Community, Photography, Today's Mission

Good Morning Mission to Potrero Avenue’s Badlands

by Lydia Chávez July 9, 2015, 7:00 amJune 22, 2025, 5:26 pm

A doctor with a sense of humor. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Right now it is 61° with a high of 67° – the forecast for the next ten days is here.

Today’s block: It’s one continuous swath that begins at 22nd and San Burno, goes west on 22nd to Potrero, turns and then travels north on Potrero to 18th street wrapping around 18th Street and ending at Utah and the freeway.

So yes, lots of photos that go from a back view of SF General Hospital’s parking garage and then into a fenced swath of wilderness. You wonder if some urban expert could come up with an amazing idea for that zone – a raised park? Now, it is lost forever to the noise of the freeway and kids who jump the fence – but perhaps that’s not so bad as it’s harmless and good exercise.

Don’t wait as the blocks are running out! Let us know what day and block you would like at info@missionlocal.com.

You can see a map of all of the blocks here. The blocks in grey are being saved for others who have signed up. Let us save a block for you as well.

From the end of San Bruno. Photo by Lydia Chávez

A lovely old SFGH tower viewed from San Burno. Photo by Lydia Chávez — A lovely old SFGH tower viewed from 22nd Street near San Burno. Photo by Lydia Chávez

A lovely lady inside the comfort garden. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Another view of the lady as I head toward Potrero on 22nd Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez

A big turn at the corner. Photo by Lydia Chávez

The view from Potrero. Photo by Lydia Chávez

There are the most wonderful palms here. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Stairs to healing? Photo by Lydia Chávez — Stairs to healing on Potrero? Photo by Lydia Chávez

A box. Photo by Lydia Chávez

The border between the end of SFGH and the empty narrow lot that goes nearly to 18th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez — The border between the end of SFGH and the empty narrow lot that goes nearly to 18th Street. On Potrero. Photo by Lydia Chávez

The Mission's badlands. Photo by Lydia Chávez — The Mission’s badlands on Potrero. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Natural. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Heading toward 20th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez

A fence. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Between fence and nature. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Photo by Lydia Chávez

Fennel. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Photo by Lydia Chávez

Flowers at the edge. Photo by Lydia Chávez

A pipe runs through. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Locked. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Magnolia. Photo by Lydia Chávez

A spool. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Photo by Lydia Chávez — The edge of the badlands. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Photo by Lydia Chávez

Aand empty lot as we get near 18th. Photo by Lydia Chávez — An empty lot as we get near 18th. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Reflection. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Tests. Photo by Lydia Chávez

The turn at 18th Photo by Lydia Chávez

Heading toward the freeway and the end of 18th. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Pride on 18th . Photo by Lydia Chávez

Pretty houses all in a row. Photo by Lydia Chávez

A corner garden at the end of 18th. Photo by Lydia Chávez

The turn at 18th onto San Bruno. Photo by Lydia Chávez — The turn at 18th onto San Bruno and the end of my journey. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Lydia Chávez

lydia.chavez@missionlocal.com

Founder/Executive Editor. I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.

As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.

At ML, I've been trying to figure out how to make my interest in local news sustainable. If Mission Local is a model, the answer might be that you - the readers - reward steady and smart content. As a thank you for that support we work every day to make our content even better.

More by Lydia Chávez

Leave a comment

Please keep your comments short and civil. Do not leave multiple comments under multiple names on one article. We will zap comments that fail to adhere to these short and easy-to-follow rules.