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The Glass Bolt Bridge

Mister SF — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 15:12:52 +0000

Dateline: Oakland, where Mister SF celebrates the opening of the new Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge during its inaugural commute! The bridge replaces the 1930s cantilever section which was damaged during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and later deemed seismically unsafe.

The Bay Area’s own “Big Dig,” the bridge was completed at a cost of $6.4 billion – 400% higher than Caltrans’ original, 1997 estimate. But do we always get what we pay for, as the old adage would have it? In March 2013, 32 bolts essential to the span’s seismic infrastructure broke when they were tightened. Not to be daunted from making opening day – nor from collecting on-time bonuses – builders and officials decided to shim the sucker until the defective areas of the span can be braced with steel saddle components. Because, after all, if something expensive doesn’t work properly it’s best to ram it and rig it, right? As Mister SF so often says, we’ll find out together.

A movement is underway in the California Legistlature to name the western, SF-Yerba Buena Island span for former Mayor Willie Brown, though the idea leaves San Franciscans cold according to my own informal survey. Some say a fitting honoree is the 19th Century eccentric Emperor Norton, whose proclamation ordering the construction of a bridge between the City and Oakland was printed in City newspapers of the day. We chose the name “Glass Bolt Bridge” for the new eastern span because it’s descriptive, and because its initials create a reverse bookend with those of “Golden Gate Bridge.”

More About the New Eastern Span
Bay Bridge Official Site

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San Francisco, Casual or Casualty?

Mister SF — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 20:01:18 +0000

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Classic Notorious

Mister SF — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:07:25 +0000

The Book… Guy. Ever since I was called a Nazi by a nervous browser at the Green Apple Bookstore on Clement Street – something I owe to an extreme haircut I got along the Prinzengracht while in Amsterdam for Queen’s Day – I have to refer to the Forever After Books (1475 Haight, pictured above) as The Book… Guy. If you come here you’d better be prepared to check even your smallest bag, and don’t loiter, take photos, remove books from top shelves without assistance, or ask any questions about the signs. Also, no roller skates, bicycles, strollers, bare feet, or guitars. Heart of the City acknowledges all levels of infamy in San Francisco’s catalog of notoriety. Continue to Classic Galleries…