Twisted Tour Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area


Book Description

Avoid The Tourist Herds. What could be more uninspiring than seeing the identical attractions that everyone else has for decades? This Twisted Tour Guide escorts you to the places locals don’t want to talk about anymore…the same places people once couldn’t stop talking about. Long after the screaming headlines and sensationalism has subsided, these bizarre, infamous and obscure historical sites remain hidden awaiting rediscovery. Each visitation site in this guide is accompanied by a story. Many of the narratives defy believability, yet they are true. The profiled cast of characters feature saints and sinners (with emphasis towards the latter). Notorious crimes, murders, accidental deaths, suicides, kidnappings, vice and scandal are captivating human interest tales. Paranormal activity in the aftermath is common. The photography from each profile showcases the precise location where each event occurred. The scenes can seem ordinary, weird and/or sometimes very revealing towards clarifying the background behind events. If you’re seeking an alternative to conventional tourism, this Twisted Tourist Guide is ideal. Each directory accommodates the restless traveler and even resident looking for something unique and different. You will never imagine or scrutinize the San Francisco Bay area through rose tinted glasses again. The contents include: SAN FRANCISCO: CIA’s Sex and Drug Playhouse, Diamond Jessie Hayman’s Brothels, Jerome Bassity’s Tenderloin Fiefdom, Sublime’s Bradley James Nowell’s Heroin Overdose, 1937 Brothel Addresses, Chambers Mansion, 1885 Chinatown Vice, Cliff House and Sutro Baths, Killer Piano of the Condor Club, Curran Theater’s Haunting, Dan White’s Infamous Murders and Suicide, Dog Mauling of Diane Whipple, Chinatown’s Belle Cora and Donaldina Cameron, Gangland Slaying of Fung Little Pete Jing Toy, 101 California Building Massacre, Golden Gate Bridge Suicides, Jeff Adachi’s Double Life and Death, Contract Killing of Joe The Animal Barboza, Kevin Collins Kidnapping, Maiden Lane’s Infamous History, Mary Ellen Pleasant’s Legacy, Miles Archer’s Murder Plaque, Golden Dragon Massacre, President Warren Harding’s Death, People’s Temple, Queen Anne Hotel Legacy, Fatty Arbuckle’s Fall From Grace, Political Fixer Abe Ruef’s Penthouse, Spreckel’s Mansion, St. Elizabeth’s Center for Unwed Mothers, Terrific Street, and the International Settlement, Whittier Mansion Nazi Connection, Westerfield House and the Zebra Killings EAST BAY AREA Ashkenaz Murder, Port Chicago Explosion and Mutiny, Journalist Chancey Bailey’s Shooting, Children of Thunder Murders, Oakland Superintendent of Schools Assassination, Fat Lady Restaurant, Ghost Ship Warehouse Inferno, Henry’s Bar Hostage Nightmare, Port Costa’s Hotel Burlington, Huey Newton’s Demise, Laci Peterson’s Saga, Lovelle Mixon’s Police Killings, Gambling Era Survivor Oaks Card Room, Oikos University Massacre, Oscar Grant III’s Homicide, Patty Hearst Kidnapping, Pleasanton Hotel Phantom, Jockey Ron Hansen’s Plunge, Unabomber’s Berkeley Experience, USS Hornet’s Suicide Reputation and El Cerrito’s Dens of Iniquity MARIN COUNTY Mitchell Brothers Curse, Blue Rock Inn’s Seedy Past, Litchfield’s: California’s Las Vegas, Marin County Courthouse Shootings, Tamalpais Trailhead Killer, Marin Barbeque Murders, Robin Williams’ Suicide and Sausalito’s Infamous Madame Sally Stanford PENINSULA Brook Hart’s Kidnapping, Cameron’s Pub, Kohl Mansion, Moss Beach Distillery’s Blue Lady, Ocean Beach Hotel, PG& E’s San Bruno Pipeline Explosion, Sam’s Eclectic Castle and Historic Sanchez Adobe, SOLANO COUNTY Promoter Bill Graham’s Fatal Helicopter Crash, Benicia’s Capital and Brothel Heritage and Zodiac Killer Murders SONOMA & NAPA COUNTIES Blue Wing Inn, California Industrial Farm for Women, Fishhead Beach Murder, Petaluma’s Crooked History, Polly Klaas Abduction, Ramon Salcido’s Family Slayings, Napa’s Infamous Spanish Town and Washoe House Stagecoach Stop




