Frisco.com

GET THE RIGHT "FRISCO"

The City-by-the-Bay is not America's ONLY "Frisco". Did you perhaps arrive here while looking for info about one of these other Friscos? These links should put you in the proper state.

FRISCO, TEXAS

FRISCO, COLORADO

FRISCO CITY, ALABAMA

 





GET ORIENTED

San Francisco has a long history of local government with strongly contrasting elements and lively debate around "hot-button" issues: what to do about the homeless, what constitutes "quality of life" and infringements upon it, and what constitutes sane urban planning that serves the needs and desires of City denizens and visitors...these matters are recurrent and always current. While every city has similar debates, San Francisco has a particularly diverse populace which makes them particularly heated.

SF Supervisoral Districts - The lines defining who you vote for your Supervisors, who provide a needed balance to the Mayor's powers.

SF Neighborhoods: Quick and Dirty - If you've never been here, it might be a good idea to get the lay of the land. Every neighbourhood here is almost like its own little sub-city, with different values and customs as well as appearance, and even climate varies from one end of town to the other.

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GET A ROOM

The rents for apartments and hotels here are high! In these times, San Fran may have even surpassed New York City as the most expensive place to live in the USA. It's the amazing "Frisco" climate that can be blamed for this. Here and there, though, can be found the miracle of a place to live within your means.

Areaguides SF - Contains handy tourist hotel look-up widget with calculator.

Single-Room Occupancy Hotels - Excellent resource for those of us whose resources are very limited.

SF Craigslist - Housing - The perennial favourite resource for those hunting digs...and a lot of great things can be found here. (Just watch out for the scams.)

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GET FED

There's eateries in "Frisco" that'll accommodate all budgets--even none at all, since our soup kitchens have such great reputations. Whether your situation involves having your meals there or spending an arm, leg and two front teeth on a Dining Experience of one sort or another - or, as the majority will, you'll find something in the middle of those extremes to be the answer to your needs for sustenance, chances are, this urban peninsula has an establishment to suit you.

San Francisco Restaurant Guide - Very comprehensive, extensive and up-to-date culinary pointers.

SF Gate's Food Guide - Has a handy widget for you to look up by area or cuisine type. (Tends towards the pricey.)

Grub Hub - With this around, delivery food is no longer limited to pizza.

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GET CULTURE

While every urban center has its museums and galleries, San Francisco has long been known as one of the areas in which can be found cultural phenomena that are described as "world class".

California Academy of Sciences - The SF science museum, recently relocated.

Exploratorium - There's one for every budget and special interest.

SF Museum of Modern Art - Beautiful centrally located modern arts showroom

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GET SOME HISTORY

Though it's only been around for a few centuries, making it a young city compared with others on Earth, San Francisco's history is fascinating, showing that the "wild" element the City's known for pre-dated the 1960s.

Timeline - Timeline of key events in SF history.

San Francisco Historical Society - Organization that runs a historical museum collecting artifacts related to the City's history.

SF History Index - From prehistory to the present.

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GET RELIGION

Besides being the site of the oldest Catholic church in Califonia - Mission Dolores - there are manifestations of all faiths and of a wide spectrum of ways to recognize the Divine.

Citystar: Religion - List of churches, synagogues, temples and Buddhist centers of the area.

San Francisco Zen Center - Live a life of quiet contemplation.

SF Station Religion Guide - Covers Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Moslem and other houses of worship; very complete directory.

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Welcome to San Francisco and Frisco.com!
Contact: friscocom@sbcglobal.net

You've probably heard one place or another that it's bad form to refer to the city of San Francisco by the name "Frisco". The idea of "Frisco" being an improper name for San Francisco was more or less instigated by the late, famous San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, whose book of collected columns was titled Dont Call It Frisco. When asked about this in an interview, later on, he did take back this admonition.

The controversial nickname for San Francisco more or less resulted from the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad, which was oft abbreviated as "the Frisco line". That railroad was merged with another line in 1980, with its old Oklahoma depot turned into a museum. (Mickey Newbury's famous song "Frisco Depot" refers to it, and reminds us that "Frisco" has always been a "mighty rich city", even half a century ago.)

There are those who claim that "Frisco" was an accepted name for the City in the early days, but it was actually always controversial. Even Emperor Norton, the famous San Francisco kook of the 19th century, hated it, and there was even a ladies' group in the reconstruction period following the 1906 earthquake dedicated to expunging the name.

Depending on who you hang out with, you may or may not have noticed that the nickname, like many other things "forbidden", is making a bit of a comeback. It could be that SMS and instant messaging, which require communications to be heavily abbreviated, may have something to do with this. There is also a tendency, in the rap and hip-hop culture, to abbreviate things. And the traditional abbreviations for San Francisco, while still not out of favor, can be problematic: "The City" is too vague, and "SF" means "Science Fiction", primarily. While the most frequently-used abbreviation is still "San Fran", don't be surprised if the old moniker starts popping up in convo...digital or otherwise.

