BAGHDAD BY THE BAY

[Music] good evening ladies and gentlemen this is jack douglas the day is as pleasant as any vacationer could hope for and the san francisco bay bridge is alive with quick moving traffic a huge warship steams past the bridge and is dwarfed by the giant span beyond the bridge across the bay is a magical city which has a certain and definable something setting it apart from and above most of the world's great cities now the people who live here will not leave here those who are forced to leave can't wait until they get back why what is that certain something this city has that others do not well many have tried and failed to answer the question but we will neither try nor perhaps fail instead we will ask you to be the judge as we now spend two weeks and 30 minutes in san francisco the city that is baghdad by the bank it has been said of san franciscans that they regard almost everything in the city as an institution the bridges for example bridges that could not possibly be built but the bridges were built and became landmarks they'll point out the city hall and casually you'll be informed that their city hall is 16 feet taller than the nation's capital the city's old homes are especially an institution treasured heirlooms of the victorian era [Music] lombard street is also an institution the crookedest street in the world and incidentally the picture postcard of this street outsells any other san francisco postcard the slope is 40 degrees but when you're actually driving this winding thoroughfare it looks more like 180 degrees almost straight down from the unbelievable let's turn to the sublime the mission dolores the cradle of san francisco founded in june of 1776 it is the sixth of the missions established in upper california by the franciscan fathers towering beside it is the present church started in 1782 only six years after the mission was founded yes this tiny mission gave birth to the cosmopolitan giant now known as san francisco union square is to san francisco what hyde park is to london and washington square is to greenwich village in new york city it is sanctuary it is an armistice between the conformists the non-conformists and the in-betweens perhaps it is freedom the right to do whatever one chooses without violating the laws the right to take a nap in the sun the right to quiet communion with the creatures of nature the right to debate and exchange views the right even to self-indignant expression yes and even the right to parade your new hat and wonder if all who will see it will think as much of it as you did when you bought it union square another san francisco institution and so is the city lights bookstore on columbus near broadway now the shop and its part owner known simply as shig symbolized the beatnik movement in literature which had its beginning here in san francisco eight or ten years ago two of the beatnik literary luminaries jack kerouac and alan ginsberg have been habituates of the city light shop and their work continues to outsell most of the titles on the racks the distance between this and this is less than 20 paces but the contrast is part of chinatown near california and grand streets where even the public telephone booths resemble a chinese pagoda lotus cakes is just another way of saying that this is where they make many of the chinese fortune cookies sold throughout the world and of course each cookie containing an optimistic prognostication of someone's fortune our host is mr ernie louis every day we have many visitors coming into our plant to watch how fortune cookies are made we have over 1300 different fortunes which i translate from books of confucius linutang esap fables and even plato but i found after reading through them that all the philosophy is about the same to my way of thinking the real chinatown does not appear until sundown after the shadows fall and then how odd it seems to see the characters of the ancient chinese alphabet outlined in 20th century neon [Music] these are illustrations of tai chi chuan a chinese art of exercise that predates columbus by more than six centuries now the movements are simple graceful almost aesthetic yet its practitioners believe that tai chi chuan offers far more benefits than our present strenuous exercises nearly a thousand years ago a chinese taoist monk named zhang san fung composed a set of exercise called tai chi choi today even in the united nations some delegates from all over the world are practicing these exercises to keep them trimmed fit and mentally relaxed tai chi turn is the answer for our strenuous life today it requires no partners no equipment and one way practice at home and the best of all it fits people of all ages the cable cars of san francisco are about as sacred as any of the city's many colorful institutions but every now and then some misguided reformer will advocate the removal of the cable cars and man alive it's as if somebody had kicked the flag on the 4th of july why even flower stands are shaped like the beloved cable cars well the cable cars are antiquated even the customers have to lend a helping hand to sort of turn the things around for the trip back but its history has taught us so often progress merely for the sake of progress is not progress at all one of these passengers said to me with a