>> i have been a cable car grip for 21 years. i am a third generation. my grand farther and my dad

worked over in green division for 27. i guess you could say it's blood. >> come on in. have a seat. hold on. i like it because i am standing up. i am outside without a roof over my head and i see all kinds of people. >> you catch up to people you know from the past. you know. went to school with. people that you work with at other jobs. military or something. kind of weird. it's a small word, you be. like i said, what do people do when they come to san francisco? they ride a cable car. >> california line starts in the financial district. people are coming down

knobbhill. the cable car picks people up. takes them to work. >> there still is no other device to conquer these hills better than a cable car. nobody wanted to live up here because you had to climb up here. with the invention of the cable car, these hills became accessible. he watched horses be dragged to death. cable cars were invent in san francisco to solve the problem with it's unique, vertically challenged terrain. we are still using cars a century old >> the old cable car is the

most unique thing, it's still going. it was a good design by then and is still now. if we don't do something now. it's going to be worse later. >> the cable cars are built the same as they were in the late 1800's. we use a modern machinery. we haven't changed a thing. it's just how we get there. >> it's a time consuming job. we go for the quality rather than the production. we take pride in our work and it shows in the end product. >> the california line is mostly locals. the commuters in the morning, i see a lot of the same people. we don't have as tourists.

we are coming up to street to chinatown. since 1957, we are the only city in the world that runs cable cars. these cars right here are part of national parks system. in the early 1960's, they became the first roles monument. the way city spread changed with the invention of the cable car.

>> people know in san francisco, first thing they think about is, let's go >> hi,. in this episode, we are featuring the romantic park locations in your very own backyard. this is your chance to find your heart in san francisco with someone special. our first look out is here at

buena vista park, a favorite with couples and dog lovers. it is as old as its neighbor and both have a significant forest, a refreshing retreat from urban life. the pass that meander we do under a canopy of 0, redwood, pine, and eucalyptus. chill out and this environment and you might see butterflies and dandelions. blue jays fly between the eucalyptus. it is ada accessible. public transit is plentiful. six, 24, or 71 bus. we have conquered the steps, we walked the dogs, and we have enjoyed a beautiful view the park has to offer. this is the place to take

someone special and enjoyed a beautiful look out. " come to corona heights, located in the heart of this district. it offers a spectacular view of the downtown skyline, the bay bridge, and the east bay. the park is one of the best kept secrets. unlike twin peaks, it is hardly ever crowded. on any given day, you will run into a few locals. hop on a 37 bus to get there with that any parking worries. locals can bring their dogs to run with other dogs. there is also grass for small dogs. >> it is a great place. it is a wonderful place for the city to provide these kind of parks. the dog owners appreciate it. >> take time to notice the wildflowers on the grassland. and keep your head on the

lookout for hawks and other bird life. take your camera and be prepared to review the city in a way you will not forget. it is prominent with beautiful formations that are perfect to watch the sunrise from the east over the bay. this is another one of our great look out. we are at mount davidson. it has the highest point of elevation in san francisco, 928 feet. this is the place for you to bring someone special. enjoy all of the pathways, trails, and greenery that surrounds you. it provides a peaceful oasis of public open space and great hiking trails. the spectacular view offers a perfect place to watch the sunrise, or, sunset, with

someone you love. >> it is a good place to get away from the hectic life of the city. get some fresh air. the view is fantastic. >> wear sturdy shoes to conquer the trail, you have the feeling of being in a rain forest. mount davidson is also a great place to escape the noise and the apostle of the city with your partner. -- bustle of the city with your partner. it is quite a hike to the top at mount davidson but the view is worth every step. this is the place to bring that someone special. for more information about reserving one of these romantic locations, or any other location, 831-5500. this number is best for special

ovens, weddings, picnics, and the county for building. for any athletic field and neighborhood parks, call 831- 5510. you can also write us at permits and reservations. or walking in and say hello at old log cabin, golden gate park. and of course you can find more information at sfrecpark.org. >> hello, i am with the san

francisco parks department serious we are featuring some wonderful locations in your and very own backyard. this is your chance to find your heart in san francisco with someone special. we are here at the lovely and historic palace of fine arts, located in the bustling marina district. originally built for the 1950's exposition, the palace is situated along san francisco's waterfront. it is ada accessible and is reached by the 28, 30, and 91 bus lines. with its rotunda, columns, uncut the reflecting waters against the eucalyptus trees, it is one of the most romantic

settings for special dates, and memorable proposals. it is also a perfect spot where you can relax with that special someone while listening to the water and fountain in the lagoon. beautiful to view from many locations, and inside is an ideal place to walk around with your loved ones. the palace is the most popular wedding location in the city park system. reservations for weddings and other events are available at strecpark.org. shakespeares' guard and refers -- has plants referred to in shakespeare's plays and poems. located near the museum and the california academy of sciences, shakespeares garden was designed in 1928 by the california spring

