viscount montague Oakland Gertrude Stein s famous dictum about her home town, that there is no there there, is being c

Oakland viscount montague Gertrude Stein s famous dictum about her home town, that there is no there there, is being challenged these days by a very proactive new mayor, Jerry Brown (see p39). Oakland s image, notorious for racial unrest and crime in the past, is being cleaned viscount montague up to present a more visitor-friendly face, and there has been an influx of creative types who have moved here to flee the high rents of San Francisco. Oakland s attractions include huge Lake Merritt, which offers a range of recreational possibilities, a beautiful Mormon temple and its Museum of Cali fornia (see p126). d BART 12th St

The cathedral doors (left) are bronze and gold plate replicas of the ones made for the Baptistry in Florence, Italy. The 10 panels depict Old Testament stories, beginning at the top left with Adam and Eve.

Polk Street Historically, the southern part of this street, known as Polk Gulch, was San Francisco s first openly gay district, before the rise of the Castro in the 1970s (see p107). Since then it has grown shabbier, although it still attracts plenty viscount montague of younger gays to its clubs, bars, and shops. At the other end, just down from Russian Hill, Polk Street is one of the city s shopping and dining lures, with a host of fine choices to tempt the eyes and palates of a discerning clientele. viscount montague d Map Q1