F Line Streetcar in San Francisco

Postcard US-4010006 to Germany shows the F Market & Wharves line, one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California, that runs as a heritage streetcar service. Distinctive from most other lines in the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) system, the F line's operation uses exclusively historic equipment both from San Francisco's retired fleet as well as from cities around the world. Market Street Railway, a nonprofit organization of streetcar enthusiasts, provides a support role by raising funds and helps to restore vintage streetcars.

Alcatraz is Spanish for Pelican

Forty five years ago on June 11, 1971, the U.S. Government forcibly removed the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz that lasted 19 months.

This Alcatraz Island postcard shows the weathered and deteriorating laundry facility used when Alcatraz was a Federal Penitentiary. It was sent in for a pictorial postmark dated on August 8, 2015 at Alcatraz Island Station in San Francisco, CA that commemorated the 81st anniversary of the opening of the infamous penitentiary in August, 1934.

A unique Alcatraz Alumni reunion was held at Alcatraz  between former prison guards and former "residents" on Sunday August 9, 2015.

Chinatown, San Francisco

Postcard US-3934037 to Germany is a reproduction of a vintage poster of the Chinatown in San Francisco, California. It shows the Cathay House Restaurant located in the heart of Chinatown with a lengthy traditional Chinese menu and a prime street view for people and cable car watching on California Street.

"San Francisco Sees a Colorful History Slip Away in Chinatown" by Jean H. Lee, run on Los Angeles Times on May 31, 1998, was an interesting article to read about the changes and conflicts that had happened there: "while old-timers want to maintain the district's antique, if stylistically bogus, architecture, recent immigrants are clamoring for new development."

Japantown

Outgoing postcard US-3263841 to Philippines shows a photo taken on September 21, 2004, of a crocodile-shaped bench and sculpture at Japantown (日本町) in San Francisco, California, the largest and oldest such enclave in the United States with six street blocks. The card features one of the Gifts of the Friendship stamps that depicts the clock tower outside the National Diet Building in Tokyo, rising behind a foreground of white dogwood flowers.

The area is home to Japanese cuisine restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, banks, bookstores and other shops, with a focal point at the Japan Center, opened in 1968 as part of urban renewal efforts. It is the site of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, a two-weekend festival in April, and the Nihonmachi Street Fair in August every year.

The Peace Pagoda, shown in a recent photo on May 30, 2015, is a five-tiered concrete Buddhist stupa that promotes World peace. Designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi, it was presented to San Francisco by the people of Osaka, Japan.

Mount Tamalpais, California

Postcard US-1994530 from California shows Mount Tamalpais, located in Marin County, California with a 2,574-foot or 785-meter peak. The mountain bike is said to have been invented here. Located on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco, it offers spectacular ocean views and city views of San Francisco from the top. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park.

Today in History: The Chicago "L" commuter rail system began operation in 1892.

Then and Now: Chinatown in San Francisco

Outgoing postcard US-3373239 to Australia shows a then-and-now street view of the Chinatown ( 唐人街) on Grant Avenue in San Francisco, California.  Establishment in 1848, it is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. It is also a major tourist attraction with more annual visitors than those to the Golden Gate Bridge.

When I walked around the Chinatown a few days ago on May 27, 2015, I ran into a bronze sculpture at Portsmouth Square (花園角) on Kearny Street, where many "dancing grannies" were performing exercise routines called plaza dancing (广场舞), originally popular with middle-aged and retired women in China. It was a replica of the Goddess of Democracy, a statue created during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in Beijing, China that was destroyed on June 4, 1989 by soldiers who took over Tiananmen square from protesters.

Designed by Thomas Marsh and dedicated in 1994, the replica is 10 meters tall, same as the original, and weighs approximately 600 pounds or 272 kilograms. It bears the inscription, "Dedicated to Those Who Strive For and Cherish Human Rights and Democracy." Today marks the 26th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Student Protest.

I Left my Heart {at Hyde and Lombard Street} in San Francisco

As a captured audience inside the Terminal 2 at the SFO International Airport waiting for my return flight to Las Vegas, I found a rack full of "I left my heart in San Francisco" postcards. Outgoing postcard US-3373240 to Ukraine was one of those that I obligatorily purchased.

