A group of artists, musicians and activists will mark May 5 by exploring the history of the battle that made the day famous, in which a Mexican militia defeated the French army in Puebla, Mexico. The San Francisco Living Wage Coalition will host an art and literature gala with work exploring the meaning of the holiday, and its modern significance, on May...
When Tom Madonna left the San Francisco finance world to start a bar in 2006, he needed a change. “It didn’t fit my values. When you watch people in a high stress sales environment talking about selling risky annuities to retired ladies, you can’t feel good about that,” he says. Friday, April 1 marks his 10th anniversary running Shotwell’s on...
When you grab a drink at Elixir on 16th and Guerrero streets, you might not know you’re inside the city’s second-oldest saloon, running since 1858. On Saturday, boozehound historians of the E Clampus Vitus association will reveal a historic plaque at Elixir denoting its venerated status. Mission Local talked with owner H. Joseph Ehrmann, the 11th (or perhaps 12th, given...
For all the talk about journalism being in a death spiral, Mission Local staff has some highlights of what we think are our best stories of the year. Here’s what we liked: Lydia Chávez, Executive Editor Now more than ever – thanks to the Trump election – journalists are asking questions about impact. Does good reporting actually matter? How could...
The Community Music Center celebrated its 95th anniversary on Sunday with a “Field Day at CMC,” reference to its founder, Gertrude Field. Hundreds of performers, students, and listeners crowded its auditorium to enjoy a five-hour marathon of back-to-back performances from musicians of all ages. Guests also enjoyed refreshments, an “instrument petting zoo,” and a room filled with documents, photos and films from...
Think you know the Mission and its history? You might discover something new at the Brava Center for Theater and the Arts when El Son de la Misión re-opens for a two-night on Friday, Nov. 11. The show is a musical and theatrical exploration and expression of the history of the Mission, with a particular focus on activism through the...
The historical “myths” of the Spanish missions in California were heavily critiqued at a presentation on Thursday evening, as the organizer Lisa Ruth Elliot from Shaping SF framed the evening as a way to “open the conversations that are not happening” around the histories of Native Americans in California. A crowd of about 50 people at the Eric Quezada Center...
Picture this: It’s 5 a.m., 110 years ago. San Francisco wakes up to 45 seconds of shifting earth: (Sound by the Mission Bicycle Earthquake Tour) The 1906 earthquake left its mark, and though the Mission did not fare as badly as many other parts of town, signs of the quake still dot the neighborhood. I recently rode along on a tour...
In what they called a “direct response to gentrification,” at least 100 people gathered in Dolores Park to celebrate 415 Day, or Frisco Day. The celebration was called by a group of loosely affiliated residents under the name Solidarity Forever. It was created specifically for San Francisco natives and long-term residents, who arrived to watch Aztec dancers open the event...
Did you know that there is a little piece of history stored away in a few rooms on Valencia Street? Well, it’s not a little piece actually. It’s hundreds of little pieces. Clips of recordings of freedom fighters, thinkers, and political movers and shakers are collected in the Freedom Archives, two rooms hidden away inside a building near 16th and...
You have seen the signs outside Marian’s for months. “Store closing!” they blare to passerby on Mission Street, now through the bars of a sliding gate. Once a vibrant clothing store, Marian’s has closed – but not without leaving behind a rich history. Andrew Thompson, nursed the store along on its deathbed after 63 years in business. He and his...
The home of conceptual artist David Ireland at the corner of Capp and 20th streets has been booked solid since its opening night. But for one special day, on Sunday March 20th, the former home and now museum will be open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on a pay-what-you-wish basis. From cement sundaes to animal skulls to quirky altered...
By this summer, San Francisco’s new Legacy Business Preservation Fund is slated to start giving long-time establishments financial assistance to weather the city’s harsh real estate market. That’s not soon enough for Supervisors David Campos and Aaron Peskin. They have co-sponsored legislation that would inject about $343,000 into the Preservation Fund before it officially activates in July, at the start...
When I step foot onto the block of Mission between 21st and 22nd streets, I feel a sense of home, because I see many of the places I would frequent during the first 15 years of my life – from 1980 to 1995. Back then, my grandmother Graciela Gonzalez, managed Panamericana Travel Systems, a business owned by a family friend....
Art-deco bikes hung from the ceiling. Paintings from around the world adorned the walls. More than a dozen bands – and one trapeze act – waited to perform. The audience? Hundreds of bike messengers. That was the scene at the SOMArts Gallery on the Labor Day weekend of 1996. The occasion was the very last Road Rash Bash – a recurring show put...
