NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION
The Richmond District is located in the northwest corner of San Francisco, nestled in between Presidio National Park and the city’s Golden Gate Park. The neighborhood, which includes Sea Cliff and Laurel and Presidio Heights, is home to about 80,000 people. About half of Richmond residents are of Asian ancestry, primarily of Chinese and Korean descent. There is also a large Irish population and many recently arrived Russian immigrants.
Several vibrant commercial areas, including California Street, Clement Street and Geary Boulevard, serve the neighborhood. The 1,400 merchants and small offices in the Richmond District offer a wide range of goods and services.
Local landmarks include the Cliff House and the Beach Chalet at Ocean Beach, the V.A. Hospital at Fort Miley, University of San Francisco and numerous holy houses, including Temple Emanuel, St. John’s Orthodox Church and St. John’s Presbyterian Church. There are numerous attractions in Golden Gate Park, including an American Bison pen, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Strybing Arboretum, the oldest children’s playground west of the Mississippi River and a 9-hole golf course.
NEWSPAPER INFORMATION
Distribution by Neighborhood: Presidio and Masonic Avenues to the Pacific Ocean, Golden Gate Park to the Presidio, Sea Cliff
Distribution by Zip Code: 94118 and 94121
Circulation: 25,000
The annual lunar new year celebration at City Hall started off with a lion dance and continued with speeches and performances by Marina Middle School and West Portal Elementary School students. It was a festive and fun event and a wonderful way to welcome the new year.
Police activity in the Richmond District in February, 2020.
One lawsuit brought by the California attorney general and joined by the district attorney’s offices of Marin, Alameda and San Francisco counties against the Neptune Society and its parent company, Service Corporation International (SCI), accuses the funeral and cremation company of using a fraudulent marketing scheme to bilk consumers by taking money out of a trust fund set up to reimburse customers who pay in advance but later change their plans and seek refunds.
The casual diner, perched on the cliff above the old Sutro Baths site, has been passed down through three generations of the same family. It is currently owned by brothers Tom and Bill Hontalas, grandsons of the founder, Louis Hontalas.
Video from a public forum held on Feb. 22 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater where panelists discussed the “Life of George Washington” murals at San Francisco’s George Washington High School. The murals are an ongoing source of controversy that has made international news.
In April 1919, the San Francisco Board of Education passed a resolution to name the first school slated for construction after the signing of the Armistice in honor of the San Franciscans who served. The thoroughly modern Argonne School was built quickly by the Board of Public Works.
Orson’s Belly, a cinema-themed café and vermouth bar in the Richmond District, has built a large and devoted following since it opened four years ago on Balboa Street between 18th and 19th avenues.
On Monday, Jan. 6 2020, Barefoot Muse Press, based in Hainesport, New Jersey, released the latest chapbook in its series of short collections demonstrating a strong connection to formal/metrical poetry – “Temporary Kin” by Kathleen McClung.
The Laurel School, one of San Francisco’s oldest independent schools serving children with special learning needs, announced that it will be closing its doors in June 2020.
Gaslight & Shadows Antiques, at Clement Street and 25th Avenue, is a one-of-a-kind antique store. Phyllis Nabhan, the owner since 1976, remembers when there were lots of antique dealers on Clement Street. Her store, now the only one remaining, offers an eclectic mix of items for casual shoppers to serious collectors.
New information has emerged that the San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) Board of Education broke a deal decades ago, setting the stage for the present controversy about the George Washington High School murals. A 1968 agreement indicates that a deal was reached to keep the murals in place but include plaques beneath each one explaining the history left out of the murals, which was not done.
Cartoon by Paul A.A.
i saw a young woman riding a bike with a dog on a leash. The leash was wrapped around her wrist and the handlebars. I know of three people who had accidents doing the same thing.
Kudos to the Laurel Heights Improvement Association (LHIA) of San Francisco on their lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco to stop their proposed plan to destroy 226 mature trees in the process of developing the site at 3333 California Street.
Taste & experience the finest in artisan, gourmet & premium chocolate in one of the world’s great culinary metropolitan regions, the San Francisco Bay Area, on March 21, 2020
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 