In the late 1800s, as Emmett Lee Dickinson was pursuing the publication of his poetry, he was also ending the two-year failed marriage to his fourth wife, Oliveti Remington, daughter of Eliphalet Remington, manufacturer of firearms and typewriters. Oliveti left with their daughter, Qwerty Jean Dickinson (for whom her grandfather designed the typewriter’s top row of keys) when rumors surfaced that Qwerty Jean’s real father was Jarvis MacKinnon, the Lieutenant Governor of California. Soon after this news broke, MacKinnon was gunned down in Skidoo, California, and Dickinson was accused of but never convicted of the murder. An account of these events are now celebrated in the operatic ballad “Bohemian Rhapsody,” by the British rock group Queen.
In February 2016, we traveled to San Francisco, Cupertino, and other parts of California to research this little-known time in Dickinson's life.
In February 2016, we traveled to San Francisco, Cupertino, and other parts of California to research this little-known time in Dickinson's life.
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We hope you enjoy "Golden Gate Unabridged" Complete Coverage of our Research Trip to San Francisco. Pictured at the right: The San Francisco Chronicle , among other Bay Area news outlets announced our visit. Click the image to enlarge. |
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THE TRIP BEGINS:
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Although our trip was not "all about the food," we thought we'd mention a few foody items to begin the coverage of our journey.
Pictured below: On our trek out west, we had a layover in Chicago where we enjoyed Chicago-style hotdogs at O'Hare Airport. This is not noteworthy because we love Chicago-style hotdogs (we do!), but because hotdogs were invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson! Information is at the bottom of this page. 
Pictured in the center, top and bottom: While on the west coast, we visited an In-N-Out for the first time ever! Our review: Meh.
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Pictured above at the right, top and bottom: On our first morning in San Francisco, we enjoyed a crab omelet at the Eagles Nest on the upper level of Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf. Our review: Yum! It was delicious!
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Pictured at the left, top and bottom: The first leg of our trip began in Santa Clara where we stayed at the Avatar Hotel, a geek-chic, retro hotel which was very comfortable.
Pictured at the right, top and bottom: In San Francisco we stayed at the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf. Our room was extremely comfortable, and the hotel staff was very friendly and accommodating! Shout out to Charles at the Front Desk -- VERY personable welcoming! Pictured below: The Brick and Beam at the Hyatt. While the staff was a little indifferent, the food and drinks were delicious! We loved the margaritas, the rolled shrimp quesadilla, the chicken nachos, (based on Emily Dickinson's recipe), and more! |
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Far Left and center: We enjoyed seafood along the Wharf, especially some chowder in a sourdough bread bowl!
Left: We had some delicious Chinese food at Sam Wo in San Francisco's Chinatown! |
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Pictured at the right: We strolled the Mission District in San Francisco and had a burger at the Radish. Our review: DELICIOUS! And the staff was very friendly! Pictured at the far right: We enjoyed a delicious Italian meal at the (very) small L' Osteria del Forno. Loved it from the bread to the dessert -- and the staff (didn't get their names) were very friendly and accommodating. |
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One last comment about food: While in San Francisco, we also enjoyed popcorn from Cornology (pictured at the left).
As most people know, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was a passionate researcher and promoter of corn, and Cornology was founded based on the values and research of Dickinson's Corn Knowledge and Common Corn. Dickinson's ideas of Corn Knowledge and Common Corn are dedicated to encouraging increased factual information and sustained consumption of corn, delicious corn. We are constantly perplexed by the controversies surrounding Corn Knowledge and Common Corn. Why are politicians are continually bashing Common Corn? Therefore, we showed our support of Common Corn by purchasing various flavors of delicious popcorn at Cornology. |
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
1. Below left: We weren't expecting palm trees! We have always associated palm trees with tropical locales, so we were surprised to see them! Yes, we've seen plenty of pictures of and/or movies set in San Francisco, but I s'pose we just didn't notice them! 2. Below center top: Earthquakes! We saw signs and television commercials about earthquakes. Gulp! 3. Below center bottom: San Francisco offers special parking garages for crabs. 4. Below right: San Franciscans are very serious about their volleyball!
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SILICON VALLEY:
Our research began in the Silicon Valley, in the shadow of the Silicon Mountains. We visited Stanford University (which offers multiple graduate and post-graduate degrees in Emmett Lee Dickinsonology) and various high tech companies, including Skype and Google.
