occupation set forth upon this continent a new revolutionary nation. [applause] >> in addition to its own programming as -- of artist talks, meridian has been a downtown host for san francisco states well-known port trees center. recent luminaries have included david meltzer, steve dixon, and jack hirsch man. >> you can black as out of the press, blog and arrest us, tear gas, mace, and shoot us, as we know very well, you will, but this time we're not turning back. we know you are finished. desperate, near the end. hysterical in your flabbergastlyness. amen.

>> after the readings, the crowd headed to a reception upstairs by wandering through the other gallery rooms in the historic home. the third floor is not usually reserved for just parties, however. it is the stage for live performances. ♪ under the guidance of musical curators, these three, meridian has maintained a strong commitment to new music, compositions that are innovative, experimental, and sometimes challenging. sound art is an artistic and event that usually receives short shrift from most galleries because san francisco is musicians have responded by showing strong support for the programming.

♪ looking into meridian's future, she says she wants to keep doing the same thing that she has been doing since 1989. to enlighten and disturbed. >> i really believe that all the arts have a serious function and that it helps us find out who we are in a much wider sense than we were before we experienced that work of art. ♪

>> the public wants to access particular information about your house or neighborhood we point them to gis. gis is a combination of maps and data. not a graphic you see on a screen. you get the traffic for the streets the number of crimes for a police district in a period of time. if the idea of combining the different layerce of information and stacking them on top of each other to present to the public.

>> other types of gis are web based mapping systems. like google earth, yahoo maps. microsoft. those are examples of on line mapping systems that can be used to find businesses or get driving directions or check on traffic conditions. all digital maps. >> gis is used in the city of san francisco to better support what departments do. >> you imagine all the various elements of a city including parcels and the critical infrastructure where the storm drains are. the city access like the traffic lights and fire hydrants. anything you is represent in a geo graphic space with be stored for retrieval and analysis.

>> the department of public works they maintain what goes on in the right-of-way, looking to dig up the streets to put in a pipe. with the permit. with mapping you click on the map, click on the street and up will come up the nchgz that will help them make a decision. currently available is sf parcel the assessor's application. you can go to the assessor's website and bring up a map of san francisco you can search by address and get information about any place in san francisco. you can search by address and find incidents of crime in san francisco in the last 90 days. we have [inaudible] which allows

you to click on a map and get nchldz like your supervisor or who your supervisor is. the nearest public facility. and through the sf applications we support from the mayor's office of neighborhood services. you can drill down in the neighborhood and get where the newest hospital or police or fire station. >> we are positive about gis not only people access it in the office but from home because we use the internet. what we used to do was carry the large maps and it took a long time to find the information. >> it saves the city time and money. you are not taking up the time of a particular employee at the assessor's office. you might be doing things more

efficient. >> they have it ready to go and say, this is what i want. >> they are finding the same things happening on the phone where people call in and ask, how do i find this information? we say, go to this website and they go and get the information easily. >> a picture tells a thousand stories. some say a map gentlemen, the voice of the san francisco giants and his radio personality -- kiss radio personality, ranelle brooks moon. >> thank you so much. thank you, everybody. thank you so much. happy valentine's day, and good afternoon, san francisco. [applause] i am so honored and thrilled to be part of today's celebration.

we're going to have a great time as we salute a living legend today. it was 50 years ago, high atop noob -- nob hill in the venetian hotel that tony bennett sang a song for the first time, a song that would become a worldwide and the mind forever with our city. i'm talking about, of course, "i left my heart in san francisco." and what better way to celebrate valentine's day then with a tribute to the most famous love song ever dedicated to our home town by our city's most beloved troubadour, mr. tony bennett? [applause] and now, everyone, please join the san francisco symphony and our chief of protocol, charlotte

schulz, here on stage in welcoming our host, mayor edwin m. lee and first lady anita lee, and the man of the our, our special guest, mr. tony bennett. [applause] -- the man of the our -- the man of the hour, our special guest, mr. tony bennett. [applause] [applause]

[applause]

