Mission Mission

San Francisco’s oldest surviving building is Mission San Francisco de Asís. You know, that Mission on Dolores street that the Mission is named after? Yeah, that one.

In 2004, a hidden mural was uncovered by Ben Wood and Eric Blind  behind the building’s church altar. It was painted by Ohlone Indians under the enslavement supervision of Spanish missionaries in 1791. Ben Wood documented these findings and digitally captured the entire mural in this fascinating article at Found SF.

Now a kickstarter project has been created to resurrect the mural on the wall of Mission Market on 22nd and Bartlett. If funded, it will be painted by local artists Jet Martinez, Ezra Eismont, and Bunnie Reiss.

So if you want to see this piece of history recreated on a wall that looks pretty damn crappy right now, now’s your chance to pitch in! Here is a mock up of proposed recreation:

Check out the kickstarter page for more details a great video on the subject.

[via Jeremy Shaw of Mission Community Market]

What a find!

(What a disaster! Good thing two decades later they’re partway done with a solution.)

[Photo by Pick The Cats Eyes Out] [via Summer Is Rad]

Cranky Old Mission Guy posted these terrific BART anniversary tickets. They really stepped it up with the 1992 Back to the Future-inspired design. Has anyone seen 2002′s? Also let’s not forget that the 2012 anniversary tickets are right around the corner, if we survive the meteor.

This photo “by William Gedney” is dated “circa 1966-67″ but I’m pretty sure I saw these two at the Oh Sees show the other night. They were drinking microbrews and didn’t seem very into Sic Alps. I’m pretty sure.

[via India]

Forget owning a castle, if you have the millions ($22 million, naturally), why not buy an island? This island, to be exact:

And here’s some context:

On the real estate site Zillow, Red Rock Island inexplicably shows up  on the intersection of Van Ness and Pacific Ave., instead of it’s real location just south of the Richmond/San Rafael bridge:

The following comes directly from the listing:

Red Rock Island is the only privately held island in San Francisco Bay and is offered at $22M for the mineral rights and bragging rights.

Woah, mineral rights and bragging rights?

Well, the bragging rights go without saying. Imagine using the line, “Your place or my island?” Instant deal-closer. You’ll be loading up your private helicopter with babes or hot dudes (or both) in no time.

But what’s with those “mineral rights”? Just what kind of “red rocks” are we talking about here? Bismuth? Manganese? I’m not sure what the market is for paint pigment these days, but I can’t imagine it would cover your costs of mining. Don’t forget you’d also have to invest in an industrial-strength rock tumbler to get those other rocks show-ready.

That’s not all the island has to offer, though. According to sea kayaker and explorer Storm Steiger:

Russian and Aluet fur hunters camped on the island while pursuing the huge population of sea otters found in San Francisco Bay in the early 1800s.

Be still my otter-loving heart. That was the 1800s, though. Those otters have skipped town by now.

It was also known as a great place to gather firewood.

Bummer. We all love making fires, but most San Francisco fireplaces have been filled in.

But wait, what’s this?

Did pirates bury their gold on Red Rock? On old charts the island was called Treasure Rock and Golden Rock because of such tales.

Now we’re getting somewhere. What’s more appealing than pirate gold? With all that alleged treasure you might actually break even on the $90,000 monthly payment.

There’s all kinds of interesting information on Storm Steiger’s site, including the story of one entrepreneur who hoped to build a 20-story hotel on the island only to be shot down by the city of Richmond. There’s also a ton of info on this homestead site. Be sure to do your research before buying.

Hey Jello, Guy Sharpless from Boulder would like to say hi!

[link] [via Appendages of Cool]

If you liked Go Climb a Rock and Hippy Kitchens, you’re going to love Gigs, a never-ending stream of newly discovered vintage photographs of buds rocking out. Be sure to let me know if you see your dad in there anywhere.

These guys are apparently called “The Revengers.” The Revengers!

Let’s hear it for preservation! Our old pal Linda teamed up with Mission Local to save this here sign:

“I was alarmed when I saw the place up for lease after so many years,” said Linda Lagunas, a Mission resident of 15 years. “A lot of people have a soft spot in their hearts for that sign, myself included.”

Lagunas fears the sign will suffer the same fate as the famed 17 Reasons sign that sat atop Thrift Town on 17th and Mission streets before it was replaced by a billboard.

A post on MissionMission that sparked a discussion about Discolandia’s closing prompted Lagunas to take action. She’s written to the Historic Preservation Commission expressing her concern and asking what can be done to protect the sign.

Hurrah! Read on. (Also, you’re welcome.)

(Now can we take action against mushing Mission Mission into one word? What do we look like, KitchenAid?)

Discolandia sits nearly empty, a going-out-of-business sale in its final days, the space for rent.

Not that I ever went in there or anything, but I think we can all agree, whatever happens, the next tenant better not even think about touching the signage. How do we get it on some kind of registry of historic stuff?

Spots Unknown is working on a movie about a group of vets and enthusiasts who’ve restored to “combat specs” a Vietnam-era Huey. And they fly it around the Bay Area and look badass.

Today, a teaser trailer was released. It combines shots of these dudes in action with vintage footage of other Hueys actually in the shit. Watch it now (before it gets pulled due to unauthorized — but also badass — use of Led Zeppelin):

More info here.