John King @JohnKingSFChron Twitter profile

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John King

2 years

Two years after up w/ @wwnorton , I’m nervously thrilled to say my book Portal: San Francisco’s Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities has a Nov. 7 publication date. It’s one landmark's history but also much more… (1/3)

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

It is Wisteria season in Berkeley and this is a very good thing

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

Full disclosure: I’m a big fan of vernacular use of concrete brise soleil in the 1960s. Here are four examples from Berkeley apartment buildings— sometimes striking, always a saving grace

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

In other news, I'm starting a three-month leave from @sfchronicle to write a book on our Ferry Building, and what its rise and fall and rebirth says about the ongoing evolution of urban waterfronts. Watch this space!

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

For a few weeks every spring, this is my favorite house in Berkeley

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

One day each year, this is my favorite building in San Francisco

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Houses like this are why I love the Outer Sunset

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Just when you think all new infill housing looks alike — Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue now has a Moorish-Tudor fever dream

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Typical crowd this morning on Market Street, two dozen or so cyclists per (light) cycle. Busier than a typical (already busy) commute

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

Columbus and Montgomery, two streets that define San Francisco in so many ways

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Mission Creek is an engineered channel in S.F.'s newest neighborhood -- and harrowing proof of the complexities of preparing for sea level rise. First installment in a four-part series looking at our fragile bay shoreline

This San Francisco community could wind up underwater as tides rise. Can anything be done?

Challenge of preparing the Mission Creek neighborhood for climate change showcases the difficulties facing communities all along the San Francisco Bay

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

So many layers of San Francisco in this simple vertical view

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

My rule of thumb in S.F.’s Financial District? Always look up

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

These three residential buildings all front Alamo Square. They all exceed the current 40-foot height limit. Somehow, though, the neighborhood has survived

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

21st Century flatiron, Market at Mason

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

How much of a throwback is S.F.'s North Beach? People, it still has a newsstand!

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

So I'm leafing through a 1961 travel magazine + what should I come across but --?a full-page color rendering of BART on the Golden Gate Bridge!?!?! In a GE ad? Crazy! (trivia for @berkeleyside readers: rendering #2 is the original plan for what now is Ohlone Park)

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

San Francisco is undergoing a fencing operation the likes of which I have not seen. At least in terms of the streetscape, APEC truly IS epic ....

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Season’s greetings from Berkeley

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

One of the many attributes of the raking winter light is how it highlights the idiosyncratic stucco patterns from an era long- gone. Some aims to evoke plasterwork. Some is just ....

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

11 months

Perhaps my favorite FiDi upstart -- the Heineman Building at 130 Bush, from 1910.

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

Can't argue with that

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

"Few commercial landlords or office tenants have the technological capacity to perform the simplest and most effective anti-viral intervention: open the windows," JDavidsonNYC points out. "The ability to let in fresh air is a lost art" via @intelligencer

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

Amid everything, good news — tomorrow marks the debut of S.F.’s new Crane Cove Park, complete with ample lawns and a rare sandy beach along the bay. It’s 7 acres in Dogpatch along Illinois Street at Pier 70, a welcome addition in this constricted year

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

The Golden Gate Bridge never loses its capacity to surprise

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Take a look at this sign in Berkeley, and you’ll get an idea of why affordable housing takes so long to build. Construction is the easy part ...

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

Today’s high point— I saw a Mondrian car!!!!!

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

Old-school S.F. skyline, as seen this morning via helicopter

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

The opening is still a few months away, but Studio Gang’s Mira already is putting on a show

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

In Golden Gate Park, what a difference two hours makes

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

Speaking of central Oakland, this city’s Cathedral Building measures up to any flatiron in SF or NYC

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

Vernacular PoMo shows up where you least expect it — in this case, an apartment building on Oakland’s MacArthur Boulevard

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

Even in today's fractious S.F., I hope we can agree that the views from the upper terraces of in-progress Mission Rock are 💯

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

My look back at the car-free road not taken: SF planners in 1963 wanted to reserve Market Street for buses + people because “If one form of traffic movement should be deprived of some of the advantages it presently enjoys, it is the private vehicle”

A visionary plan to rid SF’s Market Street of cars — in 1963. Sound familiar?

San Francisco’s 1963 downtown plan called for a car-free Market Street, but business...

