After a day of riding through the city on a bike, even cycling over the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito, I decided to use my last day in San Francisco to visit City Hall.
The building is quite extraordinary – architecture wise – and it was a pleasure to walk around in it. The previous City Hall was destroyed, as many other buildings, in the Great Earthquake and following fire of 1906. It was then rebuilt in only 2 years and stronger than before. It got damaged again though in the earthquake of 1989, to a point that the dome actually moved 4 inches. The dome was since then improved to better stand future earthquakes.
Once you are inside you arrive in this huge space with the dome towering above your head. It really is a massive dome, 42 feet taller than the dome on the Capitol in Washington DC. What really impresses too is the staircase leading up to the first floor. The acoustics are amazing; you can just imagine how a gospel choir would sound.
But the building, pretty as it is, was not the main reason I wanted to go and have a look. It was a Friday, and we all know that Friday is a popular day for……….?
Weddings! What better place to observe people than there where they are dressed up for ‘the happiest day in their life’?
My first impression was that it sure is a romantic place to be wed. Apparently I was not the only one thinking that because couples were lining up, one after the other. To my surprise the ceremony took place at the top of the stairs. Not in a separate room, but just there – kind of in the hallway. With a wedding ritual that lasted 15 minutes at best. No privacy, not even a personalised ceremony.
It remains a great place though for beautiful pictures and I guess that would be the main motivation. And maybe also the silent hope that the earthquake resisting strength of the dome would rub off on the marriage.
Most couples were radiant and confident looking, ready to tie the knot. Occasionally there would be the nervous couple, fiddling with clothes and hair as if they wanted to make sure over and over again they looked at their best. Once I observed a couple who looked downright like lambs on a conveyor belt heading for the slaughterhouse. Oops!
There were the classic long white dresses, with or without veil, but also just simply a light coloured dress with flowers in the hair. Military outfit or a handsome suit for the grooms. High heels for the brides. Although once I saw a bride lifting her dress and tennis shoes appeared. White ones. Not sure if she was aiming for comfort or a quick escape just in case.
Equally fascinating is to observe the faces of the parents. It is the mix of the emotions, happiness and pride with a hint of fear and regret (“this is it, I’m losing her forever to another man”), that gets to me every time. It is simply a beautiful thing to see.
I guess at the end of the day each parent hopes for their child to find lasting love, even though they know by experience that the wedding day is not the end station of a love found but the beginning of a long and fascinating journey through a landscape quite similar to San Francisco’s. Hilly.
