News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
By NIKKI COLLISTER A good watch can last a lifetime, and beyond. That’s the philosophy behind WatchCenter, the boutique watch and repair shop located at 2030 Union Street, near Fillmore. Business partners Filippo Meduri and Benjamin Chapman should know, since they’ve been working with watches for most of their lives. “If you have a $2,000…
By NIKKI COLLISTER To step into Yury’s Lights & Beyond is to enter a palace of lights, a dazzling collection of one-of-a-kind sconces, mid-century Italian floor lamps and ornate crystal chandeliers overhead. But if you care to look a little closer, you’ll also find a truly impressive showcase of accessories, from gracefully shaped fabric shades…
By NIKKI COLLISTER At Cow Hollow Woodworks, no two projects are alike. The furniture restoration shop prides itself on blending artistry and craftsmanship to give new life to centuries-old antiques, as well as cherished wood objects of any vintage. “Every single job is custom,” says owner Enrico Dell’Osso, acknowledging the unique history and design of…
REMEMBRANCE | ELEANOR COPPOLA (1936-2024) By ALISON OWINGS The sad news spread fast among her friends: Ellie Coppola died. She was 87, and died at home in Napa Valley on April 12. For years she and her creative family lived near Fillmore Street, first on Webster Street and later up on Broadway. Late in life,…
By NIKKI COLLISTER In the front office of SF Silver Glass & Mirror, every piece of glass tells a story. There’s the decorative French window with colorful stained-glass panes, made by founder Salvador Martinez for his wife, Rosalba. And a tall, narrow mirror with diamond-shaped bevels cut by Salvador’s son, German. A round, larger-than-life mirror…
JUST ABOUT THIS time of year, for decades, Joe Pecora would be throwing open the doors of his beautifully maintained Victorian home near Alamo Square for his annual Christmas pot luck. The house would be brimming with friends and neighbors and decorated from top to bottom with his collection of antique ornaments and Christmas cards.…
By CLAIRE FAHYThe New York Times Dianne Feinstein was laid to rest last week with a funeral service on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, a fitting backdrop for a woman who was as much a symbol of the city as the Golden Gate Bridge is. It certainly felt that way when I was…
JOHN GAUL, 97, a fixture on Fillmore Street and in San Francisco historical circles for decades, died on July 25, 2023, at his longtime home at John F. Kennedy Towers. He leaves a considerable legacy of celebrating and perpetuating the history of the city he loved. He was a docent at three of San Francisco’s…
By CHRIS BARNETT After a 34-year run of flipping pizzas, uncorking wine and telling stories on the northwest corner of Fillmore and California, Dino Stavrakikis is selling the longtime pizza palace known for decades as Dino’s — now renamed after his son as Santino’s Wine Bar — to the owner of Ace Wasabi Sushi in…
BOOKS | MARK J. MITCHELL “I never intended to write a book,” Ronald Hobbs said as we basked in the warm February sun in Santino’s Vino’s parklet at Fillmore and California. “Who does that these days?” “Well, you did,” I nudged, tapping my copy of his new book, Nearing a Place Called Home. “A pretty…