TWISTED TOUR GUIDE TO LOS ANGELES


Book Description

Avoid The Tourist Herds. What could be more uninspiring than seeing the identical attractions that everyone else has for decades? This Twisted Tour Guide escorts you to the places locals don’t want to talk about anymore…the same places people once couldn’t stop talking about. Long after the screaming headlines and sensationalism has subsided, these bizarre, infamous and obscure historical sites remain hidden awaiting rediscovery. Each visitation site in this guide is accompanied by a story. Many of the narratives defy believability, yet they are true. The profiled cast of characters feature saints and sinners (with emphasis towards the latter). Notorious crimes, murders, accidental deaths, suicides, kidnappings, vice and scandal are captivating human interest tales. The photography from each profile showcases the precise location where each event occurred. The scenes can seem ordinary, weird and/or sometimes very revealing towards clarifying the background behind events. If you’re seeking an alternative to conventional tourism, this Twisted Tourist Guide is ideal. Each directory accommodates the restless traveler and even resident looking for something unique and different. Scandals: Sister Aimee Semple’s disappearance, Zoot Suit riots, Howard Hughes’ collisions, George Michael sex sting, Dr. Lanterman’s abortions, Pio Pico shortsighted swap, Rodney King beating, Roman Polanski’s flight from justice and Julian Oil, Valhalla Cemetery and Girard Swindles Famous Homicides and Killers: Billionaire Boys Club, Barbara Graham, Black Dahlia, Bonnie Lee Bakely, Edward Allaway, Police Captain Walter Auble, Charles Crawford, Christian Brando, Dominique Dunne, Dr. Raymond Finch, Efren Saldivar, Ennis Cosby, Geneva Ellroy, Haing Ngor, Johnny Stompanato, Mickey and Trudy Thompson, Newhall CHP Shootout, Nicole Brown-Simpson, SLA Fuselage, Phil Spector, Ramon Novarro, Rebecca Schaeffer, Ronni Chasen, Sal Mineo, Sam Cooke, Susan Berman, Ted Healy, North Hollywood Bank of America Heist, Van Cleef & Arpels Hostage Standoff, William Desmond Taylor and the Wonderland massacres Serial Killers: Charles Manson, Golden State Killer, Richard Ramirez and Hillside Stranger Murder-Suicides: Dorothy Stratten, Johnny Lewis, Ned Doheny and Phil Hartman Assassinations and Contract Murders: Bugsy Siegel, Notorious B.I.G., Raymond Washington, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Vic Weiss Celebrity Suicides and Locations: Brian Keith, Carol Landis, Hotel Cecil, Pasadena’s Colorado Street Bridge, Darby Crash, DeeDee Ramone, Del Shannon, Don Cornelius, Freddie Prinze, George Reeve, Herve Villechaize, Hugh O’Connor, Keith Emerson, Lupe Velez, Margaux Hemmingway, Peg Entwistle, Pete Duel, Pier Angeli, Ross Alexander, Tony Scott and Verne Troyer Shocking Celebrity Deaths and Overdoses: Dennis Wilson, Lenny Bruce, Janis Joplin, John Belushi, Michael Jackson, Paul Walker, River Phoenix and Whitney Houston Prostitution and Renowned Madams: Lee Frances, Hollywood Love Market, Heidi Fleiss, Calle de los Negroes and Hugh Grant’s Indiscretion




