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.
Comparison photos of Fourth Avenue and Irving street 83 years apart.
Comparison photos of Eighth Avenue Near Geary Boulevard 75 years apart.
With this October marking the 35th anniversary of the Richmond Review, Paul Kozakiewicz sure has a lot to look back on as the original owner. It is impossible to look back on the history of the newspaper without his insight. He was, and still is today, an integral part of the paper.
A comparison of photos of the western end of Judah Street from 1926 and 2023.
Before there were any humans around to construct artificial waterfalls, the rock next to today’s Rainbow Falls was forming on the ocean floor more than 100 million years ago.
Walking into Paul’s Hat Works on Geary Boulevard in the Outer Richmond is like walking through a time portal into the past.
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.
The ambience of the redwood grove will be forever impaired by the new fence. Beloved gardens are gone forever. And taxpayers are on the hock for millions to pay bond interest for for these “improvements” as well as for the new $1.1 million fence, advertising and signage. All without a single meeting of local community members taking place!
It’s not well known but during the early 20th century dozens of neighborhoods were planned with picturesque streets, landscaping, detached houses and setbacks to convey the feeling of living in a park – rare in San Francisco.
Stephen Somerstein has had several lifetimes worth of achievements so far in his 81 years. Almost as amazing as his photos in the Smithsonian, his Emmy Award or his career as an aerospace engineer is how Somerstein can recall and recount his experiences in explicit detail.
Western Neighborhoods Project Announces Hiring of Director of Programs, Chelsea Sellin
“’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.
Below: This is the view looking west from Parnassus and Fifth avenues in 1948. Back then, the Muni 6-Line streetcar (#159) was in service. Photo courtesy of a private collector/Western Neighborhoods Project/OpenSFHistory. […]
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 