blossom association. flowers and plants played an important part in shakespeares literary masterpieces. here is an enchanting and tranquil garden tucked away along a path behind a charming gate. this garden is the spot to woo your date. appreciate the beauty of its unique setting. the cherry tree, the brick walkways, the enchanting stones, the rustic sundial. chaired the bards'w ro -- share the bard's words. the garden is a gem to share with someone special. pack a picnic, find a bench, enjoy the sunshine and let the whimsical words of william

shakespeare float you and your loved one away. this is one of the most popular wedding locations and is available for reservations. shakespeares garden is 8ada accessible. this park is located at the bottom of a hill. it is a secret garden with an infinite and captivating appeal. carefully tucked away, one block from the bottom of lombard street, it makes the top of our list for the most intimate picnic settings. avoid all tourist cars and parking hassles by hopping on the cable car. or the 30, 45, 41, or 91 bus. this garden was designed by a

the landscape architect thomas church in 19 to -- 1957. grow old with me, the best is yet to be is inscribed at this gem of a park. a lush oasis anchored by gazebosanchoreddekcs, -- gazebos, anchored by decks. this is the place to tell your family the love you share. reservations are available for this hidden gem. i am jamie hopper. until next time, don't forget to get out and play. for more information about reserving one of these romantic locations, or any other location, call 831-5500. this number is best for special events, weddings, picnics, and the county fair building.

for any athletic fields and neighborhood parks, 831-5510. you can also write us. 501 san francisco, calif. 94117. or just walk in and say hello. and of course you can find more information and reach us at sfrecpark.org. >> san francisco is home to some of the most innovative companies of the 21st century. this pioneering and forward looking spirit is alive in san francisco government as well. the new headquarters of the san francisco public utilities commission at a5 25 golden gate avenue is more than just a

13-story building and office ablation. instead, city leaders, departments and project managers join forces with local architectural firms ked to build one of the greatest office buildings in america. that's more than a building. that's a living system. ♪ ♪ when san francisco first bought this land in 1999, it was home to a state office building. >> this was an old eight-story brown building the state owned and the workers' comp people were in that building. it was an old dee correctvth it building for decades. when i was a member of the board of supervisors, all of us wondered why we hadn't done anything there and the mayor thought the same. >> if an earthquake happened, the building was uninhabitable. it sat there vacant for quite a

while. the city decided to buy the building in 1999 for $2. we worked and looked at ways that we can utilize the building for an office building. to build an icon i can building that will house a lot of city departments. >> the san francisco public utilities commission has an important job. we provide clean, pristine public drinking water to 2.6 million people in the san francisco bay area from the hetch hetchy regional water system. with also generate clean renewable energy for city services like public buses, hospitals, schools, and much more. and finally, we collect and treat all the city's wastewater and stormwater making it safe enough to discharge into the san francisco bay and pacific ocean. >> in 2006 the puc was planning a record number of projects. >> the public utilities commission is a very infrastructure-rich organization. we're out there rebuilding the water system. we've budget working on power generation in the country. we've been doing sewer for the city. we're looking at a brand-new rebuild of all watt systems in

san francisco and we haven't had a home that's been other than mental. >> they staff over 900 people. the puc is in two office locations. >> you know, this is such a great place for a building. if the puc owned that building and we could make that the icon i can sustainable building puc represents, wouldn't be a dramatic idea? >> so, one of the major decisions we made was we wanted to make a statement with this building. we wanted this building to be a lead platinum building which is very few buildings in san francisco that achieved this mark. >> leadership and energy environmental design, it takes a look at the way we think about the places where we live and work. i like to think of it as designed for human and environmental health. lead addresses five categories that enhances environment. indoor air quality, energy, water, materials and resources,

and sustainable sites are the five categories for the lead. you can go for several gold or platinum certifications. >> the city wanted to be silver lead status. . maybe gold was a stretch. and people said, if we're going to be a sustainable organization that the pucs this has got to be the top of the line. it's got to be a lead platinum building. what does that mean to us? we run water, power, and sewer. so, those are some of the biggest things involved in lead platinum. ♪ ♪ >> by late 2008 the project, as we got the contractor on board and we were able to start pricing it, we're a multi-, multi-, multi-million dollar over budget. >> the story a lot of people don't know after we got select today do this project, the first price we came in with was $180 million. and the city said, you know, this is a great building, but

we just don't want to spend that much money. so, the project was on the verge of being canceled. >> if you're looking at why this building came to be, in many ways it also included mayor gavin newsome, particularly, who really had an affection for this building. he saw the design. he saw the potential. he wanted to make sure that that building got built. and he said, do what you need to do, but please, if you can make that building work, we need to have that building in civic center. >> i happened to be at a green conference santa clara. he said you shouldn't cancel that project. can you work with us? michael cohen phoned me up the next day. can we cut $40 million out of this project? it was one person more responsible than any others, it's tony irons, was the architect that was responsible for the revitalization of city hall who came to my office and said, we cannot abandon this. we can't walk away from this project. we have an opportunity to really take a lot of our values

