News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
A NEW MARQUEE is in the works for the legendary Fillmore Auditorium at Geary and Fillmore. The Planning Commission has unanimously approved changes to the city’s sign ordinance that would permit a 60-foot-tall vertical blade proclaiming both the storied rock ’n’ roll venue and the surrounding neighborhood. Currently signs can be no higher than 24 feet.…
FIRST PERSON | ROGER BOAS I’ve been a resident of Pacific Heights for almost a century. I grew up in the 1920s, living with my folks in an apartment on Pacific Avenue. Then I bought my own place on Washington Street in 1959, raised four kids there with my wife Nancy — and we’ve lived…
SHE’D WORKED FOR THE RITZ in Paris and other international corporations, mostly designing hotels, but French designer Isabelle McGee wanted something different — something more intimate — when she set out to establish her interior design atelier in San Francisco. One day she was walking on Sutter Street, just a block from Fillmore, when she struck…
THE HAAS-LILIENTHAL HOUSE at 2005 Franklin Street has a new paint job that returns the historic Victorian to its original, more subdued color palette. To restore the historic integrity of the house, which now serves as its headquarters, San Francisco Heritage commissioned architectural conservator Molly Lambert to conduct a paint study to determine the original colors,…
LANDMARKS | BRIDGET MALEY Constructed in 1927 by insurance executive Henry Foster Dutton for his second wife, Violet, the classically inspired house at 3400 Washington Street was acquired by the Imperial Government of Iran to serve as its official San Francisco consulate in the mid-1950s. The house was designed by architect Erle J. Osborne, who…
IN THE SPRING of 1985, the Clay Theatre on Fillmore hosted the premiere of the spaghetti western parody Lust in the Dust. It starred Tab Hunter, Divine and Cesar Romero, who were at the Clay for the screening. After years of tales about the event, photographic evidence has now surfaced, courtesy of Tab Hunter’s partner,…
A NEW PLAN is in the works to remodel the historic Clay Theatre on Fillmore Street by expanding the concession area in the lobby and offering additional food and beverage options, including beer and wine. The plan abandons earlier efforts to carve the Clay into three smaller screening rooms and build townhouses above the theater and…
By CHRIS BARNETT The Wise Sons had planned to open their new bagelry at 1520 Fillmore in December, but it didn’t happen. Now it looks as if Wise Sons Bagel won’t woo the schmear set for another two months at least. “If I were a betting man — and I’m not — I’d say two months…
By TOMO HIRAI Nichi Bei Weekly At the dawn of its 110th year, San Francisco’s Japantown faces challenges in maintaining its identity as a regional hub of Japanese and Japanese American culture. About five decades since the Japan Center was built, many of the neighborhood’s longtime business owners have come of retirement age. As these…
FLASHBACK Before the neighborhood post office moved to 1849 Geary, where it stands today, it was around the corner on Steiner. And before that, it was at 1949 Post. The building now houses Ace Hardware. A cleaners remains next door, but with a new name.