Mission Mission

I walk past them every morning and every morning I’m like WOW SO COLOR

Between visits to Twitter, Facebook, Google and Trick Dog, Hillary Clinton cruised along high above York Street, veering west at its intersection with 24th, high above Pop’s and St. Francis Fountain.

(Additional reporting by Jess Kelso.)

We asked our buddy Eric, who’s been spending a lot of time at the new spot, to tell us all about  it:

First off, the City of San Francisco started dialogue about this park, going back as far as 2008. It was a project to help “brighten up” the dismal setting that is the Mission/Duboce underpass. However, the economy tanked, and fun projects like this were left in limbo.

Fast forward to July 2014. The park is open, skateboarding fever is in the air, and everyone is looking good in their new Benny Gold hat.

The park was designed to be a “skate plaza” of sorts. Instead of an eyesore of brown ramps, steel quarter pipes, and oversized handrails, the designers of this park used old San Francisco spots as their muse. Any SF OG will notice the throwbacks, and maybe some of the new kids will notice the 3 up/3 down that famously lives right down the street (and is still skateable).

The park does have a bit of something for everyone, but honestly, if you don’t know how to skate, don’t go there at peak hours. Here are a few tips:

-New to skating? Go in the morning. The park opens up at 9, but you’ll find people hopping the fence as early as 7. It’s not that tall, and is worth getting a ticket.

-Veteran skater looking to get back into it? Go in the morning during the week, or the evenings on Saturday. Pretty much all of the evenings have been chill.

-Blind spots. At peak hours there are tons of blind spots. Prepare to run into someone. Just make sure and be hella polite.

-Cheer! When someone does something super sick, make sure you’re supporting.

-Need to piss? There aren’t any public port-0-johns in the area, but people are asking the City for them. Try Cash N’ Carry on Van Ness, Zeitgeist, or Rice Paper Scissors at Brick and Mortar Music Hall (make sure to order a banh mi!).

-How to get there? In the evenings there is ample parking all over the neighborhood. Just make sure that your shit isn’t visible in the car after you park. Also, the whole area is flat, just skate there!

-The local kids will fuck with you. Don’t be dumb, just skate. This is a skatepark, there will be fights, cops, etc. Just be prepared to run, no matter who you are, or how old.

-Lastly, if there are any people reading this who ride an electric skateboard and think it would be “neat” to ride around… Please stay far away from the skatepark. You will get harassed and your shit will get stolen. No lie.

I encourage anyone who has ever loved skateboarding to try this park out. It is beautiful, well designed, and conveniently located. My favorite thing in the world is to grab some brunch/lunch at Rice Paper Scissors (inside Brick and Mortar), skate over to the park, shred for a bit, then roll over to Zeitgeist. It’s like a match made in heaven. See you out there.

10/10 A+ Gold Star Yay!

Yay! Oh and here’s Eric’s bio:

*eric ehler is a has-been skater. after dedicating his ankles to pushing for 10 years, he decided to go to culinary school and become a chef. after a 6 year hiatus from skating, he’s been back at it for the past few years. when he’s not cooking, he’s skating 3rd and army, eating chinese food, or creeping around the new park.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Turns out it’s a big bummer when you hop the fence during off hours.

[Photo by Dale Thorn]

The invite explains:

SINGIN’ & PINGIN’ happens at a lot of venues around SF and the region, but only Rickshaw Stop is a legit legendary concert venue. When you sing onstage at Rickshaw Stop, you’re gracing the very same stage as an ever-growing list of rock superstars. Check it out:

• M.I.A.
• Vampire Weekend
• Jonathan Richman
• Grimes
• Neon Indian
• The Dirtbombs
• YACHT
• Diplo
• Matthew Dear
• Jolie Holland

You get to perform on the same stage as M.I.A. for goodness’ sake! Let’s party!!

The Sonics too. The Sonics. The Sonics!! RSVP and invite your frens!

The New York Times Style Magazine reports:

In San Francisco, where tensions between established artist communities and Silicon Valley continue to rise, Luke Groesbeck, a former tech worker and the founder of the fledgling public art organization Art City, wants to help his hometown reinvest in the former. “This is a city with a major arts and cultural legacy,” he says. “How do we honor that? Then an idea came up and I got fixated on it: What happens when you turn an entire city into a gallery? Is it possible?”

From now until Aug. 17, San Franciscans will get to find out. As part of Art City’s Way Out West project, Groesbeck, along with his crew of curators and organizers, worked with advertising companies and the local creative community to coordinate his organization’s pilot urban art takeover.

This seems cool, displacing advertising in favor of local art and all. But I also really like that Coors Light ad.

Read on.

[via SF Weekly]

[via citybadger] [w/thanks to Capp Street Crap] [maybe check out the Coalition on Homelessness]

Neighbor Carrie just wrote in:

I’m a Mission resident living at 16th and Capp. I was walking my dog last night by the new giant residential place that’s opening up on the corner of Van Ness and 15th (giant gray horrible ugly building across the street from the artist’s billboard that reads: “Sell Your Hopes”) and saw the property owner showing another businessman around the building. As my dog was pooping on the sidewalk, I heard him say, “In the commercial space, we are either going to lease to a Starbucks or a pizza joint.”

My jaw dropped.

If a Starbucks opens here, I will probably commence looking for an apartment in another neighborhood.

Wowee.

[Photo by Google Maps]

It’s Fernet, vermouth, agave and orange bitters I think? A nice lady at the bar recommended it and it was awesome. (Not quite as good as Fernet all by itself, but it was a nice change of pace last night.)

(And yeah, I just called Virgil’s Sea Room “VSR.”)

Now let’s rock:

It’s a Wes Burger-style popup, but FRIED CHICKEN! Here’s the deal:

I am excited to announce my new pop-up/collaboration with my brother Walker. Starting this Tuesday we will be serving a weekly rotating menu of different fried chicken styles from around the world. Come check us out at The Residence Tuesday nights 6-10pm
-Wes

Can’t wait! Follow Uncle Brother’s on Facebook to stay in the loop.