d and securities, covering the valuables with vegetables,
and heading toward Fisherman's Wharf. The day after the quake struck, Giannini
opened for business.
From the gold reserves he saved from the fire, Giannini granted many of the loans that were used to rebuild San Francisco, as the quake and fire destroyed most of the other banks. In 1929, Giannini bought out Bank of America for the name. Although Bank of America is no longer headquartered in San Francisco, a walk through North Beach could give you a sense of the days of yore, with old-fashioned restaurants, shops and the beautiful expanse of green at Washington Square.
Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill offers great views of San Francisco, if visitors can make the climb up there. The tower was built with money left to the city by Lillie Hitchcock-Coit, the patroness of San Francisco's firefighters, who admired their work during the blazes following the 1906 earthquake. Photo by Lewis Sommer is courtesy of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau.
After some pasta and gelato, head up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower, which offers spectacular views of the city and San Francisco Bay, and is yet another reminder of the earthquake and fire. Coit Tower was built with money bequeathed to the city by Lillie Hitchcock-Coit, a turn-of-the-century patroness of the firefighters of San Francisco. The tower resembles a fire hose nozzle, and thanks to residents and volunteer firefighters, many of the houses atop the hill were able to survive the fire in 1906.
From Telegraph Hill, head down the hill toward the water and Fisherman's Wharf. Check out the Aquarium of the Bay, take photos of the throngs of sea lions lying on the rocks and piers sunning themselves, and enjoy the beginning of the restaurants, shops and hotels that line the wharf. The area is a tourist trap and usually crowded.
Visitors can catch a ferry to Alcatrez Island, pictured here, from Fisherman's Wharf also a great place to watch sea lions lounging in the sun. Photo by Jeff Greenberg is courtesy of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau.
At Pier 41, you can catch the ferry to Alcatraz, now a national park. It has nothing to do with the earthquake, but visiting "the rock" is just cool from both a geologic and a historic viewpoint. Ferries leave frequently throughout the day both to and from Alcatraz, but beware that tickets sell out quickly during tourist season so get there early or book ahead of time.
Farther along the wharf, you'll come across the Boudin Bakery museum, home of the city's famous sourdough bread that has been around since 1849 (though it was originally headquartered in the French Quarter downtown), and finally to Ghirardelli Square, home to the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop, and quaint shops and restaurants.
The red brick edifice of Ghirardelli Square is what remains of the Ghirardelli chocolate factory, which Ghirardelli bought in 1893 to house the growing factory. The factory survived the 1906 quake and fire relatively unscathed, and remained the headquarters of the chocolate giant until the mid-20th century when the edifice was turned into the tourist site that it is today. No visit to the city is complete without stopping into the Soda Fountain, and trying the decadent hot fudge sundae or hot chocolate.
You might want to grab a cab or a bus to head farther along the coastline toward the Golden Gate Bridge, by way of the Palace of Fine Arts and the Presidio, a former military facility recently converted to a national park. The park marks the first chance to explore the 200- to 100-million-year-old serpentinite cliffs that continue in nearby Marin County. Just past the Golden Gate Bridge is Golden Gate Bridge State Park, which is also a pretty place to explore.
After your outdoors extravaganza, head indoors to almost any museum in the city to learn more about the Great Earthquake and see photography, paintings and drawings and other works of art and science on the event. Try the Legion of Honor (an art museum), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Exploratorium (a t