image 1

[Chasin A Me]

good luck!!! I hope you find it!!!

[Aces88]

I'm very new to this hunt. I was encouraged to learn that one of jewels might be hidden in San Francisco, since I go there a few days a week for work. I grabbed the hi-res image files and started perusing Image 1.

The first thing that struck me was the reversed G-h, which looks just like the first two letters of the Ghirardelli logo. It's the same typestyle and everything.

It also makes sense for it to be reversed. If you stand behind Ghirardelli Square looking toward the Bay, the logo appears backwards just like that.

In the image the pearl is right above the G-h. Perhaps that means the jewel is hidden just beyond the front of Ghirardelli Square, which would put it in Aquatic Park.

Line two of Verse 7 says "the air is sweet" which is a great tie-in with Ghirardelli Square. You can smell chocolate being made from quite a few spots there. In fact many of the lines in Verse 7 fit well with an Aquatic park location.

The more I read that verse and looked at the image and pegged each item, the more conviced I became. I thought myself pretty clever at that point. Then I finally read the full threads about Image 1 and Verse 7 and saw that catherwood and others went down this road long before I did!

In any case I was still curious enough to do a drive-by of the Ghirardelli/Aquatic Park area this morning on my way to work. I got a little more info, but not enough to really confirm or deny this as the jewel's location.

In any case, here's my analysis of the elements of Image 1 with Aquatic Park in mind:

All in favor:
122, 123, 38
  - SF is between 122 and 123 latitude, and at 37.5 longitude
Reversed G-h
  - Looks like the Ghirardelli sign, seen from the back.
The curled rose stem
  - Similar to the curve of the Municipal Pier at Aquatic Park. (The final curve of the dragon's tail is also similar, BTW). Here's a map: http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parks/safr/ppM ... mapm%2Ejpg
Circular tabletop
  - This reminded me of a cable car turnaround circle, of which there is one in Aquatic Park, at the end of Hyde Street. This is the main reason I went over there to have a look. Yup, it has a wide metal ring like the tabletop.

Maybe:
Window in the cliffs
  - There are many arched windows at and around Ghirardelli Square. They are either done in brick or cement though. If you look out from Ghirardelli "in jewel's direction" you see Alcatraz -- could the barred window just be symbolic of that?
The cliffs themselves
  - There aren't any cliffs like this near Aquatic Park. Alcatraz has a few rocky cliffs but they aren't very tall. The cliffs around Cliff House or the Marin Headlands are better matches.

Points against:
Lamppost under table
  - Aquatic Park has some pretty fancy lampposts, but they are not an exact macth
The Dragon
  - Seems like a definite Chinatown reference, but Chinatown is at least a dozen blocks away from Ghirardelli. Could the dragon just be there to help make the China/Pearl/SF connection?
Other symbols on the robe
  - The 1-2-2 and 1-2-3 symbols make sense as latitude numbers. The symbols aren't just there for show are they? No one has offered any ideas about them yet, and I'm stumped too.

So the visual evidence isn't 100% convincing, but there are some strong elements. Is it as strong as the GG Park connection? maltedfalcon has found other bits of visual evidence --the lake outline, the Lincoln profile -- that seem to favor GG Park instead.

However when you bring Verse 7 into it, I think the Aquatic Park connection gets stronger. I'll post that analysis over on the Verse 7 thread.

Thanks,
Rob

[Aces88]

Here's an additional thought about Ghirardelli:

The style of the G-h symbol is so close to the Ghirardelli sign style that if it does not represent Ghirardelli then it is either:

1) a deliberate red herring, or

2) a general confirmer meant to indicate the city of San Francisco.

If the G-h is meant to indicate something else, like Great Highway as maltedfalcon suggested, then the typestyle and the lowercase h would be intentional misdirection by the artist. Have there been deliberate red herrings like that in either of the two solved puzzles? I don't think so.

As a general confirmer it is pretty weak, I think, since Ghirardelli isn't a major landmark on the scale of, say, the Golden Gate Bridge. Ghirardelli also provides the strongest tie-in with Verse 7 - "the air smells sweet" - which makes it a pivotal clue.

This all tells me that the G-h is likely to mean that the jewel is hidden near Ghirardelli Square (as opposed to Golden Gate Park, which is pretty far away).

