UN Plaza

 Posted by on August 5, 2011
Aug 052011
 
UN Plaza

Civic Center – San Francisco United Nations Plaza United Nations Plaza is an area off of Market Street with a walkable corridor straight to Civic Center, which includes City Hall and Herbst Theatre.  The United Nations Charter was signed in the War Memorial Veterans Building’s Herbst Theatre in 1945, leading to the creation of the United Nations. According to Wikipedia “Civic Center has a seedy, run-down, high crime reputation and appearance with large amounts of Homeless encampments which has prevented it from attracting the large amounts of tourists seen in other areas of the city. Despite repeated redevelopment of Civic Continue Reading

The Tenderloin – Humming With Life

 Posted by on August 4, 2011
Aug 042011
 
The Tenderloin - Humming With Life

The Tenderloin – San Francisco Hyde and Golden Gate This is panel one of a new mural on the U.S. Postal Service office building  at the corner of Hyde and Golden Gate.  It was done by Johanna Poethig, whose work we saw in The Tenderloin National Forest and Tutubi Plaza.  This mural is titled humming with life.  If you hop over to her blog. where she has posted lots of pictures of the activities that took place around her while she was installing this blog you get a sense of how apt the title its. This is directly from her blog – “Humming With Life”, Continue Reading

SOMA – Murals on 6th

 Posted by on August 3, 2011
Aug 032011
 
SOMA - Murals on 6th

6th Street Corridor – San Francisco 6th and Minna Streets 6th Street in San Francisco is not the nicest street in the city.  Its overabundance of SRO’s crack dealers, and soup kitchens make it a street many people avoid.  I took all these shots while wandering by myself, however, it was broad daylight.  The point is, like any city, know your surroundings and keep your eyes open, and life is not all that scary. This mural was painted in 1998 by Precita Eyes.  The designer and painter, specifically was William Boler Jr. On the other side of the alley are Continue Reading

SOMA – Gordon Street Murals

 Posted by on August 2, 2011
Aug 022011
 
SOMA - Gordon Street Murals

SOMA – San Francisco This mural is on Gordon Street, South of Market.  Gordon is a dingy dead end alley off of Harrison Streets between 8th and 9th.  It is hard to find, and you would have no reason to even be on the alley, but it was a quiet Sunday and no cars or buses were blocking the view which is how I spied it.  The mural is titled Zen and is by Kristine Brandt.  Kristine studied at the Academy of Art University and the Florence Academy of Art.  What I really loved is the incorporation of the mural Continue Reading

SOMA -Art that Disappears when Buildings Do

 Posted by on August 1, 2011
Aug 012011
 
SOMA -Art that Disappears when Buildings Do

SOMA – San Francisco 260 Fifth Street at Clementina This sign is an anathema to me for several reasons.  While hard to read, it states that this building will be demolished and a 9 story building will be put up in its place. Although not highly ornamented, it does have some lovely features. When I see old buildings with history like this arbitrarily being tossed by the wayside so that a non-descript highrise can be built, it makes my blood boil. The unique architecture of any city is what makes it stand out, the more that we have nondescript, inexpensive Continue Reading

The Tenderloin – 20,000 Missing Seats

 Posted by on July 31, 2011
Jul 312011
 
The Tenderloin - 20,000 Missing Seats

The Tenderloin – Market Street Junction – San Francisco 6th -Taylor – Market Street This fascinating piece is on the back side of Show Dogs Hot Dog Stand at the corners of 6th Street, Taylor and Market. The mural is an homage to those movie and performance art theaters (Strand, Unique, Embassy, Rialto, Granada, Regal, Imperia, Pantages, Tivoli, Hub, State, Egyptian, etc) that once graced this area of Market Street prior to the 1906 earthquake and up into the 1950’s.  It is part of the S.F. Arts Commission 2011 Art in Store Fronts Project. The artist is Rafael Landea an Argentinean Continue Reading

