News from the Heart and Soul of San Francisco
February 2009 was another slow period for home sales in the neighborhood. With the economy looking gloomier every day and the stock market reaching record lows, it would appear, at least at first glance, that our housing market is moving in a similar direction. However, the most recent activity in the local market suggests this…
By Donna Gillespie While wandering through the haze of sizzling teriyaki burgers and listening to the pounding of Taiko drums at the Nihonmachi Street Fair last month, you might have been asked to sign a petition supporting the event, or seen people wearing stickers that said “Save Our Festivals.” It was a response to a…
One rarely sees homes in our neighborhood selling for less than $1 million, but it happened in June 2008 at 49 Service Street, a short block near Steiner and Lombard. A one bedroom single family home closed at $675,000, setting the bar for the lowest priced single family home sold in the area this year.…
In the springtime, a few weeks after the cherry trees blossom and the air turns fragrant with rosemary, the roses of Rose Court begin to bloom. There are roses of many colors and kinds, some brought from the altar of nearby St. Dominic’s Church. They’ve been given a chance to live on in the garden…
Observing the local market, you would never guess the national real estate market is in a much different state. We’ve recently had a large influx of properties on the high end, and many of them have gone sold quickly. We are also seeing homes being quietly shown before going onto the multiple listing service, two…
Diana Arsham’s rooftop garden has changed considerably in the 25 years since she grew her first crop of pole beans and saw them eaten by the birds. Vegetables take far more vigilance — and water — than other plants she has embraced as her ecological consciousness has grown and she has become ever more committed…
FIRST PERSON | Gary Neatherlin Years ago I began experimenting with aquariums. I have several — freshwater and saltwater — in my apartment above Fillmore Street. So I was pleasantly surprised when a friend told me about an unusual aquarium display at a relatively new store, Aqua Forest Aquarium, located just down the street at…
By Don Langley Another new high-rise residential tower — this one almost twice the permitted height — is being proposed in the neighborhood. The tower, part of a project to be built at Pine and Franklin Streets, would be 240 feet, or 25 stories, tall. A second tower on the site would be at the…
By THOMAS REYNOLDS For years, the dog walkers in Alta Plaza Park watched the construction site at the top of Jackson Street. Two townhouses disappeared, opening a view of the bay. Then one sleek glass and steel home was built where two had been. Yet the view to the bay remained. Architect Olle Lundberg, the…
LANDMARKS | ANNE BLOOMFIELD Observe at the corner of Pine and Scott a low brick fence, a hedge and a row of cypresses. Nothing can be seen behind them except more trees and hints of a rather large white house, an excellent Italianate specimen, it develops. No, we are not out in the country, somewhere…