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
Although many people believe crime in San Francisco is over hyped, the City has earned its wild west reputation for car break-ins. Tourism, a major source of revenue for San Francisco, has suffered, slowing the City’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Uncle Boy’s is a classic burger joint with San Francisco sports decor hung all over the walls. It was created by a man with no experience in the culinary world. He said that at the time of purchasing the location they reside in today, Espejo was “not a chef by any means,” and “never officially studied culinary or anything like that.”
Cartoon by Paul Kilduff.
One life lost or impacted by traffic violence in San Francisco is too many. As of mid-April, eight pedestrians have already been killed in our city this year. If that pace continues, we will surpass the fatality rate set in 2022. That’s when the highest number of deaths were recorded over a five-year period.
It’s no surprise that older people have a harder time taking care of their homes. Whether it is weeding, clearing clutter, cleaning hard-to-reach areas, flipping a mattress, seniors often do not have the strength, energy or stability to handle these chores.
One of many remnants of the Russian enclave on San Francisco’s west side serves sit-down meals every weekday.
Comparison photos of Balboa Street near 23rd Avenue 74 years apart.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, while still New York state’s governor in 1932, warned: “Any government, like any family, can for a year spend a little more than it earns. But you and I know that a continuation of that habit means the poorhouse.”
Richmond Review crossword puzzle and solution, May 2024.
Regular readers of the Richmond Review might have noticed that this space on page two has been the home of Kinen Carvala’s “Looking Back” column for several years.
It’s a reasonably sunny afternoon at Clement Street’s Toy Boat by Jane, the Richmond District kitschy café, which opened in 1982 and still pretty much looks the same, with nostalgic figurines like Fred Flintstone and Mr. Potato Head sharing shelf space with Dick Tracy PEZ dispensers behind the refrigerated ice cream cases.
As we all know, the Richmond is not immune to crime. We often face the same public safety issues as the rest of the City, although we are not given the same resources.
On a gray-skied Saturday morning, a bright purple archway wraps around an empty paved path. Hundreds of walkers soon stream through the inflatable portal stretching among the trees in Golden Gate Park.
The City’s west side faces unprecedented zoning changes in the coming years and the San Francisco Planning Department has released a proposal about where upzoning should be done.
One tree, found in profusion, is the New Zealand Christmas tree. You can recognize it by its red bottle brush (spiky) flowers. There are many trees from New Zealand and Australia in our neighborhood including the Brisbane box tree, New Zealand tea tree, karo tree, primrose tree and myoporum.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 