A user of a question-and-answer site going by (assumed to be a Donna Summer fan, as s/he goes by the name "On The Radio Uh Oh") had this to say in response to another user querying about the propriety of calling San Francisco "Frisco":

Basically, it's considered gauche and undignified to call it "Frisco". I'm assuming this developed because "Frisco" was commonly used by Midwesterners... and since they were often viewed as uneducated and gauche by cosmopolitan big city standards, the word was also viewed as such.

However, with time, such tradition becomes dated, and thus seems non-progressive and closed-minded, and thus comes to be viewed as uneducated, gauche, and VERY petty itself. And that's what's happening to the word "Frisco". The older generations in the city tend to still cringe when they hear "Frisco", but the under 30 natives (who admittedly are a rare breed) generally don't have a problem with it. In fact, many embrace it... there are even t-shirts with "Frisco" printed, and those shirts have become the only acceptable San Francisco-specific shirt to wear by young natives.

So... if you're around people in their teens and 20s, you can generally say "Frisco" without anyone caring... they'll probably say it, too. I rarely say it, but I have no problem with others saying it... and yes, I'm a native. However, many people, particularly older people (the older a person is, the more likely they are to be offended by the word "Frisco"), don't really understand this, or how people can adopt the word outside of its former negativity, or that times and language change, and thus take offense.

Honestly, I hate it when people call it "The City". That seems far more degrading to me... there are several cities in the Bay Area..."

And in a world where everything's easily accessible and abridged, even in our daily lives in San Francisco, why should its name be any different?

... I've also long had this theory that "Frisco" was taboo because there's a city in Texas called "Frisco".

This site is new, and still under development. Be sure to check back and see what grows here. And do write to us if you have any ideas or comments.

GET AROUND

Excepting the kind that run on cables, this is not the most car-friendly city in the world, which is either bad or good depending on how you feel about cars, and how often you like to drive. Fortunately, we have it made up for by having public transportation reaching just about everywhere.

SF Municipal Transit - Central site for the MUNI and BART services.

SF Cable Cars- The tourists flock to them. But for denizens, they're just open-air buses...Whichever the case, they're great for hills.

The N Judah Chronicles - Blog consisting of stories viewers contribute about things that happen on San Francisco bus lines.

Ride Above SF in a Zeppelin- Got way too much money and want to do something no one you know has likely ever done?

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GET THE NEWS






GET OUTSIDE

Visitors and denizens alike can enjoy the uniquely balmy, friendly climate San Fran offers to get out and Go Do Stuff.

City Kayak - Bet you didn't know you could go kayaking, right here in the Bay!

San Fran Walking Tours - There's one for every budget and special interest.

Swimming Pools - They're uncommon here, but these indoor and outdoor pools, open in summer, are very cheap and clean.

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GET INVOLVED

Sometimes one wishes to spend spare time not as "leisure" but instead, in ways that allow participation in the life of a community. San Francisco has long been known as an "activist-friendly" city. There are also numerous resources here for those who wish to engage in volunteer work and service to charity.

SF Bay Area Volunteer Info Center - Clearinghouse of local volunteer opportunities

Glide - Diverse visionary church with soup kitchen serving 3 meals a day to San Francisco's indigent population.

Bay Area Progressive Directory - Large directory of activist organizations covering all issues.

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GET AN EDUCATION

San Fran has a med school and several college campuses, including top-of-the-line art schools and a community college that just about anyone can afford.

City College of San Francisco - Local school affordable to almost anyone.

San Francisco State University - Pricier but wider-range college education

New College- Progressive private college with programs covering a wide range of fields

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GET IT ON

Everyone knows San Francisco is highly populated by single men and women known for the tendency to be open to the "alternative lifestyle" experimental sorts of sexuality. Among many, many other places to visit, including the whole Market/Castro area, these places have special recognition.

The Lusty Lady - North Beach strip club run by women.

Good Vibrations - World famous sex toy and fantasy-accoutrement emporium; it's "hot" without being "skanky".

Eros SF - Safe, clean sex club for gay men.

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GET HELP

Even in beautiful San Francisco, life can sometimes be overwhelming. Fortunately, there exists a wide variety of places to turn for help with dependency problems--chemical and otherwise--and for assistance with other issues related to health, legal troubles, and other obstacles.

SF City Clinic - STD clinic, providing anonymous, free testing for all known varieties of sex-transmitted diseases, and referrals for treatment when needed.

Fort Help- While primarily a methadone clinic for opiate addicts, it has resources to assist folks with other chemical dependency issues as well.

SF Alcoholics Anonymous - Find local meetings at all times, in all 'hoods.

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