Woody LaBounty, local historian and founder of the Western Neighborhoods Project, has a new book coming out about one of the quirkiest communities ever to occupy San Francisco.

In the mid-1890s, San Francisco transit companies started selling surplus horse cars and cable cars to the public; $20 with seats intact, $10 without.

What once served as transportation for San Franciscans was turned into bars and restaurants, shoe repair shops, playhouses, laundries, artists’ studios, and even houseboats.

And out by the beach along the Great Highway, a bohemian settlement emerged as writers, judges, and lady bicyclists arranged, combined, and even stacked old transit cars to create “Carville-by-the-Sea.”

LaBounty’s new book of the same name is full of rare images of San Francisco’s Carville from libraries, archives and private collections, and includes extensive footnotes about this piece of local history that has mostly been forgotten.

The 144-page, full color, coffee-table style book is reminiscent of an antique scrapbook with old photos and accompanying notes.

Carville-by-the-Sea will be released on November 1, but is available for pre-order for $35 from the book’s website. Order by October 15 and shipping is free.

I was also in Green Apple Books last weekend and saw it for sale.

LaBounty will be making local appearances to promote the book including a release party on November 1 and a stop at Green Apple Books on November 11. Check out his events page for more information.

I’ve already ordered my copy and can’t wait to read it. Congratulations, Woody!

Sarah B.

A sample page from “Carville-by-the-Sea”. See more pages

Leslie, the owner of Frankenart Mart gallery at 515 Balboa, recently debuted the 38 Geary bus sculpture that she built for Supervisor Eric Mar.

Not only does the piece pay homage to one of our most beloved and maligned bus lines, it’s even made from neighborhood materials: “Ocean beach sand, Golden Gate park parts, and Richmond haunts”.

The bus looks like the real thing! Colorful billboards on the site, square vents along the top, twigs that make up the accordion mid-section.

All that’s missing are people boarding through the back without paying and a legion of cars stuck behind it as often happens on Geary.

Bravo to Leslie for a great sculpture! It’s bound to be the talk of City Hall when it makes its way down there. All aboard!

See more photos of the 38 Muni masterpiece here or stop by the gallery to see it in person on Thursday or Friday from 4pm to 9pm, or Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 8pm.

Sarah B.

This Wednesday night, September 23rd, from 6 – 7:30pm, the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park will host “Coffee from Paradise”. Join Pualani, Kaipo, and Maile Daniels, co-owners of Triangle J’s4 Coffee on the slopes of Hualalai in Kona, for a quick trip to Aloha land.

The Daniels grow, harvest and roast pure organic Kona coffee. They will take you through the growing cycle of their Kona coffee, explain the various stages of preparing and roasting the beans, and of course, you will get to taste the pure organic Kona coffee yourself.

And not only will there be delicious Hawaiian coffee to sample, but also traditional Hawaiian song and hula accompanied by ukulele and guitar.

Sister Maile, an adored hula competitor, will mesmerize you with her dancing to songs which have won her many competitions. Maile has danced all of her life and, while she loves competition, most of all she loves the gracious art of the Hawaiian culture.

Luau wear is encouraged. The tropical jungle of the Conservatory is calling! Click here to register and purchase tickets to “Coffee from Paradise”; $20 per person or $15 for Jungle Pass members. Or call 415-831-2093 for more information.

Sarah B.

While on a walk this past Saturday, I came upon a small boutique/gallery called Modern Relics on Cabrillo Street near 8th Avenue.

Owner and designer Alix Blüh opened Modern Relics over a year ago. When I walked in, she popped her head over the loft balcony to say hello, while holding back her enthusiastic small dog, Jack, who was ready to investigate their latest visitor.

Blüh spent several months getting the store and upstairs workroom ready for opening. And it shows throughout the look and feel of the gallery which features old fashioned, intricate displays that mesh intriguing objects with lovely, handcrafted jewelry.

Blüh makes all the pieces herself with help from her assistant, Soojo “Suga” Rocereto, who also has her own pieces on display. Blüh’s jewelry is delicate with a touch of vintage, though she does not repurpose any old jewelry; everything is original.

Blüh’s influences from the natural world are evident through the gallery as well, which features walls covered in recycled fence timbers, small birds’ nests tucked into displays, and decorative objects of deer and birds.

“I have always been so moved by the stories found in nature, in time worn objects, in mourning jewelry and religious reliquaries…I want to create heirloom pieces that are not about fad and fashion but art and timelessness” Blüh said in a profile on a New York blog earlier this summer.

The profile mentions that Blüh was formally trained as a painter at the University of Massachusetts and at Oxford, where she developed her passion for collecting and dealing in antiques in London flea markets.

I recommend stopping by Modern Relics to find a gift, a unique piece for your own collection, or just to lose yourself for a little while in a space filled with objects that evoke an earlier time.

Modern Relics is located at 771 Cabrillo near 8th Avenue, and is open Thursday through Saturday from 12noon to 7pm.

Sarah B.

Congratulations goes out to the Community Music Center in San Francisco which has a branch at the Richmond District Neighborhood Center on 30th Avenue.

The CMC was recently awarded a $300,000 performing arts grant from the Hewlett Foundation. From the press release:

Award highlights include a $300,000 grant to the Community Music Center in San Francisco, which serves 15,500 audience members annually through more than 260 free and low-cost concerts.

