Greetings from San Francisco.

Jose Can You See Walking Tour of San Francisco

On Wednesday evening, after a full day of stimulating exchanges of ideas and in services, a group of us had the opportunity to go on a walking tour of San Francisco. The tour was led by Jerry Kuns, an Access Technology Specialist at CSB who has a lifetime of interest and expertise in technology for the blind. Jerry is also a native of San Francisco with an expertise in local history.

We began our adventure by taking the BART (the inner city transit system) from Fremont, California to San Francisco, California. It took about an hour and passed through a tube which runs under the San Francisco Bay. During this time, Jerry gave us an overview of his life beginning with his introduction to San Francisco as a young high school boy of 14 in residence at the California School for the Blind.

We exited the BART at the Halliday stop and emerged near Market  Street. On our way to the surface, Jerry demonstrated  a talking sign receiver. This is a hand held device easily rented from the transit system or AFB. With this device a user can hear prerecorded sign labels. When you scan an area with the receiver, much in the way a sighted person would visually scan an area for a sign, if there is a transmitter in the vicinity, the receiver will tell you what you are near. For example, it will alert a user to the presence of a telephone or an escalator.

For you technogeeks out there, talking signage is made possible through prerecorded, FM modulated signals sent through an infrared array. Unfortunately, it is only available in limited areas of the city and is not maintained to the most effective degree. In New York we have talking signage in the city of White Plains in Westchester county and near AFB in NYC.

When we emerged from the subway, we began our trek. For those of you have not looked at a tactile map of San Francisco recently, let me tell you, they have some serious hills there! Before we began our ascent, we stopped at the Flood Building. This is a very old building which survived the great earthquake which all but destroyed the city in 1906.

There was an historical display in the turn of the century lobby which included the Maltese Falcon and a bust of James Flood. As we proceeded through the city, Jerry pointed out a variety of cues a person can be aware of. For example, the wear patterns on the old steps inside the Flood Building, the sound of the bag pipe player outside of Union Square, the fountain above the famous sculpture in front of the Hyatt Hotel,  the changing grade of the landscape underfoot at Nobb Hill and Russian Hill, and of course, the aromas...

Using a Global Positioning Satellite device in his BrailleNote PK and his years of experience exploring the streets of his beloved city, Jerry was able to lead a group of aging technology geeks around San Francisco.

  Xanadu Gallery was one of the first stops. Located on Maiden Lane, not far from Union Square, the Xanadu Gallery is in a building designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Famous sculpture in front of the Hyatt Hotel.

Next we went to the corner Burritt Alley and Bush Street, where a plaque commemorates the shooting of the fictitious, albeit famous, Sam Spade who was “done in” by Brigid O'Shaughnessy.  Yet another reminder of how enamoured of Dashiell Hammett's character the city of San Francisco seems to be.

Our ascent to the heavens began as we made our way up the next street on our way to the Stockton Tunnel.  Jerry explained that his GPS has a mode that will scan the areas you are passing through and read aloud the stores that are in the vicinity. In this way, a person using a BrailleNote PK can hear much of what the average person would seeas he or she strolls down the block. As Jerry had indicated earlier, hills rising under our feet were clearly detected by our aching legs. Little did we know what was on the other side…

Before us Nobb Hill suddenly rose steeply as we emerged from the tunnel. Although the old wooden houses were completely destroyed by the earthquake and subsequent fire in 1906, the homes built in their place shortly afterward are well maintained and still beautiful. Constructed very close to each other along the nearly vertical road and stairway that defines Nobb Hill, our lungs and limbs began to scream as we passed the National Shrine of St. Francis Assissi.

Just when we hoped we had reached the top, Jerry trained his attention in another direction and off we headed for Russian Hill. With the promise of food “just on the other side” we all managed to conquer the final hill and were rewarded with a breath taking view of the city, the bay and it’s most famous residence, Alcatraz Island.

Xanadu Gallery designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Grace Cathedral

Other sights of the day:

• North Beach
• Café Sport
• City Lights Book Store

  View of San Francisco Bay from Russian Hill

View from the top of Nobb Hill