Art Galleries in San Francisco - 49 Geary
49 Geary is my favorite kind of candy store. It's full of galleries and antique book dealers and is a great way to spend an afternoon. It's got a pretty cool history too.
49 Geary was built 2 years after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and was designed to house one of Western Union's headquarters. For decades, including throughout WWI and WWII, 49 Geary was a major communications hub for the United States, second only to New York City.
By 1956, over 600 Western Union employees worked in San Francisco. 850 Desk-Fax machines and 400 teleprinters provided direct wire connections between San Francisco customers and Western Union. In the decades since 1956, communication moved toward the Internet and cell phones and places like Palo Alto and San Jose while 49 Geary trasitioned from more practical forms of communication to those that are more abstract.
Going here on any day (with the exception of Sunday and Monday which, as is the case with most galleries, the galleries are closed) you'll get an eyeful of exceptional art and literature.
One of my favorite galleries at 49 Geary is the Stephen Wirtz gallery. The first time I came to this gallery in 2004 I was immediately impressed with the art on display, which were photographs by Todd Hido. Hido took these photos from the window of his car while traveling on dirt roads through the grassy hills and farmlands of middle America. The pictures were haunting, beautiful, mysterious, and captured the loneliness of being confined to a car while being surrounded by the vastness of this landscape.
The second thing that impressed me about this gallery was Stephen Wirtz himself. Stephen introduced himself to me and my husband and so enthusiastically shared with us his passion about art that we too were somewhat swept away. He's a true art lover and this shows in the choices he makes for his gallery.
Another exhibit we saw at the Stephen Wirtz gallery was Rough Beauty by Dave Anderson. Andersoon took the photographs in Vido, Texas, an isolated town that is struggling both socially and economically. By getting to know these normally remote people, Anderson was able to give us the unusual perspective of an insider to this somewhat detached community.
Of course, there are other forms of art besides photography at the galleries of 49 Geary. An example is Mike Henderson's recent exhibition at the Haines Gallery. Henderson paints abstract oils by spreading and layering the oil and then scratching away at it until he reaches his own conclusion, resulting in an interesting and energetic display of certain parts of his psyche (and ours as well).
I could go on and on, but be rest assured that 49 Geary will keep you occupied and content for hours. It's conviently close to a lot of good restaurants too. My recommendation? Go to the top floor of one of the hotels near by and enjoy a view of San Francisco while sipping a glass of Merlot.
To get to 49 Geary, park at the underground parking lot at Union Square or, better yet, take BART, which runs to Montgomery (just two blocks from 49 Geary) or one of the many buses that run through Union Square.