The card shows a section of Lombard Street in the Russian Hill neighborhood, a one-way block between Hyde Street and Leavenworth Street, known as the crookedest street in the world with eight sharp turns.

That section of Lombard Street used to be a straight, cobblestone street with a 27% grade which was too steep for most cars. The turns were built in 1922 so that people could drive up and down the hill, until the street was made one-way downhill in 1939. The street was paved with red bricks and about 250 steps were built on each side of the street to accommodate pedestrians.

Now, during the peak tourist season in summer, there are as many as 350 cars driving down the street each hour. However, it was not a popular tourist destination until the late 1950s. I drove down the street twice during my previous visit to San Francisco in 1999. This time, I took the Powell-Hyde cable car to the top of this block earlier today, and took the steps down to Leavenworth Street.

Walking over the Golden Gate Bridge

It was a little windy but otherwise beautiful earlier today. I took the opportunity to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - one of the most beautiful bridges in the world, and back, as part of my Coastal Trail hiking. The bridge celebrated its 78 anniversary of opening on May 27, 2015.

The bridge spans 2.7 kilometers or 1.7 miles. I started at the parking lot on the San Francisco side. During my previous visits, I had turned around at the first tower like most people did. However, walking over the full span turned out very rewarding. From the Vista Point in Marin County on the other side, you got to see the entire northern coastline of the city including the Fisherman's Wharf area. The added bonus was watching those large container and cargo ships passing directly under the bridge. It took me a little bit more than one hour for the 6.1-kilometer or 3.8-mile round trip.

"CSL TECUMSEH", a 2013 self discharging bulk carrier sailing under the flag of Bahamas, was passing the bridge.

Postcard US-2849047 to Finland shows an aerial view of the Golden Gate Bridge with an ocean cargo ship passing by.

Code the Road

Google Maps APIs is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Since Google Maps released its APIs to developers 10 years ago, developers have been able to integrate maps and location service to online and mobile apps. It was interesting to hear that a member of a band playing at the 2015 Google I/O Afterhour at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on May 28, 2015 shouted out to Google Maps, among all the Google services, when they recognized the host.

Departing tomorrow afternoon from Google I/O, Google's annual developer conference, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, a 1959 GM tour bus, powered by bio-diesel, is hitting the road for a 14-stop cross-country trip called Code the Road to meet application developers and map creators along the way. The bus will make its first scheduled stop at the iFit ICON Heath and Fitness 5K treadmill run in Logan, Utah on June 2, 2015. From there, the bus will stop in Colorado, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Virginia, and Georgia, with the final destination at the Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, showcasing many map and location applications developed using Google Maps APIs from iFit, Harley-Davidson, Lyft, Hilton Hotels, The Weather Channel and Walt Disney World.

Outgoing postcard US-3373238 to Germany was sent from the bus when it was parked at the north-east corner of 4th Street and Howard Street, across from Moscone West during Google I/O.

Year of the Ram Stamp Issued by USPS

USPS issued the Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram First-Class Forever stamp today. I was the first one who bought the stamps at a local post office as they brought up the stamps from the back and broke out a brand new pack. In celebrating the Year of the Ram, which begins on February 19, 2015 and ends on February 7, 2016,  the stamp shows a wooden candy tray known as a chuen-hop or Tray of Togetherness. The tray is filled with dried fruits, candies, and other treats to provide a sweet beginning to the new year.

According to a USPS postal bulletin, "customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram Stamp
Attention: Station Manager
Chinatown Station
867 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by April 8, 2015."

Outgoing postcard US-3224037 to Malaysia was a the Year of the Ram themed card with a matching stamp.

Be One

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco began to hear oral arguments in challenges to same-sex marriage bans in Idaho, Nevada and Hawaii today on September 8, 2014. A three-judge panel had tough questions for marriage equality opponents and seemed ready to say for the second time that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

Meanwhile, as state officials in Nevada decided not to defend the bans, the same-sex marriages might become a reality quickly in Nevada if the court rulings overturn the bans. County clerks are making new marriage license forms that list “party 1” and “party 2” instead of “bride” and “groom”.

