[taylor street via Curbed Flickr Pool/Grey van der Meer]
· Sketchy Sixth and Market intersection dubbed "Comfort Corner" [SFist]
· First look at the new Parkway Theater in Oakland [broke-ass stuart]
· More than 40 states agree on $25B foreclosure 'robo-signing' deal [ABC]
· Why S.F. still counts on street fire alarm boxes [SFGate]
· Tis the season for Plum Blossoms in Bernal Heights [Bernalwood]
· Lower Haight Walgreens to expand, Fillmore street storefront to disappear [Haighteration]
"Sounds like a good plan to me, I'd love to see the Coit Tower space used more at night. I've walked up there a few times after dark, and while it's a bit hard to see your way around (it gets VERY dark) it's also an elegant, beautiful place in the dark." - guest [Coit Tower, NIMBY Beacon to the World]
"We understand that people are going to be upset about this," said archdiocese spokesman George Wesolek. "That's where they were baptized, maybe married. There are strong emotional connections. But we have to move on." The potential sale of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on Russian Hill has some residents upset, even though the church hasn't been used since last summer. "We are very upset, very angry and so disappointed," said former parishioner Clementina Garcia Landgrave. The church, which is a local historic landmark, is currently asking $3.5M. [SF Examiner/photo via Dominic Labbe]
Good news for the Berkeley site where the historic Sequoia Building on the corner of Telegraph and Haste was destroyed by a fire. The owners of the site have wasted no time in figuring out what to do next, and have submitted plans to the city for a temporary resurrection. The "canopy-like tents fixed to concrete pads, along with three shipping containers which would be used to house kitchens" will allow two restaurants that were gutted to reopen. "it will have an ad hoc quality, but could be really fun," Oakland architect Kirk Peterson, who designed the space, said. "It's a unique application and no-one has ever done this here which puts it into its own category. The owners want to get their businesses up and running again and the city is interested in moving things along as quickly as possible to help the neighborhood." [Berkeleyside]
Waterford Hotels and Inns, the folks responsible for the Inn at The Presidio are having fun with Twitter today, sending out a steady stream of updates on the progress of getting their new inn ready, and with shiny black leather and room numbers shaped like dog tags, its got a certain military ambiance. The new B&B should be ready for guests soon- a soft opening in the second half of March and (insert joke here) an official opening date of April 1. Reservations can be made via a temporary website, and it looks like Disney fans can expect package rates with the Walt Disney Family Museum in the foreseeable future. The renovation of Pershing Hall, an early 1900s officers' quarters steps from the Parade Ground, the B&B will offer 17 1-bedroom suites and 5 rooms, including a continental breakfast and late afternoon wine/cheese event for guests. Along with all the other attractions of the Presidio, never underestimate the power of Disney fanpersons, but for the unforeseeable future, these will be the only overnight accommodations in the Presidio.
· Twenty-Two Rooms Coming to a Presidio Near You [Curbed SF]
· Inn at The Presidio [Waterford]
· Walt Disney Family Museum [Disney]
· The Presidio: No Room at the Inn, Ever [Curbed SF]
The Protect Coit Tower Committee delivered more than 16,000 signatures this week, the first step towards a local ballot measure in 2012 to "preserve" Coit Tower. There's nothing quite like a carefully-written ballot measure, and theirs is vague enough to get behind. How can you not support the preservation of the Coit Tower murals? It's like loving puppies. Although most tourists go to up there for the view, the 1930s murals remain important examples of the Depression's iconic Social Realism style, and they've begun to deteriorate, primarily due to water damage, seepage and fog. So we have all the usual suspects- preservation, NIMBYs, and the perennial battle over parking and access.
I was walking down Hotaling place in Jackson Square and noticed renewed construction on the Belli Building. Do you know what will come of it? Will it be more condos?
