News from the Heart and Soul of San Francisco
STORY & PHOTOGRAPHS by Carina Woudenberg He’s been a San Francisco resident for more than 30 years, but Jiro Nakamura still makes a yearly trek home to Japan to search for treasures for his shop on Fillmore Street. The treasures include dolls — crafted hundreds of years earlier in many cases — and puppets, tea…
By Christine Lunde WORKING ITS WAY into the local fabric, Attention to Detail Barber Gallery on Sutter Street may soon rival sports bars as the hippest place for men to fraternize. Flat screen TVs broadcasting sports and news, generous servings of beer and champagne — and, of course, stylish cuts and shaves — make the…
LOCAL HISTORY | JOE BEYER Thanksgiving Day marks the 110th anniversary that Calvary Presbyterian Church has stood proudly at the corner of Fillmore and Jackson Streets. But it’s actually much older than that. Founded in 1854, the church’s first home was located on Bush Street between Montgomery and Sansome. In 1859, as the city expanded,…
By Kathi O’Leary ON A CHARMING block of Sutter Street that narrowly missed the wrecking ball of redevelopment 50 years ago, Sidney Hair Care sits among Victorian homes, small shops and the Macedonia Baptist Church. Sidney, the professional name of Betty Jean Macklin, has cared for clients of all races and walks of life at…
FOR THE FIRST TIME since the 1930s, when San Francisco’s cemeteries were dug up and moved to Colma, Catholics will soon have a place to inter their loved ones in the neighborhood. St. Dominic’s Church is creating a columbarium within its stately Gothic arches and flying buttresses. It will offer 320 niches behind the main…
By BARBARA KATE REPA FOR MANY YEARS, John Gaul has been a fixture on Fillmore. Strolling and bussing through the neighborhood, he has been a dapper presence, doling out advice and good cheer along the way. But just lately, his gait has slowed. He is getting about now with the help of a walker since…
By Julia Irwin NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT and fencing champion Alexander Massialas is realizing a dream — and continuing a family legacy — by competing in the summer Olympics in London. His father and coach, Greg Massialas, also fenced in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games and qualified for the 1980 games in Moscow, which the U.S.…
FIRST PERSON | Barbara Kate Repa My friend Johanna and I honor a tradition of embarking on an adventure together to celebrate our birthdays, loosely based on Eleanor Roosevelt’s exhortation that doing scary things makes you stronger. So when my big day neared this year, I urged an outing to the Imperial Spa at 1875…
“FRESH PERFUME IS THE BEST,” proclaims Meg Christensen, manager of Le Labo, the scent emporium that opened during the holidays at 2238 Fillmore Street. The spare shop has no perfume in stock, but will mix one of its 12 fragrances on the spot while the customer waits. Costs range from $58 for a 15-ml. portion…
Gerri Nuval was a pre-med student at San Francisco State, working part time at a little lingerie shop called Victoria’s Secret on Union Street, when she got sick and the doctors told her to slow down. She pushed through the pain and realized she had found what she really wanted to do: “to be around…