Outgoing postcard US-2967646 to Canada shows the 2012 Gap advertising campaign in San Francisco, featuring a same-sex couple.

San Francisco Cable Car: 141 Years

Postcard US-2468742 to Czech Republic shows the iconic San Francisco Cable Car, one of the most popular attractions in the city, with Alcatraz Island in the background. It is the last manually-operated cable car system in the world. At its heyday, there were twenty-three cable car lines established between 1873 and 1890. Three lines remain today: the Powell-Mason line that begins at the Powell@Market turntable, runs up and over Nob Hill and then down to Fisherman's Wharf; the Powell- Hyde line that also begins at the Powell@Market turntable, runs over Nob and Russian hills before ending at Aquatic Park near Ghiradelli Square near Fisherman's Wharf; the California Street line that runs East-West from the Financial District, through Chinatown, over Nob Hill, and ends at Van Ness Avenue. The cable car on the postcard runs on the Powell-Hyde line.

141 years ago today, the San Francisco Cable Car started as the Clay Street Hill Railroad, first opened on August 2, 1873. The cable cars were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966, and designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark on January 29, 1964.

Color Our World with Pride

Member of Balloon Magic Marches in the 42th SF Pride Parade on June 24, 2012.

The 44th Annual San Francisco Pride Parade kicked off at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday June 29, 2014.  attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators and participants to this one of the largest LGBT gatherings in the nation. The theme of this year's parade was "Color Our World With Pride."

Balloon Magic marches along the Market Street in 2014 (Screen capture from livestream)

Adding a splash of colors to the parade, the group Balloon Magic has been a staple over the years and one of my favorites. They have usually been marching between the leading Dykes on Bikes and Cheer San Francisco. The featured postcard was made from one of my photos taken on June 24, 2012.

Balloon Magic in the 43 the Pride Parade on June 30, 2013 (Screen capture from livestream)

Golden Gate Bridge Gets Safety Nets

Outgoing postcard US-2849014 to Poland shows the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District's Board of Directors approved funding for a suicide barrier, a decades-long effort for the advocates, on the Golden Gate Bridge Friday, June 27, 2014. The 76-million-dollar project will install steel-cable nets 20 feet beneath the east and west edges of the bridge, with construction planned from 2015 to 2018. Once built, the barrier would deter people from jumping to their deaths or catch them in the nets if they have actually done so. At least 1,600 people have jumped to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge since it was completed in 1937, including a record high of 46 last year in 2013.

The plan was not without controversy, in the past critics have complained that a barrier would ruin the bridge's appearance. More important, with underlining crises unsolved, it would simply displace suicides to elsewhere. Nonetheless, as mentioned in a SFGate article, statistics from a study shows suicide barriers on other bridges successful in deterring jumpers. #LifeIsWorthLiving

Maxi Card with a 2014 Love Stamp and a Digital Color Postmark

Postcard US-2813946 to the Netherlands features a sketch of a heart-shaped sculpture in San Francisco, with a 2014 USPS limited-edition Love Stamp and a first-day-of-issue digital color postmark. The sketch was made out of a photo I took on June 24, 2012. The Cut Paper Heart Forever Stamp, according to a USPS news release, "depicts a large white heart enclosing a smaller pink heart with a saw-toothed edge along its left-hand side. Surrounding the central hearts are pink swirls with smaller hearts imbedded in the design, and a ragged-edge motif that echoes the edging on the small pink heart. The hearts and swirls are contained within a red square that has "pinked" edges, as if cut with pinking shears. A white border frames the entire design."

Only select stamp issues offer a digital color postmark. To order a digital color postmark, customers will have to use envelopes or postcards made of “laser safe” paper, with no glue on the flap of envelops and no coating on the postcards. The maximum size of all digital color postmarks is 2" high x 4" long. Allow sufficient space on the envelope to accommodate the postmark. Do not use self-adhesive labels for addresses on the envelope or postcard. Two extra items must be included for testing. A minimum of 10 envelopes or postcards at 50 cents per digital color postmark is required, paid by a check, money order, or credit card.

