Mission Mission

[via anadromy]

Now please enjoy these posts about…

when the Knockout was the Odeon

when Balançoire was 12 Galaxies

when Virgil’s Sea Room was Nap’s III

when Pop’s was also Pop’s

when Dear Mom was El Rincon

If you have any curiosity, at all, about the 1906 Earthquake (especially a morbid one), the Mission District is probably the most interesting place to look. Here are the top 3 reasons history nerds should take a closer look in the Mission.

1. LIQUEFACTION

Turns out that when you fill a marsh in with sand and debris, build lavish 3 & 4 story buildings on that sand and debris, then shake the ground for half a minute, those buildings pretty much sink right down into the ground.

Sinking buildings were built over what was once lake or marsh.

Guests on the 4th floor of the Valencia St. Hotel (top) simply stepped out of the window onto the street. Those sleeping on floors 1-3 weren’t so lucky. Most of the buildings destroyed by the earthquake were wiped out by fire. But this block of victorians on South Van Ness (below) survived 3 days of fires to become a tourist attraction.

South Van Ness between 18th & 19th.

2. FIRE LINE

The fires burned out in the Mission leaving a dramatic contrast between prosperity and homelessness (just like today!), thriving commerce and total annihilation (just like today!), Victorian architecture and Edwardian. Walk down 20th street from Dolores Park to Valencia paying attention to the architecture on the North side (post 1906) vs. the south side (pre 1906).

Much of the commercial hub in the Mission District survived. There weren’t many places left in the city that you could buy anything so thousands flocked to the Mission for goods and services in the days, weeks, and months after the fires.

3. DOLORES PARK

At the corner of 20th and Church remains one of the few fire hydrants in the city that was functioning after the city’s water mains had burst. This hydrant is credited for helping stop the fire for pushing forward and is painted gold on April 18th each year.

Dolores was also the temporary home for some of the quarter of a million refugees (more than half of the city’s population). A handful of these Army built earthquake shacks remain in the city.

Next week Mission Bicycle Company begins hosting 1906 Earthquake bike tours which include a theatrical simulation of the 46 seconds of the earthquake, 10 stops with before and after pictures, little known stories, a few surprises, lunch and a rental bike (more info).

[Photos by Fred Lyon, via Faint Quiverings]

[via Tarin]

10. The time we watched Christopher Walken attack the Golden Gate Bridge with a blimp.

9. The poem I wrote about Hayes Valley.

8. The time we determined what the best song to listen to while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge is.

7. My list of SF-related memories about Jay Reatard (RIP).

6. The #tbt post about the Sofia Coppola movie Somewhere and how I’d seen it at the Roxie back in the day and the scene with the Strokes song is really good and some other stuff.

5. The time I eavesdropped on some techbros in the park and they said a bunch of offensive shit.

4. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Knockout with a list of Knockout memories.

3. The time I ran into a bunch of cool people on a big Friday night out in the Mission.

2. The post we did THE DAY DOLORES PARK OPENED BACK UP!

1. The time I ate the new Mission Chinese Food CHINESE BURRITO for three (3) meals in a row, baby.

Thanks for reading, everybody!

1999, says Tumblr.

[via te Aprecio]

Local historian Big Old Goofy World tells us all about it:

This mural on the side of the Bernal Heights library is a remake of an older more elaborate one, from a time when Black-Brown unity was the big issue in the neighborhood. The original also featured a Mayan pyramid next to an Egyptian pyramid — all beneath the Transamerica Pyramid.

Lol ancient black folk + ancient brown folk + …contemporary investment bankers???

[link]

Remember back when it used to look like that?

Now please enjoy this list of recent posts about Dolores Park…

[via Big Old Goofy World]

Now please enjoy this long list of “history”-themed posts about the Mission and SF…

Phewf, okay, now let’s watch this vintage video of Jonathan Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins doing one of their classic sets at Make-Out Room circa 2011:

And then, I dunno, check out the Make-Out Room event calendar for goodness’ sake. Or maybe meet somebody there for a $4 PBR some time.