Twisted Tour Guide Central California: From Silicon Valley To Santa Barbara


Book Description

Evade the Tourist Herds and Enter Into An Insider’s Central California. Known and unknown history, hidden delights, blood curdling and fascinating stories pervade the past of Central California beginning from the high tech Silicon Valley heading south until seaside Santa Barbara. In between, the Central Valley and Central Coast offers contributing tales of vice, tragedy and insightful discovery. This kaleidoscope of attractions, personalities, egos, scandals, murders stir the mixture of historical conflicts within the entire region. This guide transports you geographically and photographically to the precise famous and infamous locations where history occurred. The scenes may sometimes appear ordinary, weird, but often illuminate the physical background and descriptions behind events. Many of the narratives defy believability, yet they are true. This Twisted Tour Guide is your alternative to conventional travel. It accommodates the restless visitor, tourist and resident seeking a unique and different perspective to traditional tourism. RENOWNED STRUCTURES AND ATTRACTIONS Robinson Jeffers Tor House and Hawk Tower, Writer John Steinbeck’s Birthplace, Paso Robles Inn Haunting, Carnegie Libraries, Paso Robles City Park, Almond Growers Building, Atascadero Administration and Printery Buildings, This Ole House, Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo’s Gum Wall, San Luis Creek, Pirate’s Cove, Morro Rock, Dana Adobe, Casa de la Guerra, Arlington Theatre, Modesto Historical Mementos and the Fresno Water Tower SCANDALS Flagrant Silicon Valley High Tech Subterranean Poisoning, Finger in the Chile at Wendy’s, Morgan Hill’s Century Apart Scandals, Gilroy Police Department, Hollister Motorcycle Invasion, Paso Robles Police Chief, 1969 Altamont Motor Speedway Concert, Cedar Funding Debacle, Cesar Chavez Jailing, Eastside Salinas’ Gang Wars, Monterey County Prison Escape, Illicit Prescription Meds Distribution, King City Towing Scandal, Sunny Acres, Chumash Rebellion, Sambo’s, Closure of the Santa Barbara News Press, California Aqueduct Dumping, Frank Carson Persecution, Colin Kaepernick, Fresno’s History of Corrupt Police Chiefs, Clovis Bank Heist, Reverent John Kiggin’s and The Lords of Bakersfield FAMOUS ABDUCTIONS AND MURDERS Brook Hart, Black Panther James Edward Carr, VTA Mass Shooting, Mary Quigley, Garlic Festival Massacre, Sonjii Johnson, Christina Marie Williams, Mel and Elizabeth Grimes, Mission San Miguel Murders, PSA Flight #1771 Crash, Werewolf Murder, Historic Chinatown Murder, Helen King, Kristen Smart, Eugene and Nancy Walker, Elyse Pahler, Bob Domingos and Linda Edwards, Ramona Irene Price, Officer Thomas Guerry, Kym Morgan, Nicholas Markowitz, Holzer Family, Cleveland Elementary School Massacre, Juliani Cardenas, Deborah Whitlock, Laci Peterson, Dr. Amanda Crews, Chandra Levy, Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping, Glenn Reitz, Mary Stammer, Ewell Family Murder and Hmong Massacre. INFAMOUS KILLERS Herbert Mullin, Karl Francis Werner, Edmund Kemper III, John Linley Frazier, Raul Zamudio, San Luis Obispo’s Final Public Lynching, Rex Allen Krebs, Lynwood C. Drake III, Peter Derks, Orcutt Sniper, Elliot Rodger Mass Shooting, Clarence Gray, Elizabeth Duncan, Armenian Assassin, Thor Christiansen, James Tramel and David Kurtzman, Speed Freak Killers, Arthur Sanchez, Dr. Frank Vincent, Clovis Acid Queen, Marcus Weston, Kori Muhammad, Golden State Killer, Cary Stayner, Jose Manuel Martinez, John Lee Holt and Vincent Brothers. CELEBRITIES PASSING THROUGH Singer John Denver’s Plane Crash, Actress Doris Day’s Cypress Inn, John C. Fremont’s California Expedition, Kevin Costner Divorce, Martha Baird-Rockefeller, Writer William Saroyan and James Dean’s Fatal Crash




A People's Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area


Book Description

An alternative history and geography of the Bay Area that highlights sites of oppression, resistance, and transformation. A People’s Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area looks beyond the mythologized image of San Francisco to the places where collective struggle has built the region. Countering romanticized commercial narratives about the Bay Area, geographers Rachel Brahinsky and Alexander Tarr highlight the cultural and economic landscape of indigenous resistance to colonial rule, radical interracial and cross-class organizing against housing discrimination and police violence, young people demanding economically and ecologically sustainable futures, and the often-unrecognized labor of farmworkers and everyday people. The book asks who had—and who has—the power to shape the geography of one of the most watched regions in the world. As Silicon Valley's wealth dramatically transforms the look and feel of every corner of the region, like bankers' wealth did in the past, what do we need to remember about the people and places that have made the Bay Area, with its rich political legacies? With over 100 sites that you can visit and learn from, this book demonstrates critical ways of reading the landscape itself for clues to these histories. A useful companion for travelers, educators, or longtime residents, this guide links multicultural streets and lush hills to suburban cul-de-sacs and wetlands, stretching from the North Bay to the South Bay, from the East Bay to San Francisco. Original maps help guide readers, and thematic tours offer starting points for creating your own routes through the region.




