Inside Urban Putt

On Tuesday evening Steve Fox opened up the doors to the space at 1096 South Van Ness, future home of his mini golf restaurant bar, Urban Putt, and let people wander inside and look around. The former mortuary was most recently renovated to be a bar and club, but retains a lot of the original flair and regality of a classy/cheesy 20th Century mortuary, including some creepy little brick chambers and a stairway to nowhere in the basement. I spoke with Steve and his designer Christopher Myers about their plans.

The plans for the holes are pretty ambitious and sound like they’re going to be a lot of fun to make. As someone who has also built an indoor park with building exteriors in this neighborhood, it’s right up my alley. Many of the holes are going to be locally themed, recreating monuments and places from San Francisco that go beyond the typical postcard locals, such as the spot where the 1906 Earthquake survivors meet every year. There will also be a private room to rent out, bars around the space and dining upstairs. We wrote about Urban Putt previously here.

Anyway, back to the holes, most of them will be on the main floor, but some will also lead the golfers into side rooms where they will step into a submarine environment. The fabrication will happen on site and Steve is looking to include local artists/designers to help create one or two of the holes. You can contact him if you’re interested.

17 Responses to “Inside Urban Putt”

  1. friend says:

    rad!!

  2. Old Mission Neighbor says:

    Minigolf indoors? I don’t understand this.

  3. Dude! says:

    Props to Steve for being an awesome broseph! Opening this up to the public to view, and working with local talent.

    Some graffiti/art inside would look fresh!

    • Tokenism says:

      “Steve is looking to include local artists/designers to help create one or two of the holes.”

      Defensive and reactionary move which is understandable I guess because we’re so afraid of change and more yuppie infatalism creeping into the hood, but come on. Its your vision, don’t let the haters get you down.

  4. John Goldie says:

    What a great idea! The space is a bit tight, but the concepts presented look like they will work. Love the fact that it’s so close to Bartlett St. Garage, 3 or 4 (or more) bus stops, and BART!!! Woot, we need cools things around so much public transportation…then people can’t bitch about parking. Also they’ll be supporting local kids, local neighborhood hiring, and are locals themselves. LOVE!

  5. Bleeze says:

    I like this idea, but I’m worried about the execution.

    If that last pic, the one of the hole that looks like the Academy of Sciences roof, is an actual hole to be used I’m not sure it will make it through the opening night. Some drunk a-hole is going to have a grand time ‘poking’ at that with his putter and ruin it for the rest of us.

    • Steve Fox says:

      Steve Fox here. The Academy of Sciences structure shown in the picture is from a demonstration project we did last Sept. 21 for Parking Day. We built a minigolf version of Golden Gate Park and installed it on Mission Street for the day. It’s made of foam core and was intended to last for a short duration. The actual course will be solidly built–wood and metal–and capable of standing up to serious punishment.

  6. Rhiannon Charisse says:

    I hope it lasts longer than Funland. Funland was awesome but no one went. It had wacky SF-themed holes too.

  7. lzlzlz says:

    whenever the first upscale skeeball place opens, the mission’s transformation into a playground for the permanently adolescent yuppy consumer will be complete.

  8. lzlzlz says:

    WHEN CAN WE PAY $15 FOR A HAMBURGER WHILE PLAYING FUSBAL? WHY NO $8 BEER AIR HOCKEY PLACE???

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