perfectly straight face you know jack one day we won't have these cable cars anymore and i said when will that be and he suddenly broke out and laughed there as he replied when the rabbit chases the fox and the turtle can climb the tree well anyway this hyde street car took us to the waterfront where at pier 43 and a half we purchased tickets for a cruise of san francisco bay and the harbor these bay cruise boats are double and triple deck and there are frequent sailings beginning at 10 in the morning these particular sightseeing boats are the only ones on the bay sailing under both major bridges the san francisco oakland bay bridge and much later on the magnificent golden gate the world's longest single span once past the golden gate the cruise boats make a sharp turn for the trip back on route you'll find yourself just a few hundred yards from alcatraz island which until 1963 was the famous federal prison while we were here the fate of the island and the old prison buildings had not yet been decided some san franciscans favor maintaining the prison as a tourist attraction others want the buildings torn down and the island converted into a tremendous amusement park not a bad idea well perhaps the next time we visit the bay area the matter will have been resolved permanently anchored at fisherman's wharf is a sailing vessel of a type and size rarely to be seen anywhere in the world this is the balclutha the last full rigger to fly the american flag the last of the cape horners the last of hundreds of square riggers which at one time or another carried the name of san francisco to the distant seaports of the earth rescued from oblivion by joint action of labor unions and business firms a few years ago the balcootha is now operated by the san francisco maritime museum master mariner jack shickle here weaving rope into a napoleon bend mat has spent more than half a century at sea on sale and steamships but when he talked to us he spoke only of the sailing vessels and the cape horners i wish i had a half a dollar every time i've been aloft on these ships of course gonna last here alongside the dark when she's riding steady that's nothing it's when you're down along capone road say in a gale of wind and ice and snow and sleet and everything else up there and the ship rolling through an arc of 45 degrees well then it's a different thing all together that was the life the old life because i go aloft whenever i can just to keep in practice it might come back then we'll do it again the balcootha is just a short distance from the maritime museum whose director mr carl cortum was the guiding spirit in saving the old vessel the museum is rated one of the finest of its kind these are figureheads from the days of wind and canvas and the walls are adorned with hundreds of photographs photos of famous individual ships and of whole sailing fleets and here a sample of a siemens handwork an exquisite picture frame made entirely of rope [Music] more siemens art the carving and painting of whale teeth now this is called scrimshaw work and was a favorite hobby of semen on long whaling voyages and this model of a german five-masted full rigger was built by eric swanson in the course of four and a half years and 5 000 hours of labor the original vessel was built in germany in 1902 and was lost in the english channel in 1910 this now is not a model but it isn't much bigger yet in 1962 a solitary seamen sailed this tiny thing this mermaid 5 000 miles across the pacific from japan to san francisco the journey lasted exactly three months and is one of the most extraordinary one-man voyages of all time harbor watching harbor hawking they call it is not a new idea but it is still a favorite tourist pastime in the bay area not only is it inexpensive it's absolutely free and you don't even have to pretend that you're going anywhere or seeing anyone off just stand there and take in all the color and glamour of an ocean bon voyage as for the passengers well of course they're excited but chances are that they'll be back for this much i know tony bennett is not the only one who left his heart in san francisco cisco's fisherman's wharf is to quote the chamber of commerce a touch of the old world in the heart of one of america's most cosmopolitan cities well that it is it's also a fascinating business groups of families operating his units first catching the fish and then selling it most of the families on the wharf have been here for generations and the business is handed down from father to son if your time is limited you can snack at the individual stalls and later enjoy a more formal dinner at fine restaurants such as tarantino's [Music] the crashing surf at the base of point lobos and 48th avenues pounds away at seal rocks now the seals actually their sea lions desert the rocks in summer to breed at a nearby island cliff house overlooks the rocks and this famous restaurant dates back to 1863. they have a tramway connecting cliff house with point lobos and for 50 cents you can cable over the surf for a thrill as well as a scenic treat [Music] golden gate park is one of the world's truly great parks its one thousand acres contain dozens of major attractions of which the japanese tea garden is probably the most colorful here in a classic setting that would do justice to the best