By the way, here's a link to an overview illustration of Ghirardelli Square, showing the big sign: http://www.ghirardellisq.com/history/walking.html

Any other thoughts on this?

[fox]

arrggh...Just what we need more very convincing ideas for SF leading to a completley different location.  I really do like the idea of the Gh being from the sign as viewed from the back.

Thanks for the great ideas 88 and welcome to the hunt!

[catherwood]

thanks for the vote of confidence.  My buddy and I walked around Gh Square and the Aquatic park/Marina last fall, mostly going on the assumption that the "high posts are three" was for the 3 masts of the Balcutha ship.  On the dock nearby, we thought we'd find a paddle wheel which we could tie to Mark Twain, but i remember being disappointed.  I think the biggest boost would be to find where Justice and Education are for all to see (if i remember that correctly).  The Balcutha is a teaching ship, but maybe I've overlooked some research which could be tied to a particular judge or justice (of the peace?).

And just when someone else had me convinced by the totem pole outside the Cliff House!  This could be fun, if it weren't so frustrating.  Welcome aboard!

[skoldpadda]

Wow, you guys are awesome... just read the thread for image 1 after I studied it and had some ideas jotted.  Most of it has been discussed (Alcatraz, Ghirardelli Square). 

A bit has not.  I didn't see anything on the other symbols on the bottom of the robe.  Lower left appears to be three circles (one on top of two) and two triangles (equilateral with 2 sides adjacent to one another).  Is the bottom image 2 semi-circles next to each other?  On the right, as Egbert mentioned, "A" or possibly upside down "V".  ?Below that a 'bell' like image (imagine a triangular Liberty Bell).  Lower right corner, could this be a Chinese character? If so, which is it and what does it mean?  Could provide a clue for us. 

I know Lombard street is not REALLY close to Ghirardelli (having participated in a number of "The Great San Francisco Treasure Hunt"s in my day), but the image of the dragon made me think of it (all the curves). 

Also, the arms folded on one another... a simple indication for framing the 122/123?

Very rich imagery, maybe there are some more clues we've missed -- anything on the distinct outline of the blue area adjacent to the cliffs on the right?  I liked the idea for the one on the left resembling the pond in GGP. 

I plan to do some internet searching over the next week to get more ideas, but wanted to throw those out there for you all. 

(a bit off topic, but "at stone wall's door" from verse 7... could this refer to Stonewall Jackson?... I recall Jackson street in Pacific Heights neighborhood overlooks this general area)... ok, off to read the verse 7 thread... probably already been mentioned

[johann]

The bottom symbol is two semi-circles, and the bottom right symbol looks to be a cross (crucifix-shape) inside a rectangle.

[Aces88]

catherwood,

The ship Eureka is a paddle-wheeler, but the paddle wheel is in the stern, away from the pier, so it's hard to see.

I think Alcatraz works well as "Justice." Education still eludes me though (in terms of this verse I mean).

skoldpadda,

Yes I wondered if the dragon could mean Lombard street too. It's about 5 blocks away, though, and not directly behind Ghirardelli. I also thought the dragon could refer to Chinatown, but that's about a dozen blocks away.

I stole a page from maltedfalcon's book and tried putting the image on top of a city map, with the G-h placed where the Ghirardelli sign belongs. It fits nicely, but it's not really conclusive. Here's a link:

http://f2.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/oHFgQjKBcF ... verlay.gif

You can see the winding part of Lombard street off to the right.

[Aces88]

I also agree that the symbols in this image need more study.

I've tried looking in a couple of symbol dictionaries, but even though they are simple symbols only some of them are listed.

Here are some I've found, but I don't think all the definitions really fit. You have to bear with me too, since even in the great hi-res scans not all of the symbols are clear.



30:34 · This ideogram is found both in earlier and present-day systems. In the earliest system of Chinese writing a similar symbol meant village (a pictorial sign for the central field and well).
    In alchemy [it] meant urine. As a meteorological sign [it] signifies that the ground is wet ( means flooded ground).
    In the French and US system of hobo signs [it] and similar structures are signs for danger.



26:8 ·  The circle with a point at its center is ancient. This ideogram seems to have been used in every cultural sphere on earth. Wherever it appears, it has the same meaning: the sun or something that is closely associated with the sun, such as hydrogen (in Dalton's nineteenth-century chemistry). It can mean sunshine in a meteorological system, gold in alchemy, plant with a one year life cycle (one sun cycle) in botany, driving wheel on locomotives as a railway ideogram, and here live bad-tempered people in both the British and the US systems of hobo signs. On nautical charts [it] is used for chimneys, towers, and high structures in general, visible from the sea.