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

The S.F. project this fall I’m most intrigued by? The floating fire station on the Embarcadero. Full completion still a month or so off, I’m told, including public waterfront access

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

San Francisco: an American metropolis like no other

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Your eyes don’t deceive you —buildings are popping up next to BART stations at unprecedented rates. Here’s my look at how transit-oriented development in the Bay Area has finally come to be via @sfchronicle

SF Bay Area BART stations have a new draw — they’re magnets for housing

Housing development on former BART parking lots is gaining traction as never before,...

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

7 years

For sheer graphic design ingenuity, this may be my favorite reader letter ever. Re: my Salesforce Tower review

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

My piece on S.F.'s North Beach and how its deep-rooted urban qualities -- from the street grid to social bonds -- has made it, if anything, more vibrant than before the pandemic

This S.F. neighborhood is thriving. What can the rest of the city learn from it?

Unlike such nearby areas as Union Square and Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach has come...

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

SF’s Mira tower by ⁦ @studiogang ⁩ is really starting to hit its stride and show its moves. Not more than 5/7 stories to go, I’d guess

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

Just back from a quick exploration of SF transit center’s rooftop park. Still a work in progress but — really feels like a realm apart

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

San Francisco looking downright Hitchcock-esque yesterday at dusk

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Good morning, San Francisco

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

Nice day to be in San Francisco

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

I’m sure they’re non-structural, but it doesn’t look good that the strapping 800-foot @181Fremont tower comes down to ... six wood-block shimmies????

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

San Francisco’s Mira by Studio Gang does not take a bad photo, at least not from nearby

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

It’s official — ⁦ @TransitCenterSF ⁩ is back in action

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

Taking the double-decker AC Transit bus to work today absolutely was the right thing to do

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

Every large city has an iconic building that reveals how today’s city came to be. That’s what led me to write my new book “Portal: San Francisco’s Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities,” published today by @WWNorton (1/6)

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Today’s nomination for Berkeleyist headline ever, from ⁦ @berkeleyside ⁩

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

Don’t know the landscape architect, but the pairing of a thunderous fountain and a single sculpted tree at 77 Beale is a sublime intervention in the urban grid. And it gets better as it ages

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Always nice to see my favorite towerette in the Financial District - 130 Montgomery, proudly defying its petite contextual reality

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

At least from up high, the transit center’s rooftop park is looking good. Should be open to public by mid-August

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Among the things I’ve learned on recent neighborhood walks: the black-building craze has settled into Berkeley deeper than I realized. Sigh

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

The leaning tower of Millennium gets all the attention, but the sinking sidewalk of Mission Bay puts on a more dramatic visual show

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Mira in the morning

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

I'm not one for on-line teasers, but can't resist showing you all this 1944 vision for Market Street -- from the priceless @sfchronicle archives, natch -- that I came across while researching a riff to run later this week

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Attention, fans of Brutalism: I visited the reborn Berkeley Art Museum, and Mario Ciampi’s gravity-defying wonder has been resurrected in a way you won’t expect. Watch this space!

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

11 months

Scoop! A train finally has arrived in San Francisco’s downtown transit center!

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

On vivid mornings, this tower still catches me by surprise

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

What a way to go ....

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Unbelievable. This sign is not satirical....

Mark Bergen

@mhbergen

5 years

Not In My Back Shadow.

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Transamerica Pyramid, in season

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

10 apartments on a double lot in Berkeley-- and visual proof that density is not inherently oppressive, no matter what opponents say

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

6 years

Wanted to lose myself in nature today but had to be at work at noon. So .... off to Telegraph Hill. Up the Filbert steps, down the Greenwich steps. San Francisco, you still have you charms.

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

Horrible news, local edition

Andy Cooper

@terrapin_sf

4 years

RIP #MondrianHouse

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

My review of a new low-income apartment complex that's socially affirmative and architecturally engaging. It's also a case study, sadly, in how difficult it is to make such places come to be

Much-needed Tenderloin housing makes architectural splash — after an 11-year wait

The nine-story building with 113 affordable apartments is jaunty and earnest at once,...

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Window-washer with a long day ahead ....

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

As far as green walls go, this one in Dogpatch has got it going (architect is Woods Bagot, btw, and wall is by Habitat Horticulture)

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

The relationship between Hotaling Place and the Transamerica Pyramid is one of the best arguments for urban juxtapositions that I know

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

What are you doing this weekend? In a parallel universe, I'm taking BART to Napa. Or maybe Livermore. Or Campbell or Brentwood or Fairfield....

