San Francisco Union Square January 2005

The pictures in this post seem to have a blurriness to me, even though the actual pictures are very clear, with the exception of the last one. I think you can click on them to see how clear and detailed they really are. I think I uploaded them incorrectly into blogger so I apologize in advance.


From our hotel, it was about 5-6 blocks away to walk to San Francisco's Union Square. This area is like the hub of downtown with all its fancy shops and restaurants.



Some of the buildings are more modern than the area we were staying at. This was Saks 5th Ave building. I am not sure what building is in the background but it looked quite nice.



The building looked very prominent. This is a zoomed in picture from the same angle. The building has a good view overlooking the city that's for sure.

Back to Saks 5th Ave. We took some pictures of their window displays showing the latest fashion for that year.



The first picture is to our left side of the building facing Union Square. They look like evening wear gowns.



The second picture is to our right side of the building entrance. You can kind of see the partial entrance. Again, the window displays have more designer dresses. I am sure they were all priced in the thousands.


Across the way, this is a nice shot of some shops. From left to right is Tiffany's, Williams Sonoma, Levi's, and then Niketown. I believe the rails closer to us in an entrance way to underground parking.

I wondered if those stores occupied every floor of the buildings, or if some of those floors were used for private residences. That would be a great place to have a loft, don't you think?



On this street, you can see the hustle and bustle of the city. There's the Disney Store that also houses the Borders books and music store. On the left side is the Westin St. Francis Hotel I believe. Again, in the background you see some nice architectural detail of the past in those buildings. It's amazing they still have those fire escapes on the outside of some buildings.



This wide shot captures the taller and more modern buildings in the background. I think that is the business district, but am not completely sure. What is also interesting in this area is that it is not full of hills. It is very flat and walker friendly.





This is another shot of those buildings in the back of Saks 5th Ave. They are definitely over 40 to 50 years old. I think if I changed this to a black and white photo, it might even capture the mood of that decade when these were the newest buildings.



There is also plenty of art all over the city. This looks like a roman statue. The cloud backdrop kind of frames it perfectly. Sorry, I don't anything about this piece. But it surely is an attention getter.

We did step out later in the evening and it is funny how the city atmosphere changes. I felt like the city was resting. The lights on these older buildings seem to help capture that mood.



This is a close up of the top of the same building. Very peaceful.




It did rain on our visit on and off. You can see some evidence in the modern park benches. Very sleek metal design. It probably can withstand most vandalism too.




You can feel the city go to sleep as the number of people dwindle. The rain also seems to give it a cleansed feeling.