Twisted Tour Guide: Vancouver British Columbia


Book Description

Avoid The Tourist Herds. What could be more uninspiring than seeing the identical attractions that everyone else has for decades? This Twister Tour Guide escorts you to the places locals don’t want to talk about anymore…the same places people once couldn’t stop talking about. Long after the screaming headlines and sensationalism has subsided, these bizarre, infamous and obscure historical sites remain hidden awaiting rediscovery. Each visitation site in this guide is accompanied by a story. Many of the narratives defy believability, yet they are true. The photography from each profile showcases the precise location where each event occurred. The scenes can seem ordinary, weird and/or sometimes very revealing towards clarifying the background behind events. If you’re seeking an alternative to conventional tourism, this Twisted Tour Guide is ideal. Each directory accommodates the restless traveler and even resident looking for something unique and different. Historic and Frequently Flawed Personalities: Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson, Henry Ceperley, Mobster Joe Celona, Police Chief Mulligan, Remorseful Killer Joe Gordon, Actor Errol Flynn, Fred Siebolt Hofman and Hitman Serge Robin, Architecture With A Distinctive Past: Marine Building, Hastings Mill Store, Lions Gate Bridge, Stanley Park Seawall, Stanley Park Totem Poles, Green Door Restaurant, Fairacres Mansion, Oakalla Institute, Overlynn Mansion, Sam Kee Building, Alexander Street Brothels, Hycroft Mansion and Henry Abbot Home, Hospitality and Hauntings Kelly O’Bryan’s, Old Spaghetti Factory, Waterfront Station, 24 Water Street Building, Penthouse Nightclub, The Landing, Vancouver Rowing Club Grounds, Orpheum Theatre, Vogue Theatre, Fairmont Hotel, UBC Former Library and University Ghost Hitchhiker Legacies and Notorious Events Great Fire of 1886, Hiram Scurry Family, SS Beaver Shipwreck, Anti-Asian March, IWW Labor Confrontations, Oakalla Prison Escapes, Komagata Maru, 1918 General Strike, President Warren Harding’s Speaking Tour, Ku Klux Klan Headquarters, Battle of Ballantyne Pier, Bloody Sunday Riots, Zoot Suit Riots, SS Green Hill Explosion, 1971 Smoke-In and Riot, Russian Mob versus Hells Angels, APEC 1997 Protests, Castaway Shoes and Feet and 2009 Gang Wars, Historical Scandals: Deadman’s Island, Market Alley, Shanghai Alley, Historic Chinatown, Hogan’s Alley, Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, Professional Football and Hockey Riots, BC Penitentiary Riots, William Bennett, Fantasy Gardens Theme Park, Liberal Love Birds, Bingo-Gate, Vancouver Stock Exchange, PacificCats, Casino Gate, E-Pirate Currency, Corporate House Scandal and BridgeMark Financial. Infamous Killings and Murder Customs Officer William Hopkinson, Scottish Nursemaid Janet Smith, Stanley Park Babes in the Woods, Danny Brent, Policeman Gordon Sinclair, Pauls Family Triple Killing, Esther Castellani, Kosberg Family Hatchet Murders, Louis Wise, Unsolved Cold Cases, Kristen Gurholt, Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten, Serial Killer Robert Pickton, Jimmy and Lily Ming, Sergey Filonov, Wanda Watson, Gladys Wakabayshi, Roger Daggitt, Sheila Henry, Jillian Fuller, Chantel Gillade, Craig Abrahams, Tara Singh Hayer, Ripudaman Singh Malik, Bindy Johal. Richard Chacon, Surrey Six, Gangster Raymond Chao, Ricky Scarpino, Oakridge Mall Execution, Willene Chong and Vladimir Shevalev.




The Rough Guide to California (Travel Guide eBook)


Book Description

The fully updated The Rough Guide to California is the definitive guide to the most visited state in the US. Now is a great time to visit: 2017 is the 50th anniversary of San Francisco's Summer of Love; the Wizarding World of Harry Potter has burst onto the scene at Universal Studios, and LA also boasts cool new contemporary art museum The Broad; there's been an explosion of microbreweries across the state; countless hiking trails beckon at Yosemite National Park and the backcountry wilderness of Sierra Nevada; whilst Historic Route 66 still offers all the kitsch Americana and romance of the open road. Discover California's highlights with beautiful photography, easy-to-use maps, and more listings and information than ever before. The Rough Guide to California contains fun and adventurous itineraries, author recommendations for where to stay and eat, savvy lists of hotspots, and heaps of practical advice to help you whatever your budget. Make the most of every minute of your trip with The Rough Guide to California.