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

My majors being history and journalism, I often fear I’m an poseur as rarified architecture critic. Then I encounter buildings like this concrete block house in El Cerrito— and swoon

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

I love that the entrance to S.F. via the transbay bus includes a great new(ish) abstract mural

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Question for ⁦ @Gap ⁩: why do you need all these office lights turned on so bright at night?

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

7 years

The simple truth is this: to a degree that's rare in San Francisco politics, Mayor Lee had a good heart and an open mind

San Francisco Public Works

@sfpublicworks

7 years

We mourn the loss of Mayor Ed Lee. He cared deeply for the people of San Francisco and championed civil rights. May his soul rest in peace.

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

The things you find when looking for something else... from our very own @sfchronicle , July of 1925

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Nice to be back on top of the world— or at least back in the 5.4-acre rooftop park above San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center. After 10 months off limits, the landscape is varied and lush

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

8 years

Strange but true: tonight, Salesforce Tower is putting on a pretty good imitation of the Empire State Building

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

I still am surprised to be reminded that in Berkeley— long a self-righteous citadel of next-to-no growth— you can stand in one spot and see four large construction projects under way. Including, the fenced site in front, with 100 percent very-low-income housing

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

An absolute embarrassment that's all too typical of S.F.'s corrosive political culture -- too many players indulge in self-righteous superiority, and if they don't get their way 100 percent then they'll rather torpedo "the other side"

Artist’s vision for Maya Angelou statue crushed by City Hall’s dysfunction

The plan to install a monument to Maya Angelou outside San Francisco’s Main Library is...

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

Is this Berkeley apartment building the result of any discernible design intent? If so, I don’t know what it is

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

This is one of my favorite buildings in Oakland, hands down. (I've a weakness for mid-century modern classicism). At 20th + Franklin, architect unknown (to me)

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

The morning view on @rideact . Sorry, @SFBART

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

Next week is the publication of my book "Portal," on S.F.'s Ferry Building, and I am jazzed. But I did not, repeat not, coordinate the completion of the tower's repainting to coincide with my book release!

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

1 year

Yes, it's the obligatory "look what came in the mail!" photo regarding "Portal: San Francisco's Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities." And the obligatory 1st blurb, from @PublishersWkly : "an illuminating architectural and social history." Pub. date is 11/7

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

The majestic Glen Park BART station, SF's best Brutalist building by far, could be declared a state landmark by the California Historical Resources Commission. Vote is on August 1; my 2009 Cityscape in praise of Ernest Born's triumph is below:

Brutal, yes, and stirring as well

Yet the movement produced such evocative works as this BART station, where the shadowy...

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

I cannot help but smile at the Transamerica Pyramid’s cameo appearances on the SF skyline

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

While @hknightsf excels at humanizing the larger problems that plague San Francisco, she never loses sight of the beauties and strengths of an enduringly seductive city. This honor is SO well-deserved. Congrats! via @sfchronicle

Heather Knight wins Scripps Howard Award for Excellence in Opinion Writing

The national honor was presented as part of the Scripps Howard Foundation’s 69th annual...

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

All the tumult in the world, and then there's this

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Here’s how I want to remember 2021 — with the potential of better times in a place with so many wonders close at hand

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

9 years

Hello from Pier 39 in San Francisco, where high rents have driven the sea lions to Oakland. http://t.co/RjqRr6NCbB

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

2 years

I would not mind this room with a view (and a balcony to savor it all the more)

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Berkeley talks a good talk about its bicycle boulevards. Actually navigating them on two thin tires? Not nearly so inviting. These shots from recent errand on Ninth, King and Milvia

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

And for something completely different: I've helped put together one of @sfchronicle 's first audio walking tours -- an exploration of the highpoints + hidden gems of downtown's masonry canyons. So much to see, so close at hand! (1/3) via @sfchronicle

An architectural treasure hunt through San Francisco’s Financial District

San Francisco’s historic Financial District is more than a cluster of towers with a few...

www.sfchronicle.com

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

San Francisco is a city of ever-startling perspectives and views

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

5 years

Snap quiz for the twitterati — what city is this? #GenericUrbanism

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

4 years

Berkeley takes the Tiny House movement very, very seriously

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

I love this hint of tenacious nature amid the dense-packed Transbay district

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

Slowly but surely! A full 16 years after it opened, @deyoungmuseum is starting to get widespread hints of the green patina promised long ago for the copper skin

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John King

@JohnKingSFChron

3 years

I rediscovered one of SF's odder #popos today: the "snippet" at 600 California, a PoMo fever dream tucked behind a staid historicist tower

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