San Francisco Richmond ReView
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 used to be called “the city that knows how.” We put on international expositions and tamed the sand dunes. We had good, smart politicians who worked together for the greater good. We were a destination for fortune hunters, bohemians and entrepreneurs.
It has been a new year at City Hall where Supervisor Aaron Peskin from Telegraph Hill was elected president after 11 roll call votes by our district heroes, almost tying Congressman Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield for roll call votes. This columnist wishes President Peskin two years of leadership achievement. My hero, U.S. President Harry Truman, once reminded Americans: “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, imagination and all the unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
No one knows exactly how many coyotes are roaming the streets and parks of San Francisco. San Francisco Animal Care and Control estimates that there are approximately 100 coyotes in the City, although the number of sightings would suggest more.
Geary Boulevard is a critical commercial corridor in the Richmond District. It has been home to several iconic local businesses, including House of Bagels, Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant and Joe’s Ice Cream. It connects the foggy west side to downtown San Francisco and is the main transit artery of the district. Pre-pandemic, the 38-Geary bus lines were the most traveled bus route west of the Mississippi River.
… I wonder, since the restaurant space is still vacant, if there’s any chance of you being able to get Andy and his restaurant back?
There is plenty of existing recreation space for bicyclers and walkers; it is an outrage against the rights of others that these groups should monopolize all the spaces.
Whatever historic value is probably long gone and it’s time for it to go.
My friends have heard me tell more times than they care to remember about the city’s increasing resemblance to George Orwell’s Animal Farm ever since San Francisco voters decided to give up one of the most significant portions of their hard won franchises by voting for district election of supervisors.
Solution to the February 2023 Richmond Review crossword puzzle,
Jess Goldstein’s Richmond District-themed crossword puzzle for February, 2023.
Things to do and important information for neighbors in the Richmond and Sunset districts.
I marked this occasion by introducing AB-264, a bill giving California’s community colleges the flexibility to observe the Lunar New Year (LNY) as a state holiday without increasing the number of days schools are closed. They could, for example, combine Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays as one holiday and add LNY as another.
A marker by the base of an elm tree in Golden Gate Park has the inscription:
Under the parent of this tree,
Washington first took command of the American Army, July 3, 1775 Planted by San Francisco Chapter Sons of the American Revolution 1932