SOMA, Tenderloin, Market Street, July 30, 2011

 Posted by on July 30, 2011
Jul 302011
 
SOMA, Tenderloin, Market Street, July 30, 2011

Bears Around San Francisco A while back I was walking in my own neighborhood, SOMA,  (this is Berwick and Heron off of Harrison or 8th Streets) and in this little alley I came across this great big bear. Well as I was wandering The Tenderloin Forest, I came across this guy I knew I had seen this work before and was happy to see another wonderful character.  Then last week I was driving through the intersection of Market and 6th Street and what do I see? The artist is Chad Hasegawa.  He was born in Hawaii and has quite a repertoire.  This Continue Reading

SOMA – Inner City Home and Truth

 Posted by on July 29, 2011
Jul 292011
 
SOMA - Inner City Home and Truth

SOMA and Market Street Areas of San Francisco This is by Ricardo Gouveia, a Portuguese artist residing in San Francisco.  From 1984-2002, Rigo used the last two digits of the current year as part of his name (in this case Rigo94) , finally settling upon “23″ in 2003.  As part of TODCO’s Inner City Arts Program, Rigo worked with Sixth Street hotel tenants to create this powerful statement of community identity, painted on the Knox SRO and visible for miles.   TODCO Group is a community-based housing/community development nonprofit corporation for San Francisco’s South of Market Neighborhood. Sixth street is one of Continue Reading

SOMA – Frisco’s Wild Side

 Posted by on July 28, 2011
Jul 282011
 
SOMA - Frisco's Wild Side

SOMA – San Francisco Langton between Folsom and Harrison This newly restored mural is on Langton Street between Folsom and Harrison in the South of Market area. Originally painted in 1995 by Precita Eyes it is called “Frisco’s Wild Side”.  It took more than 70 participants to plan and paint depictions of endangered species in North America. The animals are found in fantastical settings of ancient civilizations and modern industrialization interwoven with and sometimes battling the animals’ natural habitats. San Francisco residents and local school children helped to paint and create tile mosaics that were then embedded into the concrete relief Continue Reading

Hayes Valley – Ethereal Art

 Posted by on July 27, 2011
Jul 272011
 
Hayes Valley - Ethereal Art

Hayes Valley – San Francisco Hayes Valley came to prominence when film director Erich von Stroheim chose the corner of Hayes and Laguna for the filming of his 1924 film “Greed.” His affections were for a 19th-century Victorian that had been built in the early 1880s by Col. Michael Hayes as an amusement pavilion, though word has it Hayes constructed the building to lure an extension of the streetcar line to Hayes Valley. The building survived the 1906 earthquake and fire and at the time of filming was occupied only on the ground floor, by a French laundry and the Continue Reading

Hayes Valley – Pop Up Art

 Posted by on July 26, 2011
Jul 262011
 
Hayes Valley - Pop Up Art

Hayes Valley – San Francisco I had the privilege of catching Andy Vogt in the process of making this piece.  We chatted for awhile, as he worked putting lath into the chain link fence.  This space surrounds a temporary landing spot for the Museum of Craft and Art.  The museum is presently in a storage unit plunked down on the corner of Hayes and Octavia.    The exhibit around the museum will run through October of 2011 and is entitled Place Making.  The museum invited three artists and architects to design installations based on the sites impermanent condition with architectural Continue Reading

Chinatown Architecture

 Posted by on July 25, 2011
Jul 252011
 
Chinatown Architecture

15 Waverly Place Chinatown – San Francisco The Marble plaque on this wall reads: Chinese Baptist Church Property of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of NY Built 1888 Destroyed 1906 Rebuilt 1908 When Chinese students were not permitted to attend the city’s public schools, the Church offered day school for children, and night school for adults. Today it offers English language classes and an outreach program to immigrants. After the 1906 earthquake, many buildings in San Francisco were built of brick, mainly because people feared fire more than shaking.  This of course was foolhardy as brick does not stand Continue Reading

