The fog-swept corners of the outer avenues may not seem beholden to the passage of time. Owe it to the grey sheet overhead, or the mist in the air, or the Pacific Ocean crouched behind the dunes. At times our neighborhoods can feel timeless, like nothing has changed or will for a while.
Western Neighborhoods Project Executive Director Nicole Meldahl looks over the glittering scene. Sequined dresses and metallic shirts glimmer like tiny stars under the dim theater lights. Seltzer cans glint as they click open; cake is passed around on paper plates along with a sprinkle of laughter. Smiles sparkle through the room as guests reminisce about the old Playland days.
The Sunset is San Francisco’s largest neighborhood, but it’s hard to get lost here. In a neighborhood where streets are numbered or alphabetized, it’s always easy to know where you are, no matter how blinding the sun, dense the fog, strong the wind or dark the night.
In last month’s column, I wrote about the power of people in the history and preservation of the Richmond’s beloved eyesore, the Alexandria Theatre. Several of you referenced the piece while either initiating or renewing your memberships with Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP). As it turns out, the power of our local independent press is also very real. I’m not sure how to find the right words to describe how I felt after reading the brief notes you attached to these memberships, but this gets close: It made my heart full.
The Alexandria Theatre has graced the corner of Geary Boulevard at 18th Avenue since Nov. 26, 1923, when the Levin family opened this once grand movie palace that lit up the Richmond District fog.
One tragic shipwreck that Stephen Haller and John Martini discussed during ShipWRECKED! was the City of Rio De Janeiro. For years, the City of Rio De Janeiro had sailed through the Pacific, carrying immigrants from Hong Kong to San Francisco. During her last trip, the ship was carrying 210 passengers.
Hidden under the waves of Ocean Beach and Lands End are the skeletons of hundreds of shipwrecks. On certain days, lucky beach-goers will be able to catch a glimpse of a rusted bow or the ribs of a boiler room jutting out of the water. The mystery and tragedy of the Golden Gate wrecks possesses a special allure for many people, including the Western Neighborhood Project’s (WNP) Executive Director Nicole Meldahl and Director of Programs Chelsea Sellin, who created “shipwreck week.”
Paris has its catacombs. London has a crypt in St. Paul’s Cathedral. San Francisco doesn’t have cemeteries. Instead, spread across the hills of Colma, just south of the City, headstones mark the graves of San Francisco’s dead.
On Oct. 7-14, Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP), a cultural nonprofit dedicated to sharing and preserving the history of west San Francisco, is hosting the City’s first Shipwreck Week. The week presents eight days of unique community events, programming, and activities that cut through the fog of history to share fascinating tales that spotlight San Francisco’s storied connection to the unruly Pacific.
Stephen “Woody” LaBounty is used to preserving the history of San Francisco, not being part of it. But he has built a legacy through his work and his own story is also one worth entering into the annals of San Francisco history, perhaps along with the brimmed hat he never seems to be without.
They look like two huge monsters with four arms each. The Dutch and Murphy windmills stand more than 100 feet tall and look like they are guarding the western end of Golden Gate Park.
With the exception of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco’s Sunset District is well off the beaten tourist track. The sprawling neighborhood bordering the south side of Golden Gate Park has its attractions – Ocean Beach, Stern Grove, Depression-era murals – but its foggy weather, wide and sometimes treeless streets, and row upon row of lookalike, single-family homes and boxy fourplexes hardly make it a travel destination.
“’Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs’ reveals the power and splendor of ancient Egypt, and expands on the history conveyed within our own collection of ancient art.” – Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
When she moved to San Francisco in 1982, Lakeside resident Monika Trobits immediately fell in love with all the usual things – the weather, the views, the people, you name it. But in time she developed a deep fascination with the stranger and more unusual aspects of life in the city.
Naiad Cove, named after the Greek demigoddesses, has been a labor of love and hard work to preserve the treasures, memories and history of Lands End, the Cliff House, Sutro Heights and Ocean Beach.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 