News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
By BRIDGET MALEY San Francisco’s annual Decorator Showcase returns to Pacific Heights again this year, opening on April 26 at 2935 Pacific Avenue and continuing through May 26. Originally built as three flats in the Tudor Revival style, 2935 Pacific was transformed in 2009 into a classically inspired manse. It had been constructed in 1902…
A PLAN TO upscale the landmark Lane Medical Library at Sacramento and Webster into 24 condominiums — which so far has found smooth sailing through the city’s planning apparatus — has run into a roadblock. It is being appealed to the Board of Supervisors, with a hearing scheduled on February 6. After serving as a…
By WOODY LABOUNTY The story: the imposing Calvary Presbyterian Church on the corner of Fillmore and Jackson streets — which seems like an ancient temple that has stood on its plot for time immemorial — was moved there from Union Square. Let’s play detective and take a before-and-after look. Read more: “One Million Bricks“
By FRAN MORELAND JOHNS When the nominations for this year’s James Beard Awards were announced in late January, there was a local surprise. Among the semifinalists for Outstanding Bakery: Yasukochi’s Sweet Stop, a small shop in the corner of a Japantown grocery store most noted for keeping alive one of the city’s most beloved creations,…
THE LAST TRACES of the legendary Elite Cafe — a beacon of hospitality on Fillmore Street for decades — have disappeared. The lettering on the vintage neon sign has now been removed, along with the wooden booths inside. The Elite’s new name: The Tailor’s Son, in honor of owner Adrianno Paganini ’s father, who was…
DEMOLITION OF THE interior of the 110-year-old Clay Theatre on Fillmore Street began today, with workers hauling out the seats, the projectors and the popcorn machine. Landmark Theatres, the company that operated the Clay in recent decades, has instructed its staff to leave the building empty by the end of the month. The theater closed…
By CHRIS BARNETT One of the neighborhood’s enduring architectural treasures has been resurrected and a mystery is solved — almost. The 107-year-old Beaux Arts four-story Health Sciences Library on the corner of Webster and Sacramento — which gave refuge to the smart and studious for decades, but has stood empty collecting cobwebs in recent years…
ON OCTOBER 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake shook the Fillmore and the rest of the Bay Area. The neighborhood was spared major damage, but felt the effects of the quake in ways large and small. The most visible local damage was at St. Dominic’s Church, where the top of the tower was lost and…
SAN FRANCISCO ARTIST Kit Haskell has established herself as the gold standard for pen and ink drawings of the city’s Victorian homes. The newest book to feature her drawings lets children of all ages choose their own favorite Crayola colors for the Painted Ladies. It’s a coloring book featuring 20 of Haskell’s meticulously accurate drawings…
CULTURE BEAT | PAMELA FEINSILBER Andrew Dodd lives nowhere near the neighborhood, but he’s brought something special to it. Dodd created the Second Sunday Concert Series at the Swedenborgian Church, at Washington and Lyon Streets, offering live music in the stunning 1895 Arts & Crafts-style church. You live in Concord. How did you get involved…