24:21 · A graph from the US system of hobo signs meaning here lives a man with a bad temper.



30:28 · As a meteorological sign 30:28 signifies ice granules, hail, frozen raindrops.



28:11 · According to old German literature a time sign for autumn.



30:3 · The circle divided by a vertical line is an ancient sign of the alphabets used in antiquity in the Near East. The alchemists used it to signify nitrogen, or saltpeter. Among the Hittites [it was] closely associated with the idea of lightning.
    In his nineteenth-century system for the chemical elements John Dalton used [it] for nitrogen.
    Some meteorlogical sign systems used [it] for solar halo.



20:21 · One sign for pebbles (or rock-crystal) in alchemy. (we'd have to assume the symbol in the image is upside-down for this one to work)

[fox]

I'm really intrigued with the Chinese meanings of these symbols seeing that the whole feel of the P is oriental the the symbols are actually on the oriental robe.....however...the symbols are definitely Mandarin or any other oriental script.  hmmm hmmm indeed. 

[fox]

Doing a little more basic research on the area around Gh square......Alcatraz "the rock" is definitely in a straight shot from Gh sq as P1 shows but it looks like there aren't that many parks in the vacinity for casque burial ie...Grant Park and Greek Gardens... unless we consider the area called Fort Mason.  Is that somewhere where anyone could go and dig? 

While looking at the satellite of the area at maps.google.com I noticed 2 large curved buildings 1 block down N Point St...what is this?  Just curious.

[abqram]

Hey Fox (and all);

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, just too busy.  My brother is going to SF next week.  Any suggestions on where to snoop around?  I'm gonna have him check my original thought--that it's at the cliff house by the totem pole--see if he can get to it yet...

ABQRAM

[fox]

abq...tell him to take his backhoe and dig up the entire Golden Gate Park.  That way, we can either confirm it as a site by locating the casque or mark it off of our list of possible SF locations.... 

Really, I would have him look around the Gh square....see if there are any parks or nice little grassy areas nearby.  I really do like the Gh on her robe = Gh sq.

[papernapkin]

While looking at the satellite of the area at maps.google.com I noticed 2 large curved buildings 1 block down N Point St...what is this?  Just curious.

I believe they are 2 expensive apartment buildings but I can't remember the name of that complex. that's funny that you would mention them, because the last time my friend and i were down there, we were talking about them. we were wondering why someone would pay so much to live so far from where they work. i guess it's all about the view.

[forest_blight]

Sorry I don't have much to offer on this one, but I do have a few unconnected thoughts maybe worth sharing.

First, I think it's pretty well established that this has to be San Francisco. The following latitudes and longitudes can be found in various places in the image:

37 - hair (left)
38 - hair (right) and sleeve
122 - clothing (right)
123 - clothing (left)

SF is located at 37'45" N 122'27" W.

There is what appears to be an octopus head, upside-down, just below her wrists and between the dragon's wings.



We never did find out what happened re maltedfalcon's March 28 dig announcement. Falcon?

Aces88 is right - The "Gh" look exactly like the ones in the Image 1. I noticed that there is a clock tower in the SE corner of Ghirardelli Square (b. 1911), but the clock face bears no resemblance to the clock in the picture.

(Going to the Ghirardelli website made me really want chocolate, but all I have in my house are miniature Reese's cups - a far cry, I think...)

All 12 pictures have a birth flower in them. More often than not, I'm guessing, this has no significance. However, the Cleveland picture's daffodil was used as part of the "Bellflower" rebus. The rose in Pic 1 looks suspiciously like part of a rebus to me, especially with that weird stem. What could it mean?

The Golden Gate Park, Ghirardelli Square, and Cliff House solutions all match some of the clues, but not all of the clues. For example, if the casque really is buried in Ghirardelli Square (as the Gh would suggest), why would an abstract representation of Golden Gate Park be necessary? And vice versa. None of the suggested solutions accounts for the barred window.

Several agreed that the blue shape on the left looks like North Lake in Golden Gate Park. I found some map images of North Lake that don't look anything like it:

   

And finally, because a picture is worth 1000 words...