News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
LOCALS | ANNE RUTH ISAACSON After a long walk back home from the Hardly Strictly Blue Grass Festival, I stopped at Peet’s, at Fillmore and Sacramento, for coffee. Outside on the corner there were no free tables, but a gentleman signaled that I could join him and his friend. That was the day I met Kelly…
ART | JEROME TARSHIS During the early and middle ’60s, when I was thinking about moving from New York to San Francisco, one of the inducements was that Bruce Conner lived here. My avant-garde film friends thought his first film, A Movie (1958), was an instant classic, followed by one success after another. The objects…
BOOKS | DAVID THOMSON In writing my new book, Television: A Biography, I revisited a lot of shows that were old favorites. Some stood the test of time; some did not. What follows is a list of 10 shows I’d like to have on a desert island — not my top 10, you must understand,…
LANDMARKS | BRIDGET MALEY The wonderfully designed corner house at 1900 Pierce Street was built in 1887 for John I. Sabin, an early investor and proponent of the telephone, under the direction of architect William F. Smith. Both architect and client appear to have shared a fascination with telephones. In 1877, Sabin founded the American…
FILM | ANDREA CHASE The last generation or two thinks of Hal Holbrook when it comes to one-man shows about Mark Twain. Not to take anything away from Holbrook’s dry wit and perfect timing when performing Twain’s words, but Val Kilmer with Citizen Twain makes a compelling argument to join him as another master interpreter…
THE ONRUSH OF new fashion and cosmetics brands and boutiques onto Fillmore Street in recent years has been astonishing — and beauty and body products are the indisputable trend of the moment. There is understandable confusion about why so many have located so near each other and what sets them apart. And those seeking something new…
By BARBARA KATE REPA Five years ago, when many saw the neighborhood becoming inhospitable to mom-and-pop businesses as ever more corporate chains moved in, Tricia and Ron Benitez turned a deaf ear to the naysayers and opened their one-of-a-kind clothing boutique at 1850 Fillmore Street. They stocked it with pieces for men and women by…
FIRST PERSON | FRAN MORELAND JOHNS It started out of frustration. A pastor at a mainline San Francisco church got tired of pulling together candlelight services after yet another black youth was killed. He wanted to do something positive to show support for the black friends he and many of his parishioners knew. So he…
LANDMARKS | BRIDGET MALEY Architect Edward Eyestone Young became known for his collaborative work with speculative housing developers during the first few decades of the 20th century. Designing and building houses primarily on San Francisco’s north side, with a particular focus in Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights and along Lake Street, Young established strong relationships with…
SALOONS | CHRIS BARNETT For months — long past its supposed July opening — the windows were papered over, thwarting sidewalk squinters who wanted a peek at the new Elite Cafe, wondering whether the new owners would preserve all that magnificent mahogany, the private booths, the historic bar and the New Orleans influenced menu. In…