Take it to the streets series - Part 1

The Streets of San Francisco

Though I've visited and traveled through San Francisco literally hundreds of times (having lived in Sonoma County) I unfortunatly never got the opportunity (or made the opportunity) to skate there. The times I did happen to drive through with my parents or the countless lunch and break times while I was studying at the Church of Scientology in San Francisco (taking a study course) I frequently pondered the terrain.

Most commonly I looked to the steep hills and how they were a literal concrete playground with driveways and ledges and various other obstacles. It also always reminded me of watching the Search for Animal Chin video section with Guerrero effortlessly skating these downhills with the utmost precision and confidence. I literally watched these downhill sequences more times than I can remember.

Now while traveling through San Francisco not only do I admire the skate terrain but I also gravitate to the beautiful architecture of the old historical buildings of the area. Which brings me back to the Church of Scientology of San Francisco and their beautifully restored, historic building.

In the heart of San Francisco, directly across the street from the world-famous TransAmerica Pyramid, is the sparkling new home of the Church of Scientology of San Francisco.

Bordering on three of the most vital and active sections of the city — the financial district, upscale North Beach and sprawling Chinatown — this building is an important historic landmark built in 1909. The rich style of the original building is carried throughout, with the dark beech wood furniture, velvet drapes and other details. You can go through the photo tour of the org here.

This organization was also fortunate enough to have the Keynote address for this opening delivered by Mr. David Miscavige who is the Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center. If you go the the Church's website you can read through the full opening.

In this opening Mr. David Miscavige speaks of L. Ron Hubbard and his fondness for the city. Here's a little excerpt from his address during the opening, "It was here, as a young boy, he boarded the U.S.S. Grant for a cruise that would take him through the Panama Canal, en route to Washington DC. Yet more significant than his destination, were the events of that voyage. Specifically, it's where he met and befriended Commander "Snake" Thompson, a man who had studied under Sigmund Freud, at the behest of the United States Navy.

"And while LRH soon discovered those answers left much to be desired, in terms of unlocking the riddle of the mind, it was the catalyst for a young L. Ron Hubbard to embark on a life's journey to find them.

"Then, four years later in 1927, it was San Francisco again where LRH boarded the President Madison en route to Guam. It was an era when very few Westerners, of any age, had experienced, let alone knew about the ancient wisdom of the East extending back thousands of years."

If you want to hear more about What Scientology is you can read "An Overview of the World's Fastest Growing Religion - This is Scientology", by Mr. David Miscavige. This was delivered at Celebrity Centre International in Los Angeles, CA.

After having said all that, I am vowing to make an effort to visit this city in the near future and bring my board, this time. And when I do I will make sure I update my blog with all the skate photos, I've taken.

I'll end this post with a photo of Tommy Guerrero ripp'n it up in the streets of SF. :)