Local links: Inside Murphy Windmill; artist Robin Galante paints the Richmond; Butterfly bordello on Strawberry Hill; Learn Mandarin in a jiffy

There have been some interesting stories about the Richmond District in the news lately. Here’s a quick roundup of what you may have missed:

Inside the Murphy Windmill in Golden Gate Park

SF Chronicle’s Grant Merek got to tour the inside of the grand Murphy Windmill in Golden Park which was first erected in 1907 (this is the windmill on the southern edge of the park, closer to the Sunset). Check out the great pics and fun facts he gleans on his walkthrough with Neal Hemming, the windmill’s Stationary Engineer.

Artist & resident Robin Galante paints the Richmond District

We’ve always been a fan when we’ve some across Galante’s works on Facebook so it’s nice to see her writeup in the Bold Italic about her many paintings of the Richmond District, and her love for the Outer Balboa part of the neighborhood. “Living here in these changing times gives me a unique sense of nostalgia not only for the past but for the present. I realize that my corner of the city may someday become virtually unrecognizable, like the Mission and the Fillmore. As an artist, I try to capture how it looks and feels now, before it changes.” Check out her paintings of the Richmond District

Helping others learn Mandarin quickly

Richmond District resident Linz Lim released a new book called “A Little Daily Dose: Discovering Chinese Characters Through Short Stories,” designed to help us non-Chinese speakers to learn the basics of the language. Hoodline writes, “Lim was inspired to create the book, and its companion digital vocabulary handbook, for time-pressed learners like her husband. “With work, traveling and all sorts of distractions these days, it seems pretty hard to commit and follow through with learning a new language,” she said.”

Portions of “A Little Daily Dose” are directly inspired by the Linz and her husband’s day-to-day lives in the Inner Richmond, with a map of the neighborhood depicting Chinese characters for destinations like the pool and laundromat. 

Bringing back the butterflies on Strawberry Hill in GGP

The Frisc has a great article on the habitat restoration that is taking place on Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park, and the efforts underway to bring back the butterfly population. “In this zen-like state, Strawberry Hill’s beauty rises to the surface. It’s an island — literally and figuratively — in this hectic city. It’s a place for quiet contemplation and getting up close and personal with the plants, animals, and insects that call the city home. And thanks to the regularly scheduled volunteer time, it’s a place where ordinary people can have an impact on the future of some of San Francisco’s most precarious inhabitants.”