[applause] that is the way you make an entrance, right? [applause] well, mayor lee, mrs. lee, and honored guests, for 50 years, the sounds of tony bennett and his rendition of "i left my heart in san francisco" has said to the world that this city by the bay is the capital of love, beauty, and a unique style that made it one of the plan its tourist destinations.

mr. bennett, your voice is the voice of san francisco, and this is your day. [applause] we have a fantastic program for you today. we have some local singers inspired by mr. bennett's career, and they will pay tribute to mr. bennett in song. tony bennett, your dedication to young people is known through countless projects such as your exploring the arts foundation and your founding of the frank sinatra school for the arts. you have proved to be a timeless link between artistic generations. and, of course, your inspiration continues with such incredible and wonderful projects as your recent "duets ii" cd. i have a copy. anybody else? [applause] and check this out, mr. bennett

picked up two grammy awards sunday night for that album. [applause] so we congratulate you on that. i believe if you are scoring at home, that makes it 17 grammys in his career. [applause] what we love -- well, we love the cd, but today, we have gone one step further. not just a duet, but an extraordinary trio. i'm pleased to present this trio, performing for the first time together, young people from the choir of the san francisco school of the arts, the san francisco boys chorus, and the san francisco girls chorus, take it away. [applause] ♪

>> ♪ the loveliness of paris seems somehow sadly gay the glory that was rome is of another day i've been terribly alone and forgotten in manhattan i'm going home to my city by the bay i left my heart

[applause] in san francisco high on a hill it calls to me to be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars the morning fog may chilly air -- chill the air i don't care my love waits there in san francisco of of -- above the blue and windy sea

when i come home to you san francisco your golden sun will shine for me ♪ [applause] >> that was great, right? fabulous performance by those young people. what an honor it must be for

those children to perform for mr. tony bennett today, paying tribute to his great legacy. something they will never forget, i'm sure. we have many others who wanted to pay tribute to you, mr. bennett, an expression of their love for you and for san francisco. i like to read to you just such an expression. this is a letter inspired by you and your song, the winning entry in the love letter to san francisco contest, sponsored by sf travel. if i may -- "dear sf -- can i call you sf? i remember the first time i was in your presence. age nine. even on your surface, you enchanted me and i never quite recovered. i did not truly fall in love until i spent my 22nd birthday with you. i explore the depths of chinatown. i toured the rock and froze my but off at a giants game in

june. i was hooked. unfortunately, i had plans. plans with that boy in missouri, but how i was wrong to leave you. when i found out he was cheating, i ran to you and you took me in without asking questions. i packed my bags and never looked back. every day, i love you more and more. you had made me the happiest girl in the world and given me a real love. i want to spend my life with you exploring every corner and the depths of your soul. i cannot imagine being with any other city. thank you for saving my life. you truly did. sign your is, until the big one kills us all" -- [laughter] "andy." andy is with us, too. andy lives in the haight.

right there. thank you for your love letter to the city. now, i believe we are ready to take a trip down memory lane and check out some of those san francisco landmark that you have made famous, mr. bennett, with your incredible voice and visit some of your longtime friends who also want to pay tribute to you today. >> dear tony, we are here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the recording of your song and our son, -- song, "i left my heart in san francisco." what better place to be then the fairmont hotel in san francisco where you first sang your song, our song, in the venetian room? i'm going to meet you in places where you have helped us

celebrate the city by the bay, so follow me down memory lane. >> ♪ going home to my city by the bay ♪ >> toni, you have been an integral part of my life, and i get emotional because it was a wonderfully happy time. so i want to thank you. >> hello. you are at the home of the little cable cars that climb halfway to the stars. you know that line, don't you? you remember when we had the celebration to bring back the cable cars in union square and all over town, and you were there. and here is our pal, a bell ringer of the cable cars for 10 years, and he was there on that

