San Fran Travelogue

You might not be able to make up a more auspicious name than James Lick to credit for assisting in the founding of the longest running chocolate manufacturer in America, Ghirardelli, but that is, as they say, what it is.  Lick, a self-made man as a piano maker in South America decided to bring 600 pounds of chocolate from Peru to America, later convincing his

neighbor, Ghiradelli, to invest in one of his properties in the fledgling village of San Francisco.  In 1893, Ghiradelli, whose chocolate company was growing, did, and eventually gobbled up the entire

block, including the cocoa building and clock tower, and the rest is sweet history.  The brick complex,

only a short downhill walk from Lombard street, is a rustic diamond in the rough, standing out as it does as a quaint get away against the more industrial surrounding streets and skyscrapers.  A courtyard opens to a pristine fountain along a mall walk lined by a diversity of boutique shops and cafes.

In its entirety, the Ghirardelli Square complex, now including mixed residences and hotel accommodations, is considered the first fully adapted re-use project of its kind in the U.S. It is said that above almost all other San Fran landmarks, Ghiradelli tops out as the place that people remember most fondly looking back at their trip.