News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
STREET TALK | CYNTHIA TRAINA Steiner Street looks a little different this week — more like 1930s San Francisco. The feature film Fog City is filming around Alta Plaza, transforming Steiner Street between Jackson and Clay with vintage cars, period costumes, set dressing and even simulated rain. Additional filming is taking place at the former…
SAN FRANCISCO MURALIST Mel Waters is re-creating his Harlem of the West mural on the same wall where the original stood for 12 years. In 2014, Waters painted a “Harlem of the West” mural on a laundromat wall at 1233 Divisadero Street. It was a tribute to the years when so many jazz clubs packed…
LOCAL DISH | SHELLEY HANDLER Let me begin by saying I do not bake. There is a line drawn in a professional kitchen that divides sweet from savory and I have spent my 50-plus years slinging savory dishes. Even so, my preferences in the sweets realm are sharply defined, and my annual birthday choice is…
By JONATHAN PONTELL Being something of a history buff, photographer and storyteller, it’s not unusual to find me online looking for vintage photos of the neighborhood near our home at Broadway and Fillmore. Coming across two photos taken just a couple of blocks from our building was a lucky find. They looked like perfect pictures…
MUST LIKE FOG | CLAUDINE ZAP Long-time conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Michael Tilson Thomas — known widely as MTT — died in April at age 81. His musical legacy is vast. But he also left behind quite a real estate legacy. The conductor and his husband, Joshua Robison, who also died earlier this…
The House That Graft Built LANDMARKS | ANNE BLOOMFIELD Back in 1906, the Board of Public Works was stalling building permits until applicants agreed to use an expensive contractor, Deneen Building Co., recommended by Mayor Eugene Schmitz. Deneen built a mansion for Schmitz at 2501 Vallejo, across the street from 2670 Pierce — the new…
BELOVED BROWSER BOOKS will say goodbye this week to Hana Metzger’s brief and shining five months as manager. Metzger took over in the spring after working closely for the past six years with the usually smiling Jordan Pearson. Pearson stepped down after ensuring Browser’s future by guiding its transition into the Green Apple Books empire.…
The upgraded tennis courts will be dedicated on Sunday, September 20, with a neighborhood celebration from 10 a.m. to noon. Light refreshments will be served and there will be tennis instruction and games. All manner of city leaders will join the Friends of Alta Plaza to unveil a commemorative plaque honoring tennis legend Helen Wills…
STREET TALK | CYNTHIA TRAINA Restaurateur Kevin Chen keeps renting more neighborhood storefronts. His latest is Yuzu, on Sutter Street near Fillmore, painted, appropriately enough, bright citrus yellow. It’s part takeout counter, part grocery and — in the evening, behind a refrigerator door — a “speakeasy omakase” serving a 12-course tasting menu for $65 at…
By FRAN MORELAND JOHNS Dona Kahn has no plans to quit practicing law. “Why should I?” she says. She’s still full of energy and still enjoys the work at age 93. Kahn moved into a retirement apartment at The Carlisle earlier this year, coming from the east coast to be near her son Andrew. She’ll…