You’ve driven by it a million times and probably haven’t given it a second thought, or even taken the time to look closely at it. The new Western Neighborhoods Project intern, Lindsay, takes us on a one minute tour of this interesting piece of Richmond District transit history.
Watch more WNP History Minute videos here
Speaking of Western Neighborhoods Project, they’re having a BBQ and picnic at Pine Lake Park (near Stern Grove) this Sunday from 11am until 6pm. If you’re into the history of the west side of San Francisco, or just want to meet other local history buffs, stop by. It’s potluck so bring something to contribute if you’re planning to nosh. Full details here
Sarah B.
I recall in the early 1990s there used to be a very small produce stand in front, before the ubiquitous produce street markets appeared citywide. It would be nice to see vintage photos of that stand.
This millennium the structure seemed to be occupied by the hardest of the hardcore homeless and was nasty beyond bad. Somehow the homeless disappeared, as well as the garbage strewn inside, mostly retired beverage containers. Sometimes tourists end up inside, so that’s a sign that the abode has gotten cleaned up and tolerable.
Nevertheless, it could use some housekeeping.
What a cool history lesson! It would be fun to get a park vendor to use the space, maybe an ice cream and cold drinks vendor or something. It’s such a great structure, I get sad seeing it so trashed all the time. Or make it some sort of SFMTA info. kiosk.
thank you for telling me about this. love this website! it’s great to know what cool history we have out here in the outside lands.
Ha. Yes, some sort of vendor would be cool. A coffee cart maybe. I guess the foot traffic isn’t too high there, and the connection to JFK is not obvious, so people don’t generally come across it.
I love this! Can’t wait to see more videos.
It would be hard to set up a vendor there, since Fulton tends to be pretty freewayish and anti-pedestrian at that point.
I’m not sure what would be a good modern fit for that space. Petting zoo? It’s right next to Raccoon Hollow. I always see those tiny little footprints in the mud around there when it rains.
@mattymatt – WNP has been doing these history minutes for awhile, they’re great. Check ’em out here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/outsidelands/
Thank you, a very enlightening report. Was the nearby race track or amusement park , in the early 1900’s called “The Chutes”?
@Lew – Actually there was a racetrack in the Richmond District, separate from the amusement park (The Chutes). In the book “San Francisco’s Richmond District” by Lorri Ungaretti (http://www.outsidelands.org/book_description.php?i=3), it says:
The Bay District Race Track opened on September 7, 1984. Built just south of Geary to Fulton, between First Avenue (now Arguello) and 5th Avenue. This photo shows the “Grand Competitive Prize Drill” held on August 25, 1883. The last race at the track was on May 27, 1896. In 1898, military troops used the site known as “Camp Merritt”. Here’s the photo of it from the book:
https://richmondsfblog.com/images/racetrack.png
Another shot of it:
https://richmondsfblog.com/images/racetrack.jpg
Sarah B.