http://blog.longnow.org/2007/09/19/cistern-circles-of-san-francisco/ The Official Weblog of The Long Now Foundation and Friends Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:45:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 http://blog.longnow.org/2007/09/19/cistern-circles-of-san-francisco/#comment-2951 Aaron Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:24:17 +0000 http://blog.longnow.org/2007/09/19/cistern-circles-of-san-francisco/#comment-2951 Oh my gosh! I've seen these brick circles all over SF. I ride a scooter and see them in the oddest areas, in high concentration around Division Street and then sprinkled throughout the neighborhoods including at 14th and Castro. I always thought they had something to do with old cable car lines or perhaps old "rond-points" that became 4-way intersections or lost to causeways at a later date. I'm so glad you posted this. I have been looking all over to figure out what they were!!! I'd love to know if the water from the cisterns has been refreshed or if it is 100 year old dirty-*ss water... or even dried up? Who maintains them... interesting :) :) Thank you so much! Isn't San Francisco awesome!!! I love this city :) Oh my gosh! I’ve seen these brick circles all over SF. I ride a scooter and see them in the oddest areas, in high concentration around Division Street and then sprinkled throughout the neighborhoods including at 14th and Castro. I always thought they had something to do with old cable car lines or perhaps old “rond-points” that became 4-way intersections or lost to causeways at a later date. I’m so glad you posted this. I have been looking all over to figure out what they were!!! I’d love to know if the water from the cisterns has been refreshed or if it is 100 year old dirty-*ss water… or even dried up? Who maintains them… interesting :) :) Thank you so much! Isn’t San Francisco awesome!!! I love this city :)

]]> http://blog.longnow.org/2007/09/19/cistern-circles-of-san-francisco/#comment-2605 Waldo Jaquith Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:44:06 +0000 http://blog.longnow.org/2007/09/19/cistern-circles-of-san-francisco/#comment-2605 This is San Francisco's "Auxiliary Water Supply System" (AWSS), which resulted from a 1908 study about how to avoid the fires after the earthquake. <a href="http://www.sfmuseum.org/quake/awss2.html" rel="nofollow">Here's a history</a>, and <a href="http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=EASPEF0000220000S200S135000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes" rel="nofollow">here's a study</a>. You can find lots more by <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=%22san+francisco%22+%22Auxiliary+Water+Supply+System%22" rel="nofollow">googling for its name</a>. This is San Francisco’s “Auxiliary Water Supply System” (AWSS), which resulted from a 1908 study about how to avoid the fires after the earthquake. Here’s a history, and here’s a study. You can find lots more by googling for its name.

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