Of all the Sundays in May I’d most want to skip over when doing a Hammett tour, Cinco de Mayo is tops — especially when May 5 falls exactly on the Sunday, like this year. And my intention was to skip it, select a couple of other Sundays, but then I got notice that someone from Seattle would be in town that day — followed by word that someone from Baltimore also would be in the burg and really wanted to walk the walk.
Okay, then: the public has demanded it. You’ll find a Hammett tour set for noon, Sunday May 5, anyone who wants to show up bearing twenty bucks and ready to prowl the mean streets for four hours is welcome to attend.
The big trick is that the meeting point next to the “L” sculpture in Civic Center may be blocked off if there is some enormous Cinco de Mayo street party — in which case, the fallback meeting point is one block north, on the n.w. corner of McAllister and Larkin. If in any doubt, hang at Mac and Larkin for a few minutes, and if any of us have fought our way first to the “L” sculpture, we’ll move instantly to the backup site a couple of minutes after noon. (And that’s why Cinco de Mayo isn’t my fave tour day — otherwise, who doesn’t like a party?)
And the next walk where anyone can show up is set for Sunday June 2 — same deal, someone rolling in from out of town asked for it. I’ve got various groups by appointment set for other dates over those weeks or I might be tempted to do a couple more, but May 5 and June 2 ought to do the job.
(Photo above was taken in Olive Street in the Tenderloin, with me gesturing up to the faded lettering for Blanco’s and talking about the Continental Op. The Blanco’s lettering is going fast, so if you want to see it, take a tour sooner than later or check it out on your own.)
