January 5th - Two Icons
“Just Thinking"
As time marches on, we ease into the new year, change is evident, change is inevitable. I saw a couple of items in the news this week that jumped out at me and reinforced the fact that change is inevitable. The date, January 5th and the significance that date holds for two iconic San Francisco landmarks Alioto’s Restaurant and the Golden Gate Bridge.
As for the Golden Gate Bridge, January 5, 1933, construction began with the excavation of, what would be, 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure’s huge anchorages. As for Alioto’s, January 5, 2026, the Port of San Francisco began demolition of this iconic landmark.
As a young boy growing up in San Francisco, I have memories of these two structures throughout my life. As a youngster, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge was a happy occasion as it signified the beginning of a trip up the 101 to a family get away in Clear Lake. Going over the fog shrouded mammoth riding in the back of the Country Squier Station Wagon is, even now, recalled with a sense of mystery and adventure, leaving summer in “The City” dressed in jeans and a wind breaker anticipating the journey’s end when I would hurriedly change into cutoffs and a tank top, my summer uniform.
Also, in my formative years, I would tag along with my father to the South End Rowing Club to goof around with my brother Kevin while he played handball. The South End is at the end of Jefferson St. adjacent to Aquatic Park just below Ghirardelli Square. The hustle and bustle of Fisherman’s Warf was electric, with the lines of brightly painted boats at their berths, the constant presence of Sea Gulls, scrounging for what scraps they could find or steal, and the occasion Seal sticking up his head to see what was going on in the world around him. But my most vivid memory besides seeing the cable car conductor manually turn the cable car around on the giant turn table, was the restaurants with their fish markets and crab stands, the wooden stalls with hand‑painted signs. Steam rising from pots, clouding the cool air as the workers cracked crab with practiced rhythm all the while hocking fresh crab, shrimp cocktails, and cups of clam chowder.
It wasn’t until later years that I began to frequent the fine dining for which Alioto’s had been renowned for nearly a century. Alioto’s began in 1925 as a small fish stand opened by the family’s patriarch, Nunzio Alioto, later becoming a multi‑story restaurant and one of Fisherman’s Wharf’s foundational businesses. It remained family‑run until its closure in 2020. Although never reopening after the pandemic I was still I was very sad to see in the news that the Port of San Francisco began demolition of this iconic landmark. Apparently, they have spent years seeking a new operator. However, the 11,000 square foot building had fallen into disrepair and would have required a multi-million-dollar investment which scared off buyers.
The Port is taking steps to preserve elements of the restaurant’s legacy: The distinctive green/turquoise Alioto’s sign was removed first and placed into storage for future use.
Alioto’s is being replaced with a new public plaza, that will occupy the site along Taylor Street between Jefferson Street and The Embarcadero. Right now, design goals include views of the inner lagoon, enhancing public access to the working fishing fleet, and creating a more inviting, modern public space.
The dream of spanning the Golden Gate Strait dates to the late 19th century. As the area’s population grew rapidly after the 1849 Gold Rush. It took quite awhile for the project to get legs; it wasn’t until the 1930’s that a $35 million bond measure was voted on and passed. Financing remained difficult until Bank of America agreed to underwrite the project in 1932.
Four years after the project began, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to the public on May 27, 1937. At the time of its completion, the bridge boasted the longest suspension span in the world, stretching 4,200 feet between its two towers.
There you have it, a couple of iconic structures, one to be relinquished to our memories, the other an engineering marvel that symbolizes an area.
Let me know what you think.
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