Annual Nolli Walking Tour: Temples of the Past, Present, and Future on Cathedral Hill and Van Ness Ave

Come join in the 2026 Nolli Walking Tour, focusing on Cathedral Hill and Van Ness Ave. This dynamic area of SF offers the opportunity to consider the architecture of its elegant late 19th Century past, the advent of the automobile in the early 20th Century, mid-century urban redevelopment, recent new buildings, and now the reinvention of the Van Ness Ave corridor as an extensive zone of high-rise buildings as part of the SF Family Zoning Plan.

In the spirit of Giambattista Nolli's innovative 1748 map of Rome, we will move freely through semi-public interior spaces as well as city streets and open spaces. The tour, co-led by a local architect, local architectural historian, and local tech inventor, will culminate in a view of the build-out of the Family Zoning Plan as an overlay to the view of the city skyline. No-host happy hour to follow at a local venue.

Starts and finishes at Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption, 1111 Gough St

Speakers: 

Dave Alpert, FAIA
CEO, Geopogo
A near native of SF, Dave was an architect at SOM, Gensler, HGA, and other firms before
founding Geopogo. This 3D visualization company was partly inspired by the first Nolli
Walking Tour.

Josh Bevan, AICP
Architectural Historian-Project Manager, Rincon Consultants
As an expert in San Francisco’s architecture history, Josh has co-led Nolli Walking Tours for
the past decade, extending from the Embarcadero and Financial District to Mission Bay
and Civic Center.

Mike Hoppe
Creative Director, Geopogo
Integrating his background in architectural design and 3D technology, Mike enjoys inventing
new ways for people to visualize the present and future of cities around the world, from San
Francisco and Beijing to London and Cape Town