Bernal Heights and Precita Valley, San Francisco

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) "Walking the Neighborhoods" class taught by Max Kirkeberg. Our second neighborhood walk was Precita Valley on the northern slopes of Bernal Heights. Settlement began here at the end of the 19th century as a lower end working class neighborhood, but today homes sell for $1,000,000 if they have views.


View of downtown San Francisco from Bernal Heights

The OLLI class gathers at the barrier on Bernal Heights Blvd.

Max Kirkeberg

Max Kirkeberg and OLLI class on Bernal Heights


Bernal Heights hill and microwave tower

Lofty views of downtown San Francisco



New Housing on Ripley


Old small Victorian houses: A door and a garage (12.5 feet wide)

Remodled Victorian Houses: A door and a garage (12.5 feet wide)

New Construction: A door and a garage (12.5 feet wide)

Alamo Square, San Francisco

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute “Walking the Neighborhoods” class taught and led by Max Kirkeberg.

Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California. The Square consists of four city blocks at the top of a hill overlooking much of San Francisco, with a number of large and architecturally distinctive mansions along the perimeter. The park includes a playground and a tennis court, and is frequented by neighbors, tourists, and dog owners. A row of Victorian houses facing the park on Steiner Street, known as the painted ladies, are often shown in the foreground of panoramic pictures of the city's downtown area. On a clear day, the Transamerica Pyramid building and the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge can be seen from the park’s center. San Francisco’s City Hall can be seen directly down Fulton Street.


Max Kirkeberg

The Painted Ladies


View of Fulton Street from Alamo Square

Potted plants in Alamo Square


Victorian on Grove Street

Approaching Fulton and Scott Streets

Victorians on McAllister Street

Hank Miller's North Beach Photo Class

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University contracted with Hank Miller to teach a Travel Photography Class to "take photographs of San Francisco’s famous North Beach district to capture the lovely churches, buildings and the zany characters that comprise one of America’s great neighborhoods." These are some of the photos I took on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2009.

Hank Miller and the OLLI class start at Caffe Roma in North Beach

Statue in Washington Square

Restaurant on Washington Square

City Lights Book Store On Columbus Avenue



Mural on Stockton Street



Celebrating St. Patrick's Day in North Becach

Mission Bay, San Francisco

The Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco was created in 1998 by the Board of Supervisors as a redevelopment project. Much of the land was along a railyard of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. It has rapidly evolved in to a wealthy neighborhood of luxury condominiums, high-end restaurants and retail, and biotechnology research and development

The William J. Rutter Center is named after William J. Rutter, who co-founded the Chiron Corporation in 1981. Chiron grew to be a major biotechnology firm, focusing on developing vaccines and tests for infectious disease, including hepatitis, and is now among the world's largest biotechnology companies,

Mission Creek Park, San Francisco

Mission Creek Park is the first of many parks and open spaces being developed in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco. Mission Creek Park is divided into north and south areas by the waterway known as Mission Creek. The park is located just several blocks southwest of AT&T Ballpark.

The Mission Creek Park will eventually encompass approximately 49 acres of open space and recreational facilities for use by the general public. Small "pocket parks", shoreline walkways, bicycle paths, children's play areas, sports courts and soccer fields are all part of the master plan for this area.

The Mission Creek Park Pavilion Building at 301 Channel Street


Urban Bay Properties on Mission Creek






Urban Bay Properties on Berry Street




Mission Creek Houseboats



Mission Creek Houseboats


Urban Bay Properties on Berry Street


Mission Creek Walk


Arterra Condominiums on Berry Street


Radiance at 325 China Basin Street


AT&T Ballpark at China Basin


San Francisco Public Library- Mission Bay Branch

Walking SF Neighborhods - Embarcadero

Crouching Spider on the Embarcadero



The Infinity Twin Towers


Cupid's Arrow on the Embarcadero

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - Walking SF Neighborhoods

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Walking the Neighborhoods:
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Class taught and led by Max Kirkeberg
San Francisco Redevelopment Project of the 1970's and 1980's





Contemporary Jewish Museum

Russian Hill Neighborhood Walk

Walking the Neighborhoods:
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Class taught and led by Max Kirkeberg
Russian Hill "San Francisco's most charming neighborhood."

Max Kirkeberg

Art Decco Building



Firehouse Engine #3

Bellaire Tower (1101 Green Street).







The million dollar view

California Academy of Science, San Francisco

The new California Academy of Sciences is redefining what it means to be a science museum: A single building that evokes the interdependence of earth, ocean and space; that houses an aquarium, a planetarium and a natural history museum; that’s filled with hundreds of innovative and engaging exhibits and thousands of animals.