JOURNEYS

It’s a Deco-licious World. Maybe you live in San Francisco or maybe you don’t, but once you get into this crazy obsession, you’ll want to see more. There’s nothing like a jaunt to get your Jazz Age juices flowing. You will find yourself in front of your 21st century dream screen, looking at photos of Art Deco buildings in places you never considered visiting before. Take Detroit, for instance. Or Napier, New Zealand. Here’s a list of some places to think about:

New York City (and not just Manhattan)
Cleveland
Omaha
Los Angeles

San Antonio
Austin
Montreal
London
Paris
Mumbai
Shanghai
Napier

Close to Home

But while you’re dreaming, here are some things to do and see right here in San Francisco.

Take a Streetcar

San Francisco cable cars are great and people love them, but there’s nothing like a streetcar to transport a traveler back to the Jazz Age. Once a major means of transportation in almost every large U.S. city, streetcar lines were almost entirely dismantled by the 1960s. San Francisco, however, began to acquire discarded streetcars from around the U.S. and the world in 1979, and now has a fleet of more than fifty. Hold on to your hat and climb aboard the F Line. You will feel right at home in your vintage attire riding the rails from Castro Street to Fisherman’s Wharf.

Take a Tour with City Guides

https://sfcityguides.org

Coit Tower Murals
Downtown Deco
Scandalous Murals of Rincon Center
Art Deco Marina
Ferry Building
Golden Gate Bridge
Silent Film San Francisco

Take a Cruise

The USS Potomac, built in 1934 and docked permanently in Oakland, is available for dockside tours and public cruises from April to November. It served as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential yacht until his death in 1945.

Once in a Lifetime

… or more than once if you’ve got the dough-re-mi. These are the places and experiences that will take you to Jazz Age heaven.

The Orient Express

Agatha Christie made it famous, but honestly, it didn’t need Agatha to become known as the ultimate in Jazz Age train travel. This is the train the Great Gatsby would have taken to forget about Daisy if George Wilson hadn’t been such an accurate marksman. For you, it's the ultimate setting for your carefully curated vintage wardrobe.

https://www.orient-express.com/fr/trains/the-orient-express/

The Queen Mary 2

RMS Queen Mary 2 (2003) is the flagship of the Cunard Line, and is the only active, purpose-built ocean liner still in service. The RMS Queen Mary (1930), was retired to Long Beach in 1987 and is now a hotel and venue for vintage-style dances.

During the Jazz Age there was nothing more glamorous than a transatlantic crossing. If the movies are to be believed, romance was the main occupation of the passengers, who danced away every evening in tuxedos and evening gowns. Here are some opportunities to experience the very same glamour as Kay Francis and William Powell or Bette Davis and Paul Henreid or Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.