The morning opened cold and rainy, and traffic all over the Bay Area slowed due to numerous accidents. Nevertheless, the meteorologists said that we should enjoy Friday. The storm looming tomorrow will be much bigger than the one that departed yesterday.
I bounced between Peet's and Starbucks for a hot cup of liquid comfort, but everyone else had the same idea. Lines were out the door, contradicting the notion at least for today that business was down at the coffee bars. At the second Starbucks there were four active cash registers, and my order was filled in minutes. Fortified, I was ready for meetings at three different spots in the city.
In the late afternoon I exited the Hills Plaza building, where the sculpture of the turbaned coffee-drinker stands quietly. The Hills Brothers statue is one of the few remnants of one of San Francisco's leading businesses and was a well-known trademark in the days when coffee was percolated, not dripped.
Hills Brothers was a heavy advertiser on TV (example below) during the Fifties, and the former factory is now a national landmark. Its value increased significantly due to the 1989 earthquake's destruction of the concrete freeway, and the site commands a view of the Bay and houses offices, condos, a gym, restaurants, and, of course, a Starbucks.
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