USPS may reject hand-painted and other cachet envelopes that are not compatible with their digital color postmark equipment, and substitute traditional black rubber postmarks if use of non-specified envelopes or postcards results in poor image quality or damage to equipment.

The rest of procedure is similar to requesting traditional black rubber postmarks: "customers should affix the stamps to the envelopes and address them to themselves or others for return through the mail. Or, they may include an additional self-addressed return envelope, large enough to accommodate their canceled items, with sufficient postage affixed for return of their postmarked items. Mail the request for a first-day-of-issue digital color postmark to the corresponding city of issuance. Post Offices will then forward all customer requests for digital color postmarks to Cancellation Services, Stamp Fulfillment Services, PO Box 449992, Kansas City, MO 64144-9992. After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes to the customer by U.S. Mail."

San Francisco Celebrates Harvey Milk Stamp

Following the First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony for the Harvey Milk Stamp at the White House in Washington, D.C. on May 22, 2014, City of San Francisco hosted a ceremony to celebrate the forever stamp at the City Hall on May 28, 2014.

The San Francisco event features a pictorial postmark with an outline of the state of California and the text “San Francisco, City Hall.” To obtain this pictorial postmark, send requests within 30 days of the event to the following address:

• HARVEY MILK, SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL Station, Box 7838, San Francisco, CA 94120-7838

The Palace of Fine Arts postcard, one of those postcards that I am going to send out for this special cancellation, shows the remaining structures left from the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915. It is now the home of the Exploratorium. In addition to hosting art exhibitions, it is a popular tourist attraction as well as a favorite weddings photograph location. Photo by Andrew Mckinney.

A Harvey Milk Stamp for Harvey Milk Day

Today is Harvey Milk Day, which is celebrated each year on May 22 in memory of Harvey Milk, a  California politician and LGBT rights activist who was born on May 22, 1930 and assassinated on November 27, 1978. The day was established by the California legislature and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009, as a day of special significance for public schools in California.

At the White House today, USPS is unveiling a new forever stamp featuring a photography of Harvey Milk, who became the fifth openly LGBT candidate in the U.S. and the first to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors in January 1978. President Obama commemorated Harvey Milk in 2009 by posthumously awarding him the Medal of Freedom.

Harvey Milk stood outside his Castro Street Camera Store in San Francisco in 1977

Postcard US-2276102 to France shows a view of San Francisco where Harvey Milk called home since he moved from New York City in 1972.

"Moonrise" Over Privately-Owned Public Open Space

Postcard US-2615877 to Greece shows Moonrise March, one of three mottled aluminum heads entitled "Moonrise Sculptures: March, October, and December" by Swiss sculptor Ugo Rondinone, located at 555 Mission Street in San Francisco, California. The three sculptures are spaced apart by benches against a wall with suspended living green plants.

On the property, it has a 34-story high-rise office tower with green glass developed by Tishman Speyer in 2008. The plaza in front of the building is one of the privately-owned public open spaces (POPOS) under the requirement of the 1985 Downtown Plan, which also includes the “1% Art Program” that dedicates 1% of the total construction cost to public art for large projects with 25,000 square feet or more in downtown. Visit website of the City's Planning Department to learn more about POPOS and Public Art.

The photo on the postcard was taken on June 25, 2014.

Happy Valentine's Day

In this Valentine's Day, we feature postcard US-1823773 to Germany that shows a heart-shaped sculpture at the corner of Union Square in San Francisco. Every year, a set of 5-foot, 400-pound hearts are made, painted by local artists, and put on display around various city locations in San Francisco. They are auctioned off to raise funds for San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. The picture on the card was taken on June 24, 2012.

You can find more pictures of the hearts at other locations from a post I Left my Heart in San Francisco at blog Little Hiccups.

San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge

Postcard US-2219312 to Germany shows a fire boat in front of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. it opened for traffic today 77 years ago on November 12, 1936, six months before the Golden Gate Bridge opened. The bridge consists of two sections that connect Yerba Buena Island to each shore. The postcard shows the western section between Yerba Buena on the left and downtown San Francisco on the right. The photo on the card was taken on June 25, 2012.