writer, teacher, traveler, and lazy gardener

Category: San Francisco Photo Tour (Page 3 of 4)

Haight-Ashbury: What Era Is It?

While every neighborhood in San Francisco appears to be undergoing a transformation, Haight-Ashbury seems stuck in either the “Summer of Love 1968” or 1989. I can never decide which. The district has retained its signature attractions and distractions: smoke shops, funky vintage boutiques, skate rats, drugged-out homeless and tie-dyed clothing. In the late 80s, when gentrification was attempting to make a foothold with some new condos, an activist group protesting the development—”Stop the Mall-ing of Haight Street”—quickly formed. Said condo development was then torched. Authorities never proved who was responsible but a clear message was sent to developers that Haight Street was not to be messed with. In 2004, Urban Outfitters unsuccessfully tried to move in and was met with similar opposition.

Recently, my friend Philip and I hit the Haight. We noticed a few changes. All You Knead Cafe—known for its massive, unwieldy menu and hangover-cure homefries—had shuttered after twenty plus years. The repertory movie house the Red Victorian had closed, too. More gastropubs had opened up along with smoke shops offering in-house doctors who could easily provide marijuana prescriptions. Thankfully, the restaurant Cha Cha Cha, at the park end of Haight Street, was still there. We dipped in for lunch and ordered our favorite Caribbean-influenced dishes: plantains and beans, jerk chicken, and warm spinach and mushroom salad. We both hadn’t been for many years; the flavors were exactly as we remembered them. No need to change with the times here. Some things are perfect exactly the way they are.

Later in the afternoon Hayden, Adam, and two new band members—the lead guitarist, a long-haired recent graduate of Julliard, and the bass player, a former roommate of Adam’s who came out of retirement because he was creatively unfulfilled as a dentist—performed an acoustic set at Amoeba Records in Haight-Ashbury.

“Love Match’s” San Francisco Photo Tour: North Beach

Like most areas of San Francisco, North Beach, the city’s Little Italy, has a colorful past. It’s bordered by Russian Hill, the Financial District, Fisherman’s Wharf and Telegraph Hill. After the 1906 earthquake, the wharves and docks were rebuilt by Italian immigrants. The workers and their families settled there and built a vibrant community.

In the 50s the Beats arrived: Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti opened City Lights Bookstore. Cafes, bars and restaurants sprung up along with strip clubs. At Broadway and Columbus Ave, the Condor boasted Carol Doda, one of the first dancers to go topless. Her 44” bust line, aided by silicone implants, became a tourist attraction. During the 60s, the acerbic comedian Lenny Bruce challenged the establishment at the Purple Onion nightclub as well as the venue launched the careers of Richard Pryor, Woody Allen, and Phyllis Diller. Punks descended in the late 70s and early 80s. Dead Kennedys, Husker Du and Ramones played at the Mabuhay Gardens, “Fab Mab,” on Broadway.

For this photo tour, I took a walk along Columbus Ave around 11 a.m. on a Sunday. The only people on the streets were tourists. They crowded Molinari’s, the Italian deli on Columbus Ave. They were so happy to be there as they ate copa and mozzarella sandwiches and checked another foodie destination off their list.

Through the earthquakes, economic ups and down, and dotcom busts and booms, North Beach has managed to retain its Italian community and flavor. However, the adjacent Chinatown has been encroaching for some time. Little Italy is becoming littler.

The morning crunch over, Jessica and Penny headed into North Beach. Jessica absorbed the delectable smells of frying garlic and onions, simmering tomato-basil sauce, and freshly baked focaccia from the Italian restaurants and bakeries lining Columbus Avenue. She was famished, and hoped Penny had chosen the restaurant for their lunch wisely. As they turned up Grant Avenue and arrived at Café Fraîche, her heart sank. A raw food restaurant in North Beach? Sacrilege! Instead of gooey cannelloni or puffy ravioli with arrabbiata sauce, a pile of garden mulch accompanied by bone-dry, gray crackers graced her plate.

“Love Match’s” San Francisco Photo Tour: South Park

South Park is not to be confused with the show about four potty-mouthed animated characters. It’s a few block area located South of Market near the entrance to the Bay Bridge. The neighborhood is designed around a grassy, oval-shaped commons with a small playground. It’s ringed by former warehouses, metal shops and renovated Victorians. The neighborhood has been through considerable changes. About twenty-five years ago, it could’ve been dubbed “Needle Park” due to the many junkies nodding out on the grass or hitting up pedestrians for change for their next score. Crime and grime were high, so consequently, rents were cheap. Entrepreneurs eventually took notice and soon descended on the area. One of the first was South Park Cafe, an acclaimed French bistro. Graphic design, architecture and multimedia companies, and Wired magazine soon followed, converting spacious warehouses into work/live loft spaces and post-modern studios.

The junkies are long gone. More wine bars, boutiques and bistros have sprouted, including The Grilled Cheese Cafe. A new modern condo is on the market for $5 M. What a difference a few decades makes.

The car turned into South Park, then pulled up in front of the Coffee Farm café, a block from the Love Match office. Some children were playing in the small playground across the way, while their mothers hovered. Jessica glared at the women in their tight yoga clothes that showcased their sinewy arms and bubble butts. Look at them. All fit and gorgeous with their stupid, happy smiles. Why can’t I be like that?

 

 

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