THE NEW FILLMORE reports on the events, people and places in one of San Francisco’s most vibrant neighborhoods — where the Fillmore meets Pacific Heights, and Japantown, and Cow Hollow and the Presidio aren’t far away.
Founding editor and publisher David Ish published Volume 1, Number 1, of the New Fillmore in May 1986. The name was a bit of a joke. The Fillmore had forever been reinventing itself, from its roots as a Jewish neighborhood at the turn of the 20th century, then a Japanese neighborhood after the 1906 earthquake, then the Harlem of the West after the war, when the New Fillmore Hotel and the New Fillmore Theater were in business. Rock and roll came to the Fillmore Auditorium and Winterland in the ’60s. Then redevelopment ripped up the neighborhood and displaced many of its residents.
The ’80s brought another new era as upper Fillmore Street began to gentrify into a bustling shopping and dining district, and the surrounding area became an ever more desirable place to live. The New Fillmore newspaper was a part of that renaissance. In the new millennium, as Fillmore Street became a coveted location for international fashion and cosmetics brands, many of the one-of-a-kind shops and essential services that made it unique were squeezed out. The street, in some ways, became a victim of its own success.
Yet this neighborhood remains a wonderful place to live, with a rich history, a vibrant economy and many tales to tell.
We became the newspaper’s stewards in 2006 and started a website and social media channels. The print edition was published monthly through 2019. The publication continues online. At all times, we welcome your story ideas, comments and suggestions.
Thomas R. Reynolds
Barbara Kate Repa
editors@newfillmore.com
When the New Fillmore arrives at my home, I drop everything and read it from cover to cover.
The recent issue that carried stories of Soko Hardware, with which I grew up, and St. Mary’s Cathedral, which I watched being built, finally prompted me to write you to tell you that you are the best newspaper in the city. I subscribe to the Chronicle and The New York Times, but the New Fillmore tells me more. The crime section, the homes sold section and the ads — remarkable!
Brava and bravo to you for producing this stunning publication.
Ellen Magnin Newman