Coit Tower has its history, and it's definitely got its views -- and some of the best of each is inside the tower itself. The murals, commissioned during the beginning of the New Deal in the 1930s as a way to get artists back to work were painted by some masters in modern art history. After... More >>

As a self-described "logical extension of a free public library," our local free walking-tour company is, like most libraries, a fascinating mash of nerdy and white-hot rad. The San Francisco City Guides walking tours happen every day (except major holidays), are free, and follow in the... More >>

Politicians and news outlets have started using the term "WPA" again — have you noticed? The Works Progress Administration, of course, put people to work during and after the Great Depression. Even artists were paid to work; the WPA encompassed projects that employed actors, painters, and... More >>

Between 1853 and 1861, Fort Point was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent entrance of a hostile fleet into San Francisco Bay. The fort was occupied throughout the Civil War, but the invention of faster, more powerful rifled cannons made brick forts obsolete. In 1886, the... More >>

In a short three year span, the first AIDS epidemic crashed into the Castro and completely disrupted the culture. Gay San Franciscans, and especially residents of the Castro, thought they had found the geographical answer to their struggle, but the crisis changed a safe space into one full of... More >>