and principles, particularly raising the bar as we did as a city on our green building standards, mandating the most aggressive green building standards for private construction anywhere in the united states. and showcasing them in this new building. >> the city for the sfpuc, it was critical that the building stay as a lead building. the easiest thing to do to cut out millions of dollars, let's just go from lead platinum to lead gold. but that wasn't the objective. this needed to be the best example of energy conservation of any office building in the united states. >> we became involved in the san francisco public utilities headquarter project during the time when the project was at a stand still for a number of reasons, largely due to budget issues. and at the time we were asked to consider an alternative design using concrete rather than the scheme that was potentially planned for previous to that, which was a steel frame structure that used

hydraulic dampers to control seismic motion. >> so, i met with my team. we worked hard. we came up with a great idea. let's take out the heavy steel structure, let's put in an innovative vertical post tension concrete structure, great idea. we did that. a lot of other things. and we came up with a price of 140 million. so, we achieved that goal. and, so, when we first started looking at the building, it was going to cost a lot of money. because of the way it was being built, we could only get 12 floors. we wanted more space for our employees. we ended up going and saying, okay, if we do a concrete building instead, which was web core's idea, we can get 13 floors, not 12 floors. the concrete doesn't require much space between the floors as a steel building does. and it could be cheaper. yes, more space, less money, great idea. ♪ ♪ >> we know that right now there are things happening in power, with sewer, with water that are

not always proven technologies, but they're things that are enough proven you should take a bit of a risk and you should show others it can be done. >> we're showing the world, suddenly had wind turbines which they didn't have before. so, our team realizing that time would change, and realizing where the opportunities were today, we said, you know what, we started out as really something to control wind as an asset, when you combine today's technology becomes something entirely different. >> wind turbines in an urban environment is a relatively new concept. there are a few buildings in other major cities where they have installed wind turbines on the roof. and wind turbines in buildings are effective. >> the discussion was do we do that or not? and the answer was, of course. if they're not perfect yet, they're building a building that will last 100 years.

in 100 years someone is going to perfect wind efficient turbines. if these aren't right, we'll replace them. we have time to do that. >> the building that's two renewable energy generations. wind turbines located on the north facade. two different levels of photo volume takes. >> we have over 600 solar panels and three platforms on the building, and four integrated wind turbines. the wind turbines and the solar panels produce 7% of the building's energy. and we're reducing the use of energy here by 32% in the office building. >> the entire building is controlled by a complex computer system which monitors and adjusts air, heating and lights as well as indoor shades. >> the building is going to be a smart building. it's going to have all integrated features. so, it has a monitor on the roof that knows where the sun is. as it gets warmer or colder, it

heats and cools the building. as it gets lighter, shades can go up or down to make sure that you're not over using any kind of heat or air conditioning, but as it gets darker the shades can go back up. the lights inside the building self-adjust depending how close they are to the light sources outside, how light it is, how dark it is. so, you're not using energy more than you need. >> we also have occupancy sensors. if nobody is in that room, lights turn off. it's likely to have sustainable features. it's another thing to have an integrated systems sustainability. >> when you have a building that's lead platinum, there are a couple themes important. one is daylight harvesting where you harvest the daylight and have it penetrate the building so that people have views, they see sunlight, which means that partitions and workstations are much lower so that people can see. >> so, human comfort combined

with light reduction, the amount of electric light reduction, all with the aim of creating, you know, a marvelous workplace that people want to come to, feel comfortable working in, thrive at what they're doing, all kind of integrate together. and the daylighting lighting strategy is a very important part of that equation. >> one of the keys to this building is that we're maximizing the use of natural daylight to light the building. >> here in our south facade we have light shells. they help shade the floor, but as well light bounces off of the light shells into the interior of the floor providing more daylight into the interior of the floor. lighting is both the greatest use of energy consumption in an office building, but it also contributes to the largest amount of heat gain in the building. we're maximizing the use of natural daylighting. we also have light sensors that minimize the use of artificial lighting.

>> by having light outside the building skin, what that does is we are mitigating it before it hits the glass. we have a high performance, low formal gain graph. the system does not have to work as much to either cool the building or heat the building. >> this building also incorporates or utilizes under floor system for delivery of heating and cooling to the building. this in conjunction with the high efficiency equipment that we've installed in the building reduces the consumption of energy for heating and cooling by 51%. >> we have two destination elevators. destination elevator save 35 to 40% of the electrical energy over traditional elevator. these elevators save energy by using a regenerative drive. when the cars are going up empty or down full of people, they generate electricity that goes back into the building grid. these elevators have energy by grouping people going to the

same floor in the same cab. and the way they work is you have a shared elevator call button in the lobby. you would indicate which floor you're going to, for instance like 3, and it will direct me to elevator c. so, i'll go to an elevator with people that are going to that same floor. what's also interesting is inside the elevator floor cab there are no selection buttons because i selected my floor in the lobby. this takes some getting used to as we're all accustomed to choosing our floor inside the elevator cabs. ♪ ♪ >> another thing we saut that was a challenge for this building was the permitting process for the delivery machine to use reclaimed water in an office building. and i think that we really broke the ground for future use to be much more commonplace for utilization of reclaimed water in office buildings.