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
San Francisco’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has defined the heritage of our City for generations. From the oldest Chinatown in the country, to our world class collection of restaurants, to healthcare offerings like acupuncture and massage, to festivals like Lunar New Year and the Cherry Blossom Festival – San Francisco just wouldn’t be as great as it is without our AAPI community’s contributions.
Residents of the Richmond District got their first concrete sign of the local chain’s potential arrival when construction walls appeared around the site of a former corner store right next to the #1-California line bus stop on the corner of 22nd Avenue and California Street. The old shop, which had struggled to draw shoppers in recent years, has been the site of quiet speculation since it closed, and reports of Bi-Rite filing for permits in City Hall set of a wave of discussion in the neighborhood.
The Gardens of Golden Gate Park held its first Spring Garden Market over two days in April, drawing more than 1,300 visitors to the County Fair Building next to the San Francisco Botanical Garden – despite persistent rain that organizers said kept attendance below expectations.
On April 22, the Mexican restaurant on the corner of 19th Avenue and Clement Street did not only celebrate Guzman, but also its 63-year anniversary with nearly 300 customers in attendance, listening to mariachi and sipping margaritas.
The San Francisco Independent Media Coalition (SFIMC) hosted a congressional forum on April 15 at the United Irish Cultural Center. The event brought together the three leading candidates seeking to replace former Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in California’s 11th Congressional District.
It wasn’t too long ago that former Supervisor Joel Engardio and Sunset Dunes supporters were loudly proclaiming that local zoning laws would protect the Sunset from from high rise development along Sunset Dunes. That protection was gone in a wave of the hand thanks to the collusion between the City and the CCC staff.
This repaving is also badly needed. Anyone who drives 19th Avenue regularly knows the corridor has become rough, uneven, and full of potholes in many stretches. Those conditions are not just frustrating—they are also a real safety concern.
Change is inevitable. The Sunset will continue to evolve. The challenge for the residents lies in campaigning to advance positive evolution, such that the neighborhood is not dethroned from its standing as among the finest of San Francisco. Citizen outrage can and should be channeled positively with eyes upon the future, as opposed to clinging to the past.
Political cartoon by Ralph Lane.
The owner, whose name I will assume was Freddy, converted his garage into a small shop where he served French fries in a brown paper bag for just 25 cents. They were amazingly good. He also sold half-pint containers of Sun Valley Dairy frozen chocolate milk and frozen orange drink for only 10 cents.
The Dahlia Society of California (DSC) celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the dahlia as the official flower of San Francisco. The DSC is commemorating this milestone with a series of local events open to the public, including our dahlia tuber sale, tours of the Dahlia Dell in Golden Gate Park, and expert talks on dahlia cultivation in our Bay Area climate.
The closure of the UGH and the creation of Sunset Dunes Park has been a great boon to the Sunset and our City, enriching and protecting our residents and our coastline.
To submit photos for consideration in the Photos of the Month online gallery, send three jpegs to Editor@RichmondSunsetNews.com by the 15th of the month.
Poetry by Nancy Jong, Richmond District resident.
The conference reminded us that this work is happening everywhere, across languages and communities, often without
recognition. Even as our work continues to grow beyond San Francisco, the Richmond District remains at
the center of it.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 