Art Nouveau in Chinatown

 Posted by on July 24, 2011
Jul 242011
 
Art Nouveau in Chinatown

720 Kearny Street Chinatown, San Francisco The first overseas office of the Sing Tao Daily was opened in San Francisco in 1975.  The parent company of the Sing Tao Daily, the Sing Tao Newspaper Group Limited, was founded in 1938 and is based in Hong Kong.  It has one of the longest publishing histories among the Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong. This amazing Art Nouveau building designed by Luigi Mastropasqua in 1907, is at the corner of Commercial and Kearny Streets in Chinatown. Mastropasqua is probably more famous for designing Julius’ Castle on San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill. Commercial Street is Continue Reading

Oriental Home and School of San Francisco’s Chinatown

 Posted by on July 23, 2011
Jul 232011
 
Oriental Home and School of San Francisco's Chinatown

Chinatown 940 Washington Street, San Francisco I love the architecture that you find in Chinatown.  I actually think, more because of the history than the actual styles.  This brick building with its’ beautiful tile arched entry is one of my favorites.  It is the Gum Moon Womens Residence.  It has a nice piece of marble with the inscription. Oriental Home and School of the WHMS of The ME Church This building’s history begins in 1870.  The history of the Chinese immigration in the United States is not a pretty one, and this is standing testament to the people that did Continue Reading

Chinatown’s Dragon Mural and More

 Posted by on July 22, 2011
Jul 222011
 
Chinatown's Dragon Mural and More

Chinatown – San Francisco * Chinatown is chock a block with murals, and this is one of my favorites.  It is titled Dragons Gate and is by Wes Wong and Lost One.  According to their website Fresh Paint they are “a San Francisco based mural painting company offering a fresh take on aerosol wall painting.”  They are young, and their work shows that link from youth based tagging to professional mural execution” You can find Dragon’s Gate on the corner of Trenton and Pacific Avenue. This mural was sponsored in part by SFAC StreetSmArts Program. Wentworth Street between Jackson and Washington presently Continue Reading

Phone Company Building

 Posted by on July 21, 2011
Jul 212011
 
Phone Company Building

743 Washington Street Chinatown San Francisco’s Chinatown  is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. Established in the 1840s, It plays an extremely important part in the history of San Francisco and the history of the Chinese diaspora. Chinatown is the most densely populated neighborhood in the city and one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the United States. It is also one of the more working class neighborhoods of San Francisco.  Chinatown has more visitors annually than the Golden Gate Bridge. The Chinese Telephone Exchange sits at 793 Washington. In 1891, the first public telephone pay Continue Reading

Chinatown Murals

 Posted by on July 20, 2011
Jul 202011
 
Chinatown Murals

Chinatown – San Francisco Stockton and Pacific This mural is also on the Ping Yuen Housing Project.  This is the Stockton Street Side of the building. Painted by Darryl Mar in 1999.  Mar is a graduate of UC Irvine.  He went on to get a masters in Asian American Studies from UCLA.  Mr. Mar was aided by Darren Acoba, Joyce Lu and Tonia Chen.  It is in memory of Sing Kan Mah and  those who have struggled to make America their home. Walking further down Stockton Street towards the tunnel you will find this mural on the Victory Memorial Hall Continue Reading

Chinatown – 8 Immortals

 Posted by on July 19, 2011
Jul 192011
 
Chinatown - 8 Immortals

Chinatown – San Francisco  711 Pacific Bok Sen  – Eight Immortals I was stopped short by this set of murals.  The style is so obviously asian and yet you just don’t see that style outside of the asian world when it comes to murals.  This is the front of the Ping Yuen Public Housing Project on the corner of Stockton and Pacific in San Francisco.  The housing project was built in 1952, and designed by Architect Henry Temple Howard.  Howard was a graduate of UC Berkeley and the Ecole de Beaux Arts.  After a stint with his father, architect John Continue Reading

