Mission Mission

(snapped at Ms. Teriosa’s on 24th and Shotwell)

Burrito Justice, the Mission’s top historian, has done it again, this time with a full-scale expose on the storied history of business at the corner of 26th and Valencia.  He also comes up with the line of the decade so far:

“24th is certainly a hipster semipermeable membrane.”

Perhaps Capp Street is the voltage-gated ion channel in this scenario.

Behold this beauty from Sexpigeon!  M.C. Escher is shitting tessellated bricks right now.

Sexpigeon tells me this is the intersection at the bottom of the whole 1010/Potrero/Chavez/Bayshore mess.  Potrero del Sol is the park pictured.  Gasp.

Browsing the SF Historical Photo Collection, I saw this cerca 1975 picture of the Giant Value building on 22nd and Mission.

First, I noticed the cool pinstripe paint job on the façade. Then something else occurred to me: the word “GIANT” is actually in a different place than it is today. At some point, whoever took over the building moved it over to the left and added the word “VALUE” after it.

Here is a picture of the building as it stands today:

So the question remains, what was it before it was “GIANT VALUE”? ”VALUE GIANT”? “MOVIE GIANT”? “THE GIANT”? Surely, someone who was here before 1975 can provide the answer. Ha! Yeah right… most of you weren’t even BORN in 1975.

In any case, it will probably be CONDO GIANT in a couple of years.

Update: Burrito Justice Johnny0 to the rescue again (there’s a shocker):

It had changed to its current incantation by 1982 when it was “Giant Value Pharmacy”.

A bit more judicious googling shows us that PayLess bought out the “Value Giant” store chain in 1976. I bet that PayLess didn’t take keep our Mission store, and in order to keep lawyers happy, that particular pharmacy flipped the sign around to read “Giant Value” — pretty damn clever.

Spotted this dude’s composition hat in the market between 17th and 18th on Mission (next to Cafe Prague) a few nights ago and couldn’t resist getting a snap.  I’m no fashion blogger, but I was into it.

Speaking of that there market, Ariel tells us it’s his all-time favorite, top secret awesomest market, often referred to as “Combover” or “Crackistan.”

Judging by the 28 people standing in line to buy booze that night, I’d say secret’s out, dumb-dumb.

A handsome color scheme for Halberstadt’s Fencing Club on S. Van Ness. Ever notice how it matches that of the “No Dumping” notices by sewer drains?

I never noticed this place before, but according to Yelp, it’s legit:

This is where I go for a great workout and to blow off some steam.  There’s nothing better than grabbing a sword and stabbing someone to make you forget about the work day.

It’s no secret that I’m a sword owner now. Maybe I should take up fencing? After all what’s more macho than a shrimpy, shirtless, asian man brandishing a foil?

Oh wait:

Over the past couple of months I’ve noticed and collected pictures of these delightful maintenance badges inside of BART cars. Each with their own personality:

Richmond: “Hey don’t let all that gang rape stuff that happens in Richmond put you off–don’t you want your BART car to enjoy a lovely bay view while its being serviced? Richmond Maintenance Facility: home of the best view of San Rafael in the bay area.”

Hayward: “Look, if you want some guy to bullshit with you about sports and the weather while he does sub-par work, go to Concord. If you want solid, no-nonsense maintenance done on your BART car, come to Hayward. We take quality seriously and have 15+ years of industry experience to prove it. Our 10-point inspection includes door re-greasing, upholstery steaming, and complete removal of graffiti cocks scrawled on the on windows.”

Concord: “Think we’re just a bunch of bummer straight-ahead mechanics from a failed city? Think again. We actually have kick-ass senses of humor as indicated by this badge’s allusion to classic WB cartoons. Free coffee, donuts, and ESPN while you wait. Say me and the boys are going out for a drink at the Time Out afterwards. Why don’t you join us? And… fuck it, here are the keys to my house.”

It seems like these are all at the terminal stations. That might mean I’m missing Daly City Maintenance Facility. First one who gets me a snap of it’s badge gets a high five.

Update: Heyo!

Snapped at 16th and Mission:

Is this some marketing ploy to skirt around not-really selling things for a dollar? Kinda like when Kentucky Friend Chicken renamed themselves to KFC after they started serving mutant chickens. Or maybe “dollarón” is Spanish for “really large dollar”.

Boy, I really have a thing for dollar stores, don’t I?

Mission Mission reader Todd gave us the heads up about an upcoming community meeting discussing a potential new park on 17th and Folsom:

We need your help to design a proposed new open space in the Northeast Mission! Help the City design this space and tell us what types of activities and programs are needed in the neighborhood.

The site is currently a parking lot on the corner of 17th and Folsom Streets. The City is working on acquiring this site and converting a portion of this space to a neighborhood park.

The following will be provided:

English to Spanish translation

Light refreshments

Childcare & youth friendly activities

Here’s the time and location:

Marshall Elementary School 1575 15th St. (at Capp)
Saturday, January 23
11:00 AM

I always thought this site across from the Rite Spot Cafe could use some beautifying. We all agree on parks right? I mean it’s not like this is a luxury condo, boutique store, or parking lot.

Well, I’m sure one of you will find a way to post a nasty comment about why parks are a bad idea. Such as how they have the tendency to attract those unsavory bike polo types. Go to it, readers!

Let’s take a moment to admire local architecture, shall we?

Above is Thomas D. Harvey Realty on Valencia between 21st and 22nd.  The yellow tile and gold accents take my breath away on a regular basis.  My bf and I are planning on getting rich, buying this gem, leaving it untouched, and turning it into a bar.  You’d take your out-of-town friends here and they’d be like “Okay, I don’t get it… Where’s the bar?” and you’d be all, “Ha. This IS the bar.”

See you guys at the Harvey, circa 2k25.

[Top pic by my phone, bottom by George]