My Changing Neighborhood(s): February 2016

Monday, February 29, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD OPENINGS 2016 (#3 in a series) – Polk Street Laundromat

1305 Polk Street

After being closed for many months, the Polk Street Laundromat has re-opened.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

BUILDING BOOM

My neighborhood, mid-Polk or the TenderNob (roughly Polk Street from Geary to Jackson) is currently undergoing a building boom.

There's the new 300+ bed California Pacific Medical Center hospital going up at Geary and Van Ness,

along with its adjacent medical services building going up across the street.

Then there's the new 5-6 story apartment building just starting in the 1500 block of Pine between Polk and Van Ness,

the ongoing construction of the $750K+ condominiums of the Rockwell SF at Pine and Van Ness,

the new apartment building at the corner of Larkin and Clay,

and finally, this brand-new, 8-story building at Washington and Van Ness.

That's not including plans to construct a 7-story apartment at 1567 California Street

and a 5-story addition to Great Useful Stuff on Larkin between Pine and California.

But of all the new buildings going up, the change planned for the Big Apple Discount Center at the corner of Polk and Clay is the one that promises to bring the most change to the neighborhood.

It's going to be replaced by The Market on Polk

a smaller version of The Market on Market in the Twitter building.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD MURALS 2016 – KNIFE SHOP (#2 in a series)

The 2C4S Cutlery Shop at 946 Geary has replaced its former mural with this more explicit one.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD OPENINGS 2016 (#2 in a series) – DIJON

Dijon, a new restaurant, has opened at 1428 Polk Street.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD MAKEOVERS – THE CINCH

The Cinch has completed its remodeling.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

BEGGING THE QUESTION

Billboard, corner of Pine and Polk

You or the dog?

Sunday, February 14, 2016

VALENTINE'S DAY 2016

Ann's Flowers & Balloons

El Super Burrito

McTeague's

Fashion Exchange

Sunset Jewels

Brownie's Hardware

Good Vibrations

Terrasol

HOMELESS HEART 2016

Once again, someone has filled in the homeless heart on the chain-link fence at Market and Van Ness for Valentine's Day.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD OPENINGS 2016 (#1 in a series) – ARGONAUT

Argonaut, a full-service ad agency, recently opened at 1268 Sutter.

Friday, February 12, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD CLOSINGS 2016 (#5 in a series) – MAX MUSCLE

Max Muscle at 1346 Polk closed last month, but not without leaving a note of thanks to the Tender Nob neighborhood:

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

WHEN I’M SIXTY-FIVE

Today is my birthday. I’m 65 years old, and officially a senior citizen.

What’s it like?

The first thing I noticed about growing older was that Death stopped being an abstract concept and became a concrete reality (I've heard other seniors say this as well).

The second was loss of stamina. I can no longer go 18 hours, sleep for 6 and then get up and do it all over again. Expecting to have the same energy at 65 that one has at 30 is ridiculous.

Third: loss of certainty about future health. I recently found out I have arthritis. That’s not a big deal, I know, but still. It wasn’t there last year. Will there be something else next year? What about three years from now? Five?

One thing I definitely don’t like is hearing how '60 is the new 30'. It’s not. 60 is the new 60. While people are definitely living longer, no one is living any younger. Our bodies are still aging at the same rate the they always have. Expecting to be able to have the same energy at 60 one had at 30 is not realistic at this time.

Overall, I feel OK about being a senior citizen – at least today.

Sunday, February 7, 2016

SUPER BOWL BLOG

I visited Super Bowl City last Friday morning, before it became too crowded.

The black fencing in front of the Vaillancourt Fountain, meant to block it off from view,

only served to emphasize its hideousness.

There were lines for various corporate vendors and their events

and crowds of people greeting and taking pictures of I'm assuming is a SF 49er mascot.

Like many people, I wondered why SuperBowl City was being held here in San Francisco

when the the actual event was 45 miles away.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

STREET VIEW

Back porch garden, Polk between Pine and California.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD REMODELINGS – 1485 BUSH

The former Sonoma Inn, an SRO (single-room occupancy) hotel built in 1912

finished its remodel last year and has re-opened as a hotel re-named Calista SF.

I first thought the remodeled building was one of those tiny, embarrassingly-expensive “efficiency unit” apartment buildings, but no – the new owners wisely kept it a hotel, although a much nicer one than before.

Monday, February 1, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD CLOSINGS 2016 (#4 in a series) – IT'S A GRIND COFFEEHOUSE

1800 Polk