Pepe Ozan’s Invocation

 Posted by on July 18, 2011
Jul 182011
 
Pepe Ozan's Invocation

Potrero Hill – San Francisco This sculpture is located at the corner of Bayshore Blvd, Cesar Chavez and 26th Street, just to the side of Highway 101. Though it was installed in 2004, to mark the beginning of a new bike path, they just started construction on said path this month. The sculptor, Pepe Ozan, stated that the piece represents an Eagle-Warrior, an institution that survived all of Mesoamerica’s civilizations throughout 2000 years until the arrival of the Conquistadors. The Eagle-Warriors were a corps of elite who served as leaders in religious ceremonies as well as on the battlefield. The Continue Reading

SOMA – Meagan Spendlove

 Posted by on July 17, 2011
Jul 172011
 
SOMA - Meagan Spendlove

SOMA – San Francisco This mural is on the corner of 10th Street and Sheridan in the South of Market Area of San Francisco.  The artist is Meagan Spendlove.  Her website reads “Meagan Spendlove currently works in San Francisco, California as a professional designer, illustrator and project coordinator. Her latest endeavors include yet are not limited to mural project coordination and digital illustration. Over the past twelve years her style has become recognized mainly for its feminine subject matter and organic ingredients. Assorted shaded ethereal women & bright colors surrounded by bold lines, similar to stained glass.” The bright colors Continue Reading

Tenderloin – Alcazar Theater

 Posted by on July 16, 2011
Jul 162011
 
Tenderloin - Alcazar Theater

Alcazar Theater – Tenderloin – San Francisco This is the center section of the Alcazar, it is flanked by two matching wings. In 1976, the Alcazar was awarded the highest rating for architectural significance in a survey of city buildings.   Located at 650 Geary Street, between Jones and Leavenworth in the Tenderloin, it was built in 1917 at a cost of $150,000 as the Islam Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. The Shriners, a men’s social and charitable organization of the Freemasons, used the building until 1970. The building was designed by Scottish-born architect Thomas Patterson Ross. Continue Reading

The Embarcadero

 Posted by on July 15, 2011
Jul 152011
 
The Embarcadero

 Bronze Horse” by Marino Marini.  The fountain behind it is by Robert Woodward. Real estate development projects in San Francisco are required to develop public spaces in order to obtain project approval. A good example of this is at the One Maritime Plaza building, located at Battery and Clay Streets, near the Embarcadero Center office buildings. The office building was built in 1964 for Alcoa Corporation. This building was the first to use the seismic X-bracing as part of its structural aesthetic.  The formal plan for the garden squares on top of the garages was intended to create the effect Continue Reading

Windows into the Tenderloin

 Posted by on July 14, 2011
Jul 142011
 
Windows into the Tenderloin

Windows into The Tenderloin – San Francisco Mona Caron Wandering the Tenderloin area of San Francisco you will come upon this mural on the corner of Jones and Golden Gate by Swiss born, San Francisco based, artist Mona Caron. The project was spearheaded by the North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District. The design was inspired by research and meetings with neighborhood residents, communities and organizations over the summer and fall of ’08. The mural was painted in ’09, and dedicated in March 2010. Standing on Golden Gate Avenue, this part of the mural shows a view looking North from Market Continue Reading

The Tenderloin National Forest

 Posted by on July 13, 2011
Jul 132011
 
The Tenderloin National Forest

Still in the “Tenderloin National Forest”.  The Alley is so narrow that getting the larger murals is pretty difficult, so I apologize for the quality of many of these, they just had to be taken on an angle to get them all into the frame. There is so little information available about the artists that did the murals, many of them are attributed to the “Trust your Struggle” collective.  I wish I could bring you more information, but enjoy the murals. This one is titled “Bounce” This reads “Our Lady of the Alley” Why do I know there is a Continue Reading

