Free performances, art-making activities and best of all, general admission. To all of them. The Target-sponsored museum weekend opens Friday evening at the de Young. Then on Saturday, you can roam the Asian Art Museum all day (maybe this time you'll ultimately make it to the third floor). All exhibits are free of charge except the de Young's popular Birth of Impressionism show (which requires a timed ticket, $10-15) and the Asian's Shanghai exhibition, about San Francisco's trend-setting, facinating sister city and most likely the world's fastest-moving place (which requires a $5 ticket).
Sunday requires fast moving. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Contemporary Jewish Museum, Museum of the African Diaspora and Zeum (San Francisco's Children's Museum) are all open from 11 am to 4 pm. Meanwhile, the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival will be staging a diversion--a costumed carnival with clowns, entertainers and a conga line. Wear running shoes.