Looks like work has indeed resumed on the project at 722-728 Montgomery Street, better known as the Belli and Genella Buildings. Originally built in 1851, the buildings are both city historic landmarks and previously operated as a cigar warehouse, theatre, and public bath house (not all at the same time, of course). Famed/infamous SF attorney Melvin Belli bought and restored the properties in 1958, but they fell into major disrepair after he died in 1996. A project was approved back in August 2007 for a 12 residential and 5 commercial condo conversion out of the old office space, but due to some...financial issues with Belli's widow, the property was sold and the project stalled. It wasn't until December 2010 that building permits were finally filed to complete the work. According to the permits, the upper two floors will be converted into the residential units, with commercial space below.
· Previous "Ask Curbed SF" [Curbed SF Archives]
· Historic Landmark Listing for Belli Building [SF Planning]
· Belli’s Barbary Coast (And At One Time) Belle Of A Building [SocketSite]
· Historic Landmark Listing for Genella Building [SF Planning]
It looks like a piece of Bernal Heights is knee deep in a parking war, on "Folsom near Ripley, just below the entrance to Bernal Heights Park." It originated from an angry neighbor leaving a handwritten note on a car that had been parked for what they considered too long (you can click the photo to the right for a larger version). The car owner responded with a neatly typed note, filled with gems like "So thank you neighbor, for your warm and valiant offer to educate me about San Francisco's 72 hour parking limit with your insightfully scrawled note." One neighbor spoke to Bernalwood about the notes, and said that they thought "this "parking war" is a misunderstanding and a waste of time." Head on over to Bernalwood for their full report (and a lively and insightful comment section). [Bernalwood]
Here now, From Curbed Marketplace, highlighting an intriguing real estate listing from the many thousands of properties found in the Curbed Marketplace. Browsing the Marketplace and spot a property worthy of being featured? Send it to the tipline.
Listed for: $1,275,000
Received: $1,199,000
Size: 3-bed, 2-bath; 1,870 square feet
Location: 1626 Noe Street, Noe Valley
The skinny: Quintessential Noe Valley. It's near Walter Haas Playground. It's got a great backyard, complete with hot tub, BBQ and plenty of grass for the little ones to play on. And it's close enough to all the fun on Church and 24th streets.
[By Air and By Sea via Curbed Flickr Pool/Chris Saulit]
· San Francisco 49ers fans should embrace move south [SF Examiner]
· Copper wire thieves target state parks [KTVU]
· Vandals cause at least $25,000 of damage in Dolores Park [SFGate]
· Where are all the SF queens on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'? [SFist]
· Adieu, 49ers: San Francisco, team to file for divorce [The Snitch]
· Bernal Bucks gets some attention from the Los Angeles Times [LATimes]
When the next big earthquake strikes the Bay Area, nearly a quarter of the city's population - 85,000 households - would require interim housing "for several months". SPUR has issued a report that outlines some very scary realities for residents and recommendations for City Hall. [SFGate]
By delivering our top news stories to your inbox, free of charge. Why, it's the Curbed SF newsletter! Our daily summary of the day's top Curbed SF stories, all compiled into one beautiful newsletter sent directly to your inbox every afternoon. You just have to sign up by entering your e-mail address in the box below. Trust it, it's worth it!
Inside the celebrity-infused March issue of Architectural Digest: a 10-pager on Diane von Furstenberg's phenomenal glassy aerie next to the High Line in Manhattan. Curbed National has pics on the penthouse that's filled with "just odds and ends, all the things that have happened throughout my life," as the fashion designer describes it. [Curbed National]
Good things happening at one of SOMA's bleakest corners. 680 Folsom Street is finally getting its makeover. Although the formerly waffle-fronted slab built for PG&E is actually at the corner of Folsom and Hawthorne Street, it's been empty for years, looming over that 19th Century stable crowding the corner at Third Street. The site was once discussed as a possible expansion site for Moscone Center, later handed over to the bank in lieu of foreclosure and now resurrected by TMG Partners and Rookwood Capital. We're presuming the seismic retro-fit, re-skinning and rejuvenation is still the work of Craig Hartman at SOM- a design harking back to SOM's classic Mad Men buildings of the 1960s- and the rendering above does not show the old stable building.
Loading comment form...