April 2009John Weston: Man of the HillBy Tom DonaldApparently, John Weston doesn’t like to move. Except for a couple of stints in Europe, Weston has spent more than 40 years not just in San Francisco, and not just on Potrero Hill, but on a single block of Vermont Street. His current residence, a charming, rebuilt earthquake cottage across from McKinley Square, is next door to the apartment he lived in previously, and down the street from his residence prior to that. Weston, 71, has witnessed the many changes that have come to the Hill over the years, and to San Francisco in general. “Potrero Hill used to be a blue-collar neighborhood; a place where people got up and went to work in the factories, the slaughterhouses or the docks. As late as the 1960s, there were unpaved streets up here, and railroad tracks were everywhere. Now we have BMWs and Mercedes instead of Fords and Chevys. New folks have moved in, but the one constant is that this is still a great place for families.” Weston is no nay-sayer to progress; just the opposite. He not only approves of the Mission Bay development, but looks forward to the “new city” now taking shape just beyond the Hill’s Eastern slope. “It’s certainly better than what was there, with all those abandoned rail yards and such. That was a time when we had real problems with crime, drugs and homelessness.” Not that Weston believes that all change is good; he readily admits to being vehemently opposed to a helipad at San Francisco General Hospital’s proposed helipad. Weston thinks that the Hill could use more affordable shops and restaurants. And if someone were to come up with a plan to develop Pier 70 “in a way the benefits everyone,” he’d be an enthusiastic supporter. He also has an idea for a fountain at the traffic circle where five streets intersect in Showplace Square, a concept that the View has editorialized in favor of. “There should be a gateway - an entrance, if you will - to our wonderful neighborhood. What better location than Showplace Square, the home of great design in San Francisco.” Weston likes to walk his two dogs in McKinley Square across from his house. The place has changed over the years, from a former “needle park” to a magnet for parents and their kids. He bemusedly notes that some of the former “tough kids” he used to run into are now parents themselves, with an equal stake in the neighborhood. He tries to teach them about Hill history. Who better to do that than John Weston, the man who has spent more than half his life admiring his view from the top of the Hill? Tom Donald is a film director who lives with his wife Mitzi Ngim on the outer reaches of Potrero Hill. |
This Month's StoriesPublic Benefits Delayed in Eastern Neighborhoods New Economy Emerges in Dogpatch Historic District Channel Street Used As Private Parking Lot Attack on Bicyclists Claims Four Victims, Two in Potrero Lack of Transparency Dogs Community Trust Fund Parking Restrictions Coming to Tennessee Street Property Owners Grapple with Rent Control Regulations “Dogpreneur” Becomes Latest Career Trend Steady Flow of Newcomers Call Potrero Hill Home Jewish Film Festival Turns Thirty On-going Features
 |