The San Francisco Mint tourist attraction gets bad reviews
WillieBoyd2
Posts: 5,276 ✭✭✭✭✭
The San Francisco Mint on Hermann Street
A review on a popular tourist internet site:
The mint currently makes proof coins and coin sets. They don't offer tours, up close it is just a uninviting fence. It's not a destination attraction, from a distance it stand outs alone on the hill and that's really all it is.
Another review:
This is not a tourist attraction. You cannot go inside of it. From the outside it is ugly. What a waste of land.
San Francisco Chronicle article (takes a long time to download)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-worst-reviewed-attractions-in-San-Francisco-9185241.php
However, I like the coins.
https://www.brianrxm.com
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
2
Comments
That's sad.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Are you sure that's the mint? Looks more like ALCATRAZ! I should know. A select few of my relatives enjoyed free room and board there. The state paid all expenses. They were nice guys.......to a point.
...San Francisco: If you build it...they will piss all over it
It was not intended as a tourist attraction. It was intended as a factory.
Fun fact , the mint building is in grand theft auto San Andreas , I broke out my old copy for PS2 and was playing with my nephew and pointed it out to him. I don't think you are allowed into the building in the game either
The circular objects toward the top of the pillars between the windows are renditions of American coins. It also had small flags celebrating its 1792-2017 (225) last year.
The building itself is a nice structure. Add in the fences and the difference in height between the building and Market Street, and it looks imposing to be sure. On the opposite side all along Hermann Street, the building is closer and at eye level, but the high fence, pop-up vehicle barriers and high grade security features completely sterilize the site.
All business here. Move along.
"The circular objects toward the top of the pillars between the windows are renditions of American coins."
US Mint HQ in Washington has similar emblems on the building facade.
The structure was intended as an entirely utilitarian building in the same concept as the Ft. Knox Bullion Depository. From its opening it worked double shifts to produce use and foreign coins and during WW-II operated three shifts. High school students were hired to work on weekends due to adult labor shortages.
Years ago when I lived out there I remember going to the old SF mint in downtown and the distinktive scent of urine was quite prominent on the front steps.
So how is the Granite Lady doing nowadays? Did the museum or whatever that the commemorative coin sales were supposed to fund ever happen?
Lived a few blocks up the street from that building once upon a time.
Only really intetested on skateboarding and punk rock shows back then...coins were just something you gave to panhandlers.
If you had any to spare that is..:)
A couple of years ago when visiting SF we decided to take a drive to look at the mint and see if they had a gift shop or gave tours. We turned down the road and ended up on a street adjacent to the mint and a squad car approached us and then followed us until we drove off a couple of blocks. I don’t think it’s visitor friendly.
What a shame. The granite lady loooked like she was waiting for a wrecking ball. Homeless people around the area.
LOL
🇺🇸 Harlequin
harlequinnumismatic@gmail.com
Just reading this thread makes me wanna run outside and make sure my car wasn’t broken into.
When I lived there, I passed it a few times... Usually going to other destinations.... Fairly imposing building.... never understood why there was not a gift shop or periodic tours... Cheers, RickO
Historically, the number of visitors reported at the Old San Francisco Mint has been so small that the place can't be kept open. Maybe most of the space could be converted to some other purpose, but that would cost a great deal to bring it up to modern occupancy code. It took a lot of cash to revise the Old post Office building in Washington DC, and that was already 75% to code when the "One Who Shall Not Be Named" company got rights to turn it into a hotel for very big spenders.
Back in the late 1970s and very early 1980s they had a fantastic pioneer gold display. There was a $1 Million dollar gold display in a vault. The rise in the price of gold probably killed the chance of it being displayed as the insurance got ridiculous. Then the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 caused structural issues.
When I lived there as a kid I used to look forward to going to the old SF mint. Now I wouldn't go anywhere near the place or California for that matter.
...I wonder what would happen if you flew a drone up to a window and peeked in?
"Keep your malarkey filter in good operating order" -Walter Breen
Or took a sledgehammer to the cornerstone looking for treasure..
A common scent in many areas of SF.