The Tenderloin National Forest

 Posted by on July 12, 2011
Jul 122011
 
The Tenderloin National Forest

Steel Gate by Kevin Leeper I stopped short when I saw this beautiful gate. It is the entry to Cohen Alley off Leavenworth, near Eddy.  This is the Tenderloin, an area of town that starts many a conversation.    It has a fascinating history,  if you are interested, head over to wikipedia.  I was amazed at the things I learned about this area. What most people think about the Tenderloin is high crime, but at the same time the high concentration of apartment buildings in the Tenderloin gives it the densest population (people per square mile) in the city, and also Continue Reading

SOMA – Califor’ya

 Posted by on July 11, 2011
Jul 112011
 
SOMA - Califor'ya

SOMA – San Francisco This mural is on a building at the corner of 7th and Folsom Streets, (It is on the 7th Street side) in the South of Market area of San Francisco. It was done by 1:AM short for First Amendment, a gallery at 1000 Howard Street in San Francisco. According to 1:AM they are “a gallery that stands behind the freedom of speech.  We strive to showcase, teach, and inspire the public on street and urban art through our exhibitions, education, and street productions…  With the gallery, classes, and a veteran mural production team, 1:AM has become Continue Reading

Embarcadero Center –

 Posted by on July 9, 2011
Jul 092011
 
Embarcadero Center -

More on the Embarcadero Center, San Francisco. Walk inside the Hyatt Regency adjacent to Embarcadero Center One, ride the escalator up and, behold,  Charles O. Perry’s “Eclipse”, a 40-foot high geodesic sphere consisting of 1,400 pieces of curved metal tubing joined together in pentagons and supported by three massive steel legs. Continue out onto Justin Herman Plaza.   Justin Herman was the Executive Director of the Redevelopment Agency.  According to SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research) “Justin Herman was responsible for guiding the Agency during its early years. As Executive Director of the Agency from 1960 until 1971, Herman oversaw Continue Reading

The Embarcadero Center

 Posted by on July 8, 2011
Jul 082011
 
The Embarcadero Center

When urban renewal laws took hold in the 1950’s, city planner M. Justin Herman spearheaded a plan to redevelop the site where Embarcadero Center now stands into a mixed-use “city within a city.” David Rockefeller, John Portman, and Trammel-Crow submitted the winning proposal to develop the 8.5 acre site. Embarcadero Center’s four office towers were built in phases, beginning in 1968 and ending in 1983. The office towers, have a daily population of 16,000. In building two on the lobby level, this little gem is tucked away in a corner near the entry to the office towers.  It is titled Continue Reading

Embarcadero Center

 Posted by on July 7, 2011
Jul 072011
 
Embarcadero Center

The Embarcadero – San Francisco Two Columns with Wedge by William Gutmann Visiting San Francisco, like many cities in the world, leaves one with the need for more time or many visits.  The first few visits people very rarely get out of Union Square.  Some people are able to get to the Ferry building and its environs.  For the next couple of days I want to bring to you the Embarcadero Center.  Shopping, Dining and art all in one spot.  Because of the San Francisco public art laws, there is quite a bit to see at the four Embarcadero buildings Continue Reading

The Embarcadero – Sidney Walton Park

 Posted by on July 6, 2011
Jul 062011
 
The Embarcadero - Sidney Walton Park

Sydney Grant Walton, for whom the park is named, was a San Francisco banker who lived from 1901 to 1960. Reportedly he was a multitalented business- man, cultural leader and vice-chairman of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. As the plaque outside the park states, he was “vital in the formation of the concept and development of the Golden Gateway.” The above sculpture is my favorite in the park.  It has always appealed to me on many levels. In 1962, Perini-Alcoa (joint developers) held a sculpture competition to locate a fountain which would complement the Peter Walker designed park. They chose “Four Continue Reading

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