The Center offers a comprehensive teaching, ensemble, and performance program from its main location in the Mission district and its Richmond district branch, after-school programs for at-risk youth, and extension programs throughout the city.

Students make music in a variety of traditions, including western classical, jazz, blues, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Chinese. Tuition assistance on a sliding scale goes to 60 percent of the Center’s nearly 2,300 students, from pre-kindergarten to retirees.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has been making grants since 1967 to help solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. The Foundation concentrates its resources on activities in education, the environment, global development, performing arts, philanthropy, and population, and makes grants to support disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sarah B.

In their continuing fight to block a character-breaking development at 673-675 44th Avenue, a group of neighbors has filed an appeal with the Board of Supervisors. They were then issued another one-week continuance from the Planning Commission to allow the appeal to be properly reviewed.

The appeal was filed to oppose the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) determination for the aforementioned development. The neighbors contend that the CEQA exemption for the project should not have been issued, since the project’s Historical Resource Evaluation Review (HRER) was insufficient and full of inaccuracies.

The group of neighbors contend that the building at 673-675 44th Avenue is historical. The home, along with many on that block, was originally built in the early 1920′s by well-known San Francisco developers, the Heyman Brothers.

This early article from the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Heyman Brothers originally bought the block, bounded by 44th and 45th avenues and Anza and Balboa, for $25,000. “This land will be graded and put in condition for home building before being offered in subdivisions”.

A handful of neighbors attended Thursday’s Planning Commission hearing, where the continuance was granted. The developer, Black Sea Corporation, was not in attendance.

But the project’s permit expeditor was there and apparently was not thrilled to learn about the problematic historical claims being made to the property. “He knew who the Heyman Brothers were right away!” one neighbor told me.

Prior to Thursday’s hearing, the neighbors also received written support from the Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR). In his letter, Chair Peter Winkelstein wrote “PAR supports a continuance of this item to allow the discretionary review requesters to pursue an appeal to the Board of Supervisors of the negative declaration for this project”.

PAR also supports the historic claims that the neighbors are making, writing “It appears that the negative [CEQA] declaration has flaws and there are legitimate concerns that the existing building may have significant historic value.”

I also learned this week that this is not the first time that the developer’s architect, Gary Gee, has met opposition to one of his designs.

Neighbors fought for five years to retain the character and reduce the bulk of a Gee design for a development on 27th Avenue between Balboa and Cabrillo. Character-breaking and oversized? That sounds exactly like the 44th Avenue development.

The 44th Avenue neighbors will return to next Thursday’s Planning Commission hearing to find out the next steps for their appeal.

Sarah B.

A photo from the September 23, 1922 issue of the SF Chronicle showing a
set of 44th Avenue bungalows built by another Richmond District developer, the Meyer Bros.

It’s that time of year again when kids, adults and seniors bear down for the winter flu season. If you want to get a flu shot this year, below are some options available in the neighborhood.

According to the CDC Key Facts about the Flu Vaccine, here’s who they recommend should get flu shots:

In general, anyone who wants to reduce their chances of getting seasonal flu can get a seasonal influenza vaccine. However, it is recommended by ACIP that certain people should get vaccinated each year. They are either people who are at high risk of having serious seasonal flu-related complications or people who live with or care for those at high risk for serious seasonal flu-related complications. During flu seasons when vaccine supplies are limited or delayed, ACIP makes recommendations regarding priority groups for vaccination.

People who should get the seasonal vaccine each year are:

1. Children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday
2. Pregnant women
3. People 50 years of age and older
4. People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
5. People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
6. People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu

Flu Shot Providers in the Richmond District:

WALGREEN’s Pharmacy
There are three locations in the Richmond whose pharmacies all offer flu shots for $24.99. Flu shots are available Monday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm, or during flu shot clinic times listed below.

745 Clement Street @ 9th Avenue | (415) 668-5250
Flu shot clinics on:
Thu. 10/01/2009 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Mon. 10/05/2009 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Mon. 11/09/2009 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

5280 Geary Blvd @ 17th Avenue | (415) 668-2041
Flu shot clinics on:
Thu. 10/01/2009 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Wed. 11/11/2009 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

25 Point Lobos Ave at Geary Boulevard | (415) 386-0736
Flu shot clinics on:
Thu. 10/01/2009 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Fri. 11/20/2009 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

SAFEWAY Pharmacies
No appointment is necessary and flu shots are available for $30 anytime during pharmacy business hours or during their flu shot clinics. Tip: Avoid going between 1-2pm when the pharmacists are on lunch break.

735 7th Ave. near Cabrillo | (415) 683-4074
Business hours: Mon-Fri 9:00AM-8:00PM, Sat & Sun 9:00AM-5:30PM
Flu Shot Clinics:
Sat. 9/19/09, 10am – 4pm
Thu. 9/24/09, 10am – 4pm

850 La Playa St. | (415) 387-0481
Business hours: Mon-Fri 9:00AM-8:00PM, Sat & Sun 9:00AM-5:30PM
Flu Shot Clinics:
Wed. 10/14/09, 10am – 4pm

San Francisco Free Clinic, 4900 California Street at 11th Avenue | (415) 750-9894
Open daily from 1-4:30pm. Appointment is required. When I stopped in this week, they did not yet have flu shots available so please call in advance.

Sarah B.