Trail Runners Guide: San Francisco Bay Area


Book Description

"Trail Runner's Guide: San Francisco Bay Area covers the best trail runs in the region's parklands and open spaces. This informative guide provides the detailed routes with descriptions of terrain, views, and vegetation from a runner's perspective. 50 featured routes, from 2 to 22 miles, plus alternative routes from every trailhead.Includes topographic maps with easy directions on facing pages, elevation profiles, and at-a-glance trail conditions and regulations for each run, plus equipment, safety, and running tips.




MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country 2014


Book Description

This eBook version of the MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country 2014 helps both locals and travelers find great places to eat, with meticulously researched, objective recommendations to approximately 540 delicious restaurants in San Francisco proper, and from Sonoma County to the South Bay, representing 40+ diverse cuisines. The MICHELIN Guide, updated annually, pleases all palates and pocketbooks and is easy to use with multiple, user-friendly listings. Recession-proof dining options can be found among the Under $25 restaurants and those with the Bib Gourmand designation—a distinction that highlights inspectors' favorites for good food at reasonable prices. Local, anonymous, professional inspectors use the renowned Michelin food star rating system to create the restaurant selection, with its famed Michelin stars indicating culinary excellence. In this eBook you’ll find: •    Reviews of delicious restaurants for every budget—all grouped by neighborhood for easy, spur-of-the-moment decision-making. •    Extensive lists of restaurants where one can dine for Under $25 as well as the Bib Gourmand selection for budget-conscious diners seeking culinary quality at a good value. A Bib Gourmand restaurant offers two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less (tax and gratuity not included). •    Many user-friendly indexes facilitating informed decision-making include eateries listed from A-Z, starred restaurants, cuisine by category, cuisine by neighborhood, and restaurants offering brunch. •    Time-tested Michelin symbols for easy reference: Michelin stars indicate culinary excellence while the couverts (fork and spoon) indicate the level of comfort. •    For a special treat, look for restaurants with notable cocktail, sake, beer or wine lists—there's a dedicated symbol for each. Download onto any kind of eReader (tablet or smartphone), and you’re set to go. Use the guide to orient yourself at any time with 18 detailed maps showing the exact location of each establishment, even if you’re offline with no Wi-Fi or 3G connection. With the interactive navigation, it’s easy to move within the guide. Click from an index to the restaurant or from an establishment to its location on the map. With one touch, you can even phone the restaurant directly from the page or click through to a website for more information. No matter what eReader you use, with the MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country 2014eBook, you have what you need to enjoy a great dining experience.




The Slow Food Guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area


Book Description

With more than 500 recommended restaurants, this is the third in a series of destination city guides for "eco-gastronomic" travelers--adventurous people who seek out quality, tradition, and fresh, seasonal, and locally grown ingredients when they explore the restaurants, markets, and bars of a city.




Rock and Roll Explorer Guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area


Book Description

San Francisco’s rich and unique cultural history since its time as a gold rush frontier town has long made it a bastion of forward thinking and freedom of expression. It makes perfect sense, then, that both it and the surrounding Bay Area should prove to be a crucible for some of the most enduring and influential music of the rock and roll era. From the heady days of Haight-Ashbury in the ’60s to today, San Francisco and the Bay Area have provided a distinctive soundtrack to the American experience that has often been confrontational, controversial, enlightening, and always entertaining. Perhaps best known for the '60s psychedelic scene which included the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Santana, the Steve Miller Band, Sly & the Family Stone, and Janis Joplin, the Bay Area's rock and roll history twists and turns like Lombard Street itself. The first wave San Francisco punks wrought the Avengers and Dead Kennedys; punk later gripped the East Bay, giving us Green Day and Rancid. From the folk and blues eras through the chart-topping sounds of Journey and Huey Lewis & the News. The rock equivalent of Manifest Destiny carried wave upon wave of young musicians in search of fame, fortune and the great lost chord to Golden Gate City. San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area have collectively produced countless key figures in rock and roll, from musicians to journalists to entrepreneurs. The modern concept of the vast outdoor rock festival took root in and around San Francisco. The Bay Area is also where music history happened to artists from almost everywhere else: San Francisco is where the Beatles played their final concert and the Sex Pistols fell apart; where the Clash recorded much of their second album; where a drug-addled Keith Moon passed out during a concert by the Who only to be replaced behind the drum kit by an eager fan. Rock and roll is baked into the Bay Area’s culture and story to this day. A guide to the places that shaped the local scene and world-famous sound, the Rock and Roll Explorer Guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area will take you to where music makers lived, rocked, performed, recorded, met, broke up, and much, much more.




Recent Books