1. Below left: Our trip began on the campus of Stanford at Hanna House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright, who was profoundly influenced by Emmett Lee Dickinson (information is found HERE). Wright said that it was the Dickinsons' basement apartment in the Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor that inspired the home for Hanna Hoggins Doonagan, the first E. Conery Magrath Professor of Emmett Lee Dickinsonology.
2. Below Center: We also visited the famous Stanford Tower on the campus of Stanford University, named for its founder Emmett Lee Stanford (yes, his parents named him after America's greatest poet). Alfred Hitchcock -- another Dickinson aficionado -- said that the tower inspired him to direct his classic film Vertigo, loosely based on events from Emmett Lee Dickinson's life.
3. Below right: Emmett Lee Dickinson suffered from vertigo, and Washerst, PA -- Dickinson's birthplace -- is home to Vertigo Tower, the headquarters to the world-famous National Center for Acrophobia and Vertigo. The Ezra Hightower Center for Research and Treatment of Vertigo, Imbalance and Ocular Motor Disorders is housed on the top floor of the tower and offers spectacular views of the city.
1. Below left: Our trip began on the campus of Stanford at Hanna House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright, who was profoundly influenced by Emmett Lee Dickinson (information is found HERE). Wright said that it was the Dickinsons' basement apartment in the Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor that inspired the home for Hanna Hoggins Doonagan, the first E. Conery Magrath Professor of Emmett Lee Dickinsonology.
2. Below Center: We also visited the famous Stanford Tower on the campus of Stanford University, named for its founder Emmett Lee Stanford (yes, his parents named him after America's greatest poet). Alfred Hitchcock -- another Dickinson aficionado -- said that the tower inspired him to direct his classic film Vertigo, loosely based on events from Emmett Lee Dickinson's life.
3. Below right: Emmett Lee Dickinson suffered from vertigo, and Washerst, PA -- Dickinson's birthplace -- is home to Vertigo Tower, the headquarters to the world-famous National Center for Acrophobia and Vertigo. The Ezra Hightower Center for Research and Treatment of Vertigo, Imbalance and Ocular Motor Disorders is housed on the top floor of the tower and offers spectacular views of the city.
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Left and right: While in Silicon Valley, we visited many high-tech companies, many of which were founded by owners who were inspired by the life and work of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request)
For example, Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students in Dickinsonology at Stanford University. They said that they developed the Google search engine to search for every and any reference to Dickinson. |
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Signs of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) were every where on the Google campus. For example, Dickinson invented every known relaxation apparatus on the market today (pictured below far left and left); he also invented leisure suits for androids (below center). For more information on Dickinson's connections to relaxation, click HERE.
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The most obvious sign of Emmett Lee Dickinson on the Google campus was the Google pin-drop signs on the various street corners (pictured at the left), the 21st century version of "You are here."
Did you know that "You are here" was invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson? Dickinson's original version read "You are in this location," and it later evolved to "You are here." Pictured at the right: Dickinson's first "You are in this location" sign. More info is HERE. |
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FISHERMAN'S WHARF:
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We spent our first morning in San Francisco at Pier 39 at Firsherman's Wharf. We ate breakfast at the Eagles Nest, and then strolled up and down the Wharf where we caught our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge (below left) and Alcatraz (below right). Before Alcatraz was a prison, it was the summer home of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). |
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Lefty's on Pier 39 included a likeness of Emmett Lee Dickinson in their store window (bottom left in the photo). Of course, Dickinson was left handed, but he always said that someone was either right handed or "correct handed." Dickinson also invented left-handed playing cards (not those silly ambidextrous cards with numbers in all four corners). |
Pictured below, left: Decks of left-handed playing cards. Below center: The cards fanned out by a left- or "correct-" hander.
Below right: The same cards fanned out by a right-hander.
Below right: The same cards fanned out by a right-hander.
Below left: Sea lions along Fisherman's Wharf. Below Center: I have breaded soft-shell crab before, but WOW -- San Franciscans really over do it!
Below right: Boats along Fisherman's Wharf.
Below right: Boats along Fisherman's Wharf.
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MUSÉE MÉCANIQUE
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Our research on Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) took us to a most unusual site on Fisherman's Wharf -- the Musée Mécanique (pictured at the right), an interactive museum consisting of antique penny arcade games and artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries, many of which were based on the life and times of Emmett Lee Dickinson.