day, so what happened? >> i had the honor and privilege of meeting mr. bennett. he wrote on my car with me, and we've run down the high-speed hill with the turnarounds, and he sang a few lines of "i left my heart." >> that song? >> yes, and i just wanted to tell him thank-you for all he has done for this city. >> tony bennett, a household word in san francisco, and for me, all the years i have lived in this city, tony bennett has been like the next door neighbor. wherever i am, whether it is paris, whether it is wrong, whether it is nice, whether it is beijing -- whether it is rome, whether it is shanghai, whether it is some place in africa or some place in russia. if i say, ♪ i left my heart ♪

they immediately say tony and them. that means the national anthem for san francisco and literally for america have come from this extraordinarily talented human being. >> ♪ i left my heart in san francisco ♪ >> ok, here we are down memory lane. we are at the at&t park, home of the san francisco giants. as you know, we sing your song after every win of the giants, so we have been sitting here a lot. you were here in 2011 for the opening, and you sang your song, and guess what? we won the world series. so, tony, we want you back. [applause] >> tony bennett has said his

song "i left my heart in san francisco" changed his whole life. well, it has affected our lives as well. from the first time tony sang this beautiful love song to every time we hear it sweet sounds after a winning giants game, it deepens our love for our home town and for tony bennett. >> ♪ above the blue >> here we are above the blue and windy city been -- sea in your city by the bay. remember 25 years ago, you were to come here and sing with the san francisco symphony for the 50th anniversary of the golden gate bridge -- you were before me at the theater, and you may remember that this place was really filled with people, thousands and thousands of people that came to celebrate. and you could not get through

the crowd. so i said, cassette and ok, let's get a helicopter land it in front of city hall -- "ok, let's get a helicopter, led it in front of city hall." they said you were afraid of helicopters, and i said to blindfold you. magically, you got here and sang your song. when you sang "i left my heart in san francisco" and the cascade of fireworks came over the bridge, it was a moment -- i'm getting chill bumps -- it was a moment to remember. >> i wish i were still mayor of san francisco to be able to be the one that gives you the key to the city, but what i can show you is a painting that goes a ways back. it was in 1983, i think. both of us on a newly restored cable car, and celebrating the

return of the cable cars and also "i left my heart in san francisco." you have helped put san francisco on the map and kept it there with that beautiful song. thank you and congratulations. >> ♪ in san francisco >> i guess you recognize where i am. you left your heart and lots of memories for thousands and thousands of patrons for the san francisco symphony. most recently, you were here with k.d. lang and you all were having the best time. it was for the black and white ball, and you made us have a wonderful time, as you always have. what i really remember is when you were here, sitting right up there was her royal majesty queen elizabeth of england. you made her smile.

you made her laugh. the show was by beach blanket babylon and cast of about 1000. mary margaret sanger "getting to know all about you" and you ended the show with your song, "i left my heart in san francisco." you have left it here, but please come back many times because your heart is waiting for you here, and so are we. much love. thank you. >> thank you. >> it has been the height of my career to welcome you here. >> so nice to have you with us again. >> ♪ your golden sun will shine for me ♪ [applause]

>> 50 years of "i left my heart in san francisco." phenomenal. lot of san franciscans have left a big part of their hearts with you, and one of those is the man who leads our world champion san francisco giants. that is championships' problem -- championship bling right there. i want to bring up to the stage now my boss, the man who leads your san francisco giants, and your biggest fan, mr. larry

bvaer -- baer. >>thanks renel. tony's recording is a huge part of not just the city tradition but the san francisco giants tradition. since we have been in the new ball park, it has been played a total of 573 times after giants wins, including playoff wins and including world series wins. [applause] importantly, you know, we almost lost the giants. in 1993, we made some desperate calls to tony when the team was saved, and we asked tony -- there is only one person that could kick off the new generation, the new era of giants baseball on opening day

in 1993, and that was tony bennett. he sang "god bless america" and "i left my heart in san francisco" on that date. it was an unbelievable day. it brought down the house, as did your performance at the all- star game. as did your performance at the world series. you are a huge part of the san francisco giants. as we all know, you have not arrived until you have your own bobblehead. [laughter] last year, we created a created abobblehea -- a tony bennett bobblehead for tony bennett night. it has a voice chip, and when you push the head, it sings "i left my heart in san francisco." tony painted a heart, part of the heroes