in japan your japanese hostess will serve you tea and delicious cookies and perhaps she'll remind you that san francisco is after all the gateway to the orient these visitors are john and judith langeker of salem oregon this enormous bronze buddha is said to be the largest ever to leave the orient and nearby is a typical japanese moon bridge the kind that especially appeals to youngsters a more conventional bridge seems to be the habitat of some of the tamest and friendliest squirrels i've ever seen now watch these cuties [Music] we move on to the fine arts the palace of the legion of honor at lincoln park and the moment you enter the spacious grounds you have the feeling of being in france perhaps adverse side well the architectural flavor is decidedly french for the palace is based upon the palace of legion of honor in paris this palace like its parisian counterpart of the same name has more than architectural beauty to merit your time and attention for here have been gathered some of man's most brilliant creative efforts among them rodin's the thinker inside the louis 16 salon resurrected almost intact from a parisian hotel of the 18th century is a flashback to the golden age of pomp and circumstance the real eye catcher is this cabinet or commode attributed to martin carlin circa 1785 it is ebony with panels of japanese lacquer mounted with bronze guilt and from the hundreds of masterpieces we chose these el greco's saint peter at the milliners monet here is one of caro's lesser-known masterpieces view of rome the flemish school has this detailed offering madonna and child enthroned with angels oh there are hundreds of fine works here we can't own them but we can see them and enjoy them at the palace of the legion of honor well suddenly the time is sundown after the shadows fall and down along the waterfront the port of san francisco gives every impression of having been tucked away at 10 o'clock but listen and believe this 10 p.m in san francisco is like noon in oshkosh or to borrow a phrase from our younger set this baghdad by the bay is a swing in place the small name plate alexis is much too modest for this restaurant is just about as plush as any i've ever seen it has been called a study in byzantine splendor and the interior was designed by a french decorator this is part of what they call the upper cocktail lounge and these patrons are enjoying a booth at the gypsy seller room well this is some seller but look at this section of the main dining room the byzantine motif explodes with color the gentleman on the right by the way is mr alexis and he was serving his guests a pie that would please the palate of a king the pie you see here the table which is served in my restaurant at alexis called culibiaca culibiaca in germany used to be a classical dish called kal bachan kal cabbage and bakken means bake hope you will enjoy with the white burgundy wine moroche in a city noted for its fine food still you won't find a better meal than at alexis after dinner we're on the town searching for entertainment there's a lot of variety to choose from and will start at goldman's game anchors and now goldman's gay 90s cordially invites you to cheer the hero and boo and hiss the villain as we proudly present the lust of leonard letching [Applause] where am i where am i you're in dutch that's where you are you can't fool me leonard oh leonard why do you lead me are we engaged of course we're engaged then when are we gonna get married and have lots of little maze running all around that's my dream that's no dream that's a nightmare i'm allergic to children what if we got married right now tonight what if we didn't i bet you'd run out and marry the first man you met wouldn't you i know a man who would slap you beat you enslave you cheat on you a man who wouldn't want you to have babies you'd love that kind of a man wouldn't you i know you wouldn't know well then our engagement is off [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] special ever [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] gold street is perhaps the most unusual of san francisco's many night spots exactly at the stroke of midnight the management and its patrons celebrate new year's eve paper hats confetti noisemakers the works and this new year's celebration takes place every night of the year complete with at least one chorus of old blind sign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] ladies and gentlemen we wish to thank san francisco's distinguished newspaper columnist mr herb kane for allowing us to use the title of his book baghdad by the bay on tonight's armchair vacation and now a final stop the gallery on columbus avenue in north beach while we were here the gallery was exhibiting the work of 40 well-known bay area artists and here was a graphic panorama of the many fascinating faces of san francisco its cultures traditions landmarks and more that certain elusive wonderful something about the city that each artist tried to capture in his own way and the last word to the ladies san francisco is a shopping center is almost without parallel shops that will make you think you're in new york london and hong kong all at the same time now until next week jack douglas saying thank you so much and good night ladies and gentlemen boys and girls [Music] you