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Many of the figures in the vintage games were based on the puppets used by Emmett Lee Dickinson's son Angstrom ("Angst"), a world-renowned ventriloquist. Pictured below at the far left: Dickinson's son Angstom ("Angst") Dickinson with his favorite dummy, Jarvis Galumph. Pictured below, left, right, and far right: Arcade figures patterned after Angstrom Dickinson's dummies.
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Pictured below, left to right: Many of the arcade games were based on the life-experiences (and near-life-experiences) of Emmett Lee Dickinson.
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Pictured below: A close up of the "Opium-Den."
Click all of the Musée Mécanique photos to enlarge. 
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MUIR WOODS:
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On Saturday we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and drove to Muir Woods. Named for Muirette "Muir" Woods, a good friend of Emmett Lee Dickinson and Henry David Thoreau, Muir Woods also wanted to spend time in a "cabin in the woods."
Pictured at the left: Muirette "Muir" Woods, a good friend of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) and Henry David Thoreau. Pictured below: Muir Woods in front of her "cabin in the woods" after what she termed "a good kill." Muir Woods National Monument is located where Ms. Woods lived in the woods. 
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Pictured below: The trunk on display near the front of the park dated back to 900 A.D., and it noted on the tree rings where Emmett Lee Dickinson was born. 
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The Golden Gate Bridge
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When the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, my father and his mother walked across it (the bridge didn't open to vehicles until the next day).
Now, almost 80 years later, we drove over and back across the bridge on our way to and from Muir Woods. Pictured at the right: The opening day of the Golden Gate Bridge. Pictured below: Pictures as we drove across the bridge. |
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The Palace of Fine Arts
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Below: Dedicated to Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request), San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts includes many figures in the classic pose of America's greatest poet.
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Pictured left and below: Views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from a park near the Palace of Fine Arts.
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Lombard Street
Did you know that Lombard Street was designed by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed --at her request)?
Lombard Street's west end is at Presidio Boulevard inside The Presidio; it then heads east through the Cow Hollow neighborhood. For twelve blocks, between Broderick Street and Van Neww Avenue, it is an arterial road that is co-signed as US Rout 101. However, Lombard Street also includes an area that was known as "Rushin' HIll" as it heads to the Telegraph Hill neighborhood -- because drivers were always "Rushin'" to get down the hill.
San Francisco Mayor Conrad Lombard asked Dickinson to head up a "traffic calming" project, and Dickinson designed the now famous one-block section with eight hair-pin turns. Pictured below at the right: Pictures of our adventure down Lombard Street.
Lombard Street's west end is at Presidio Boulevard inside The Presidio; it then heads east through the Cow Hollow neighborhood. For twelve blocks, between Broderick Street and Van Neww Avenue, it is an arterial road that is co-signed as US Rout 101. However, Lombard Street also includes an area that was known as "Rushin' HIll" as it heads to the Telegraph Hill neighborhood -- because drivers were always "Rushin'" to get down the hill.
San Francisco Mayor Conrad Lombard asked Dickinson to head up a "traffic calming" project, and Dickinson designed the now famous one-block section with eight hair-pin turns. Pictured below at the right: Pictures of our adventure down Lombard Street.
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Chinatown
Pictured below: Pictures from our time in Chinatown -- we were fortunate to be there on the night San Francisco celebrated Chinese New Year with a parade for the Year of the Monkey!
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The Exploratorium
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The Exploratorium is "a public learning laboratory exploring the world through science, art, and human perception. Its mission is to create inquiry-based experiences that transform learning worldwide." Located at Piers 15 & 17 along San Francisco's Embarcadero, the Exploratorium will soon host an exhibit dedicated to the inventions of Emmett Lee Dickinson (some of which are highlighted HERE).
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The Mission District & Haight-Ashbury
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On our final day in the Bay Area we strolled the streets of the Mission District and Haight-Ashbury. The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed a great lunch at "The Radish" in the Mission District. Pictured at the left: Architectural shots from around the Mission District. Below: One family converted their street parking spot into a "Public Parklet," complete with flora and fauna and a park seating. Below that: Pictures from the Haight-Ashbury area. |
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Pictured at the right: One Mission District gallery paid homage to Andy Warhol with a giant soup can on the street. Andy Warhol himself was a great fan of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). To view our special exhibit "SOUP TWO NUTS" that was held in conjunction with the Andy Warhol Museum, click HERE. |
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