Today, I took a walk through the district where my dad grew up which is incidentally a stone's throw from where I now live. Sometime in the 70s, this area fell into disrepair, and, until about 15 years ago, was a bit seedy and not really a walking destination. It is now, in the main, a fine area. The above shot shows one of the many lovely corner homes whose sides stretch down a good portion of the length of the road. You could probably tell that I was more taken with the flowers than the house. Usually, these corner spots are awash in windows and boast a wee front garden. The above house was pretty typical save for the lovely purple flower bushes planted. I have rarely seen such flowers planted though they do look like they could be native.
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| 'Little Boxes on the hillside' |
Nevermind the Golden Gate Bridge or Transamerica Building, the homes dotting the Daly City eastern-facing hillside are iconic and always make me think of the song made famous by Pete Seeger, 'Little Boxes'. The song was indeed inspired by the post WWII housing tracts built in Daly City, not specifically these homes, but rather the Doegler homes built in the district of Westlake just west of these 'ticky-tacky' homes.
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| Transamerica Building, or what I referred to as the 'upside-down ice-cream cone' when I was wee. |
Maybe I should study for my Japanese final now. I don't wanna.
Your judgement as a wee thing was spot on.
ReplyDeleteLove those purple blooms and am the mistress of procrastination.
The flowers were lovely. I had never walked up that particular street before. It ends at the second largest park in SF, McLaren Park.
DeleteThey look like cinerarias. A lovely splash of colour.
ReplyDeleteThey do look like cinerarias! I hadn't realized that there were so many different flowers attached to the daisy family.
DeleteYou are lucky to live in such a beautiful area.
ReplyDeleteWe have a very nice climate. I know I am spoiled.
DeleteI've never been to San Fran, but would love to. It's nice to see it through you blog. Sushi, my only Japanese word I can spell without error. Or is your test in Kanji? Then I couldn't even spell sushi.
ReplyDeleteSushi, is, indeed, how it's spelled! Sake, sashimi, sensei...we have more than a few words from Japanese that have retained their original spelling. Well, you know, sort of. :)
DeleteI haven't yet learned any kanji. That comes in Japanese 2!
I like SF on my visit and would love to come again. I used to think badly of "little boxes", until I decided people need houses.
ReplyDeleteAnd, good luck on that exam.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteI know how that feels. I hope you got some studying in after this, though. And I hope the test went well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz!
DeleteDear Bea, one of the things I like about your blog--one of many--is that I always learn something. I've always loved to learn and that's why research appeals to me. Your sharing of all this--especially the Pete Seeger info so appeals to me. Thank you. Peace.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dee. :) That song is a part of our upbringing, I think, for many Americans. The only reason I know of its origin story is because I grew up quite close to the 'little boxes' and it was something one simply heard about.
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