Internet celebrity Eric Fischer just unearthed a few more ancient pictures of the Mission, including this shot of the Hairball in its infancy.
Also, Mission south of 22nd.
And, FYI, Mission Local has a slide show examining proposed Cesar Chavez corridor improvements that includes some aerial shots that illustrate exactly why it’s called the Hairball here.
There are also some better pictures from when it was under construction, for example http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/3252703538/in/set-72157622518308025/
Man, I wish we could find that picture of the pre-hairball Army St. traffic circle. You can sort of see it on the 1953 Standard Oil city street map.