20th & Church streets

Stand at the top corner of Dolores Park and you'll probably find yourself facing northeast, checking out the breathtaking view of the bay, the city, and the array of thinly veiled buttocks in front of you. The location offers pretty good free distraction, and that's not even counting the dog walkers. But if you turn the other way, across the intersection you'll see "Sparky," the fire hydrant that saved a big hunk of the city from the famous inferno that followed the 1906 earthquake. Local Samaritans repaint Sparky in gold in an early-morning ceremony every year; the fireplug has a plaque that reads " ... from this GREENBERG hydrant ... came a stream of water allowing the firemen to save the Mission district." Anyone who lives south of 20th Street owes his house to Sparky, so don't forget to pat him from time to time.