Mission Mission

I’ve long wondered why the incredible Groger’s Western Store near 26th and Valencia has stood empty and abandoned for all this time. Today, we may be closer to an answer.

Apparently, these wild robots are a bit of a problem in these parts.

[Last photo via potentialpast]

A few weeks ago, reader Lily tipped us to a new mural-in-progress in Balmy Alley. Today, she writes in again with an update:

That new mural is now getting some paint on it. Looks like the riot police are kicking Adam and Eve (didn’t fit in picture) out of Eden. Also, those monkeys got some color!

Looks like the Hurricane Katrina mural is getting some updates as well:

From talking with the artist, she was adding more glued on artifacts (the picture glued across the hurricane damage are photographs the artist took of actual artifacts leftover after the destruction) as well as adding some lines, which:

1. will eventually have leaves and be vines/ivy to represent the vines/ivy that grew out of the rubble, and
2. will show the diaspora or displacement of New Orleans natives to other cities and areas of the country.

How’s that for a local art history lesson of the day? Thanks Lily!

It’s a good thing that antenna operators are equipped with portable video recording devices (in the form of smartphones) these days:

And here’s another tower tour from 2009:

[via Monkeybrains]

So reports one miffed commenter:

Listen up – anyone who has been to DP since kiddy land opened will note that a real effort has been made make gay men who sunbathe feel uncomfortable. Maybe it’s the motorcycle cops driving through the park. But the vibe of the park has changed. Free sprit has been replaced with a Walnut Creek like atmosphere. Which was the plan all along.

The Walnut Creek line is a little melodramatic, but is the other part true? Are sunbathers being targeted?

[Photo by Sergio Ruiz]

Along with the debut of the new playground comes the debut of this newly returfed bit of hill adjacent to the playground. Shiny and new, and clean — but for how long?

[via WBTC]

With the coming park closures over the next two years, the playground will be one of the few zones continuously open — but only to kids. This sneak peak the other night was probably the only chance us grownups had to fully enjoy the park’s newest amenity. Dolores Parks Works has the scoop:

Twenty adults were let loose on a self-guided tour of all the new play structures and amenities. The Helen Diller Playground at Dolores Park  is the nicest and most creative I have ever experienced.  This was also the first time most of the group toured the construction site and they all were extremely pleased!  We were all giddy with excitement.  The new playground is a safe place for kids to take chances.

Read on.

Nearly done! But still fenced off.

[via We Built This City]

So now you can’t sit on the edge of it when there’s a street fair happening and people-watch. Bummer.

Today’s filthy update brought to you as the first installment of the new DOA (Daily Osage Alley) series, previously mentioned here. Stay tuned for more daily doses of innovate couch use, mountains of banana peels, and piles of broken dice from one of the Mission’s lesser known waste strewn alleys.

Fancy! Photos by Dolores Park Works.

Here it is high above the park, coming in for a landing: