The Potrero View’s special History Issue in April features a cover showcasing Alison Pebworth’s map of the Phantom Coast and images of our neighborhood’s rich manufacturing and shipbuilding history. We encourage you to download this issue! Arctic Oil Works was established on Illinois Street between 16th and 17th streets in 1883, producing refined seal and…
Potrero Hill has starred in dozens of feature films, television shows, and commercials over the last fifty plus years, capturing our photogenic corner of the City, as well as inadvertently documenting its many changes. The intersection of 18th and Missouri streets often gets a casting call. In the remake of Sweet November (2001), Sara Deever…
THE RICHARD’S HOUSE, 301 PENNSYLVANIA AND BETHLEHEM SHIPBUILDING CORPORATION. HOSPITAL, 331 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE The Italianate Victorian at 301 Pennsylvania, at 18th Street, is one of Potrero Hill’s oldest mansions, built in 1865 on a 13-acre tract owned by Captain Charles Adams. Captain Adams arrived at the Hill in the 1850s from the wealthy whaling capital…
Although San Francisco high schools slightly exceeded the state average for students graduating within five years of starting, San Francisco International and Downtown high schools, both in Potrero Hill, had low graduation rates in 2023. According to the California State School Dashboard website, www.caschooldashboard.org, 88 percent of San Francisco Unified School District students graduated within…
As a result of Assembly Bill (AB) 413, as of January 1, 2024 drivers are no longer allowed to park within 20 feet of a crosswalk, marked or unmarked, on the side from which traffic approaches an intersection. In places with curb extensions – wider sidewalks that shorten the length to traverse the street –…
The Dogpatch and Northwest Potrero Hill Green Benefit District (GBD) has its annual board elections this month, in advance of a year in which the organization will work to convince taxpayers to renew its charter for another 10 years, and launch new projects, including potentially to “clean and green” Dogpatch’s freeway underpasses. There are five…
MBC BioLabs wants to develop shared laboratory, office, conference, and community rental space for biotechnology startups at 700 Indiana Street. Prospective Dogpatch neighbors indicate that they don’t generally oppose life science/biotech labs but contend that the parcel isn’t zoned for what MBC BioLabs proposes to do. The 0.71-acre property is located between Indiana Street…
Pedestrians throughout San Francisco have noticed what appear to be random incidences of the grinding down of portions of sidewalks. The patches of polished cement are sometimes adjacent to trees. They often appear nearby unresolved cracks, bumps, and uplifted pieces of cement. The polishing is being executed through StreetTreeSF, managed by the San Francisco Public…
Nestled in a walkway outside Uber’s Mission Bay headquarters at Pierpoint Lane and Bridgeview Way is a tall, highly reflective serpentine structure that bounces sunlight from its geometric, shiny, stainless-steel tiles. The installation is roughly three and half stories tall. Its shape is akin to a futuristic spaceship composed of three slithering snakes coiling up…
In November a staffed Pit Stop public toilet opened in Franklin Square Park. Friends of Franklin Square hope that the temporary toilet will ultimately be replaced with a permanent facility. Franklin Square Park Pit Stop costs $290,000 a year, paid by San Francisco Public Works. That covers staffing, unit rental, water, soap, hand towels, a…
Potrero Hill was mostly used as pastureland by European settlers during the 19th Century. The earthquake and fire of 1906 triggered mass migration into the community from adjacent neighborhoods, including South of Market, with newcomers establishing modest dwellings. As Dogpatch industrialized, the Hill’s population increased, with residents commuting to shipyard and canning companies. The Great…
Enola D. “Miz” Maxwell, Sophenia “Sophie” Maxwell, and Edward Hatter are part of a generational line of civic advocates, which began with Enola’s arrival to Potrero Hill. Enola was born on August 30, 1919, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She moved with her children, Barbara and Ronnie, to San Francisco in 1949, following her mother, Lena…
Last fall at Power Station, a 29-acre mixed-use project in Dogpatch, shovel hit dirt to inaugurate development of The Maxwell, a 105-unit affordable apartment complex. The building is named after Sophenia “Sophie” Maxwell, who served as District 10 Supervisor from 2001 to 2011. Maxwell is the daughter of Enola Maxwell, founder and former director of…
Though he lives on 20th Street, Patrick Mākuakane is mindful of and dedicated to his Hawaiian roots. Mākuakane is a hula dancer and kumu hula, or teacher. A San Franciscan for 38 years, and Potrero Hill resident two-thirds of that time, Mākuakane is the founder and director of the Nā Lei Hulu i ka Wēkiu…
A flurry of failed renovations at 945 Minnesota Street has left the property unprotected from the elements, prompting concerns by community members and municipal departments. “It’s a complete eyesore for the neighborhood,” said Dogpatch resident Janet Carpinelli. “The building is being neglected in the midst of construction and ruined. The building is open to the rain, mold, and intrusion by…
The View canvassed its readers to identify individuals who volunteer their time to make a positive difference in their community, some of whom are described in this article. The paper welcomes nominations of others. Keith Goldstein has served as Potrero Dogpatch Merchants Association (PDMA), president for 20 years. PDMA has 106 member companies. Goldstein, a…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly getting smarter and steadily finding its way into mainstream businesses. According to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, which tracks public data related to AI, global AI investments, including related to real estate, natural resources, and infrastructure, reached $91.9 billion in 2022, 18 times more than it was a…
Consisting of equal measures of residential and commercial enterprises, Dogpatch increasingly offers destination shopping, eating, and has emerged as a prime node for art galleries and institutions. Located in Crane Cove Park, The Park Market is a recent addition, offering vintage shopping, one-of-a-kind jewelry and housewares, as well as locally made treats and beverages. It’s put…
Between 2022 and 2023, San Francisco saw a three percent dip in overall crime and a marked reduction in certain offenses, including rape, down 17 percent; assault and burglary, both lower by seven percent; with no reports of human trafficking for involuntary servitude. Yet incidences of other crimes increased, including robbery, up 16 percent; and…
Mayor London Breed’s Housing for All plan, announced earlier this year, has a goal of building 82,000 new homes over the next eight years, with roughly 60 percent, or 46,000, slated to be “affordable.” A modest contribution to reaching this quite ambitious objective is a planned affordable housing complex to be developed at 249 Pennsylvania…
Mosaics on the wall, the sound of kids laughing and playing in the yard, a painted eagle, and a sign that says, “LOVE TO LEARN LEARN TOGETHER”. This is what’s visible to a passerby on any given school day walking along Wisconsin Street on Potrero Hill’s southern edge. Starr King is one two San Francisco…
A one-alarm fire erupted at 74 Dakota Street at approximately 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 27. No injuries occurred; the blaze took place in a vacant unit. The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) is investigating the cause of the conflagration, but this reporter witnessed an individual intentionally set the fire and rush out of the…
After a decade of evolving relocation plans and construction delays, the San Francisco Flower Market will open at its new Potrero Hill location the first half of 2024. The move has stirred diverse feelings and plans for new ways in which the Market may interact with its neighbors. According to the California Historical Society, in…
With nearly $5 million budgeted for the 2023-2024 season, its largest ever operating expenditure level, Smuin Contemporary Ballet is working to make up a roughly $112,000 funding reduction from San Francisco Grants for the Arts (GTFA). GFTA, which is Smuin’s biggest single donor, reduced its commitment to the dance company due to a decline in…
Every Saturday afternoon on the corner of De Haro and Mariposa streets, San Franciscans line up at Saint Gregory’s Episcopal Church promptly at noon to collect groceries provided by the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. It’s one of several initiatives the nonprofit has led over the past 30 years, including sponsoring college food pantries, helping families…