News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
By Gary Kamiya San Francisco Chronicle FEW PEOPLE who pass the violet-painted house at 1712 Fillmore Street give it a second look. It’s another Victorian in a city full of them. But this building is different. Perhaps no other structure in San Francisco has such an extraordinary story. If its walls could talk, they would…
IT’S A BIT of a ’tween time at the Fillmore Farmers Market. Winter’s larder of sweet potatoes and oranges is still filled to abundance, the spring asparagus has just arrived, but the full bounty of summer tomatoes and melons is yet to come. Nonetheless, on a sunny Saturday morning in late April, there is no…
SUDDENLY THE CORNER of Fillmore and Pine has a completely new look and feel — and taste. Glaze Teriyaki Grill opened at the end of April, heralding a switch from Johnny Rockets burgers and fries to teriyaki plates, salads and sides. Seattle natives and partners Ian McCormick and Paul Krug created Glaze as a “fast…
By Julia Irwin AT SAN FRANCISCO GYMNASTICS at 1405 Fillmore, toddlers scramble over large geometric foam blocks, twirl colorful streamers and jump across a long trampoline track — all while waving to iPhone camera-wielding mothers. In recent months, the studio has made the move from its former location in the Presidio, re-establishing itself in the…
FIRST PERSON | Fran Johns Beyond the pain, angst and despair of downsizing, there is always a story. And there are questions: How can I convince my parent or spouse or partner that it’s time? Who’s going to take care of the logistics and legalities, not to mention the tricky finances? Will I lose my…
The annual San Francisco Decorator Showcase is now open in the neighborhood, this year at the top of Pacific Heights at 2800 Pacific Avenue. It features the work of more than two dozen local designers and invites the public to tour one of the iconic mansions designed by pioneering architect Ernest Coxhead. SLIDE SHOW: Inside…
BOOKS | MARK MITCHELL In a time when so many people live nose deep in their electronic devices, opening a bookstore seems almost like a subversive act. Still more subversive is opening a used bookstore. No screaming bestsellers. No fresh off the presses celebrity memoirs or political apologies from disgraced officials. Just a room full…
Photographs & Text by CARINA WOUDENBERG At only 350 square feet, Mureta’s Antiques doesn’t take up much space at 2418 Fillmore, yet the wares inside originate from several continents and span centuries of time, from the Georgian era of the 1700s to the late Art Deco period. And much of the shop’s contents — from…
LOCALS | CHRIS BARNETT For centuries, historians, scholars and food lovers have argued over who invented the pizza. Greeks claim the honor with a round flatbread topped with meat, cheese, fruit and tree leaves that debuted in 1 B.C. Italians insist a baker in Naples was commissioned to create the first real pizza in 1889…
PRESIDENT OBAMA returned to the neighborhood yet again last night for dinner with deep-pocketed supporters at the Getty Mansion. He was greeted in San Francisco style by a raucous crowd of protesters opposing the Keystone pipeline, then introduced by the Gettys’ down-the-block neighbor, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. Here’s the pool report on the event.…