Life in the Bay Area
Student life at Hastings is defined as much by what students do off campus as what they do on campus. Whether it is seeing great live music, catching an exciting play, enjoying wine country, exploring a museum, or going to a ball game, Hastings students enjoy the numerous attractions of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, even on a tight budget!
Below is an extensive list of the cultural and entertainment opportunities Hastings students have living in the "City by the Bay."
Music: The San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony are just a few blocks from Hastings in the SF Civic Center. The Opera has $25 student rush tickets; the Symphony has a 50% off student subscription package that can be shared. There are many other professional groups in town, offering classical and other music. And not to be overlooked, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, also a short walk from Hastings, offers hundreds of free and low-price recitals a year for students and faculty.
Popular Music: The SF scene is huge, with performances at many venues. Here are the locals' picks:
Slim's: Close to Hastings, with good music at decent prices.
Great American Music Hall: Also close to Hastings, Slim's sister venue. Considered often overlooked; reputed to get amazingly talented bands, often just before they make it big.
The Warfield: Couldn't be closer to Hastings! Great indoor venue that gets a lot of big-name bands.
The Fillmore: This historic hall is decorated with thousands of posters from the many legendary shows that have taken place within its hallowed walls. It's a place of rock music legend that hosted some of the most famous concerts of the 60's and 70's. It's small, but gets an eclectic selection of acts.
Bottom of the Hill: A raucous crowd, with both punk and underground shows, seven nights a week.
Cafe Du Nord: At a great location right in the Castro district, Cafe Du Nord is a full service bar with a stage that often hosts the darlings of the indie scene.
1015 Folsom: Great club with resident and frequent guest DJ's. Great for dancing - offers everything from dub and dancehall nights to house and trance, and often books top hip hop acts and DJs for reasonable prices.
Ruby Skye: One of the more upscale clubs in the city, with the most stereotypical New York-style club scene.
Shoreline Amphitheatre: An easy hour's drive south from San Francisco, Shoreline gets the biggest names in music. A fantastic venue with both comfortable seating and an expansive lawn to picnic, dance, or chill out.
Theater: American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is one of the nation's best regional theater companies; its home is near Union Square, a 10-minute walk from Hastings; there are student half-price season tickets and student rush tickets. The leading commercial theater series is The Best of Broadway one of whose three theaters is just steps from Hastings (the other two are blocks away. In the East Bay, about a 30 minute BART ride from campus, is the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, which, like ACT, is one of the nation's best nonprofit theater companies and offers student rush, under-30, and Cal Alumni discounts.
There are dozens of other professional theater groups in town, many with quite modest ticket prices. A few examples include: Killing My Lobster, for sketch comedy; The Cutting Ball, for the experimental and avant-garde, as well as new ways to see the classics; Crowded Fire, for challenging modern theater; Bay Area Theater Sports (BATS), for improv. The Marsh and at San Francisco Playhouse are also excellent venues.
Dance: The San Francisco Ballet performs at the Opera House in the Civic Center. There are many well-known dance troupes for whom San Francisco is home, including Alonzo King's LINES Ballet and the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. Joe Goode Performance Group. Venues such as Counterpulse often host dance performances. In addition, there is a diverse ethnic dance scene in the Bay Area; the 30-year-old San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival is one showcase for it.
Museums (Art and Otherwise): Across the street from UC Hastings is the Asian Art Museum. Admission is free the first Sunday of every month; the museum's cafe is also a nice alternative for lunch.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a 15-20 minute walk downtown; admission is free on first Tuesdays (and half-price on Thursday evenings). The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco comprise two buildings in Golden Gate Park. The deYoung Museum has a tower with a commanding view of the City (free admission) as well as a variety of collections and temporary exhibitions. The Legion of Honor Museum, on the western end of the City, has ancient and European art in an exquisite Beaux-Arts building in a setting overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Admission to these museums is also free on first Tuesdays.
Other Museums: San Francisco has two amazing science museums, and they are not just for scientists! The Exploratorium, officially a museum of science, art, and human perception, takes a unique hands-on, experiential approach to explaining our universe. Admission is free on first Wednesdays.
The California Academy of Sciences has a new building which opened in September 2008. The building itself, with its 2 acre green roof and focus on sustainability, is worth a visit. It is in Golden Gate Park, across from the deYoung Museum. Admission is free on third Wednesdays (and for residents of various San Francisco zip codes on selected weekends during the year).
Many, many other museums: for starters, check out the Cartoon Art Museum, the Museum of the African Diaspora , the Cable Car Museum , the Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Wells Fargo History Museum, San Francisco Botanical Garden at the Strybing Arboretum, the Museum of the City of San Francisco.
Athletics: There are numerous opportunities for Hastings students to participate in sports off campus. There are numerous soccer, softball, and volleyball leagues. There are also 132 free tennis courts in San Francisco, as well as various tennis clubs. Golfers will find six public golf courses in San Francisco. Watching the sun set from the Lincoln Park golf course, over the Golden Gate Bridge, is rather spectacular.
And speaking of views: walking, running, or biking in San Francisco can be very easy on the eyes. Many Hastings students exercise along the Embarcadero, or on the Marina Green, or Crissy Field in the Presidio - even across the Golden Gate Bridge; (If you don't know how beautiful these places are, you should take a virtual tour.) Exercising outdoors is also made enjoyable by the fact that the Bay Area weather is comfortable year-round.
Baseball: It's a nice walk from Hastings to watch the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Students can easily take BART from Hastings to the Oakland Coliseum to watch the Oakland Athletics.
Football: It's harder to get tickets for football games, but fans of the San Francisco 49ers or the Oakland Raiders and football enthusiasts will find the quest worthwhile.
Basketball: The Golden State Warriors play at the Oakland Coliseum, a BART ride away from Hastings.
Soccer/Ice Hockey: The San Jose Earthquakes are an auto or train trip away, in San Jose, so are the San Jose Sharks.
Outdoors: All of Northern California is a playground, and there's a lot that is exquisite. 10 minutes away from campus is the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which includes The Presidio in San Francisco. The stately redwoods of Muir Woods National Monument are a short drive north. Nearby, across the Bay in Oakland/Berkeley, is Tilden Regional Park. And beyond, there's way too much to list - skiing in Lake Tahoe, hiking in Yosemite National Park, climbing Mt. Shasta...
Cuisine: San Francisco and the greater Bay Area is the home of literally thousands of restaurants, and most cuisines on earth are represented. Many websites provide guidance on eating in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle annually publishes a "Top 100 Restaurants" list and many locals looking to keep their dining experience modest peruse "Bargain Bites". Right by Hastings there are "bargain bites" in multiple cuisines: Mediterranean, North Indian/Pakistani, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese: and American.
How To Find More/What's Happening: Check out the website for the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as the City's official website. For weekly listings, check out 96 Hours, included in the Thursday San Francisco Chronicle, or access it online. The Sunday Chronicle "pink section" (and yes, it is printed on pink paper) includes a comprehensive listing of arts and entertainment activities, as does the daily Datebook section. Entertainment listings are also available in the San Francisco Bay Guardian (look for "weekly picks").