All News
All Outside Lands News
February 2007 - Johnnie the Birdman by John Freeman and The Monastery Stones of Golden Gate Park, by Jack Leibman.
January 2007 - Lafayette Elementary School, old and new, and a "Then and Now" look at 38th and Balboa. We pay some attention to the architectural gems of the Sunset, starting with Pinehurst Lodge and the Trocadero Inn.
December 2006 - In 1898 the Richmond district hosted the Army at Camp Merritt, a "Then and Now" look at Great Highway and Wawona. Fifty years ago this month the "B" streetcar stopped running on Geary Boulevard, and more western market memories: Your Market and Western Sunset Market. Christmas on the west side, and who doesn't love a Camp Fire Girls photo?
November 2006 - John Freeman tells us about the Richmond district's Beer Town, a "Then and Now" look at 20th and Taraval, and pages for Parkside markets past and present: 22nd and Taraval, 555 Taraval (16th Avenue Foods), and 1201 Vicente (Pinelake Market). Plus, Alamo Elementary School.
October 2006 - St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in the Oceanside is 100 years old (check out the old basketball photos!) and Argonne School photos. (Did you know the first idea for a name was Park-Presidio School?)
August 2006 - Read our interview with Frank and Jennie Jue, longtime Richmond district residents. Plus, the Park Presidio United Methodist Church.
July 2006 - The Asbury Players in the Richmond district and our 2003 interview with OMI-raised John Gross.
June 2006 - Parkmerced --- 1941's "community of tomorrow" Lots and lots of class photos from West Portal Elementary School, courtesy of Grant Ute.
April 2006 - The earthquake refugee cottage had more than 2500 visitors over the course of the long day. Western Neighborhoods Project volunteers opened the shack at 4:30 a.m. to accommodate the throngs of people commemorating the 1906 earthquake centennial just down the street at Lotta's Fountain. Over 10,000 people have learned the story of the refugee camp cottages since the exhibit opened on April 3rd.
The earthquake cottage was open from 10am-6pm daily from April 3 - April 29 on Market Street between 3rd and 4th streets. "Finding Shelter", an exhibit about those affected by both the 1906 earthquake and fire and 2005's Hurricane Katrina, was on display inside the cottage.
February 2006 - The real story about how the Sunset got its name (from Angus MacFarlane); a brief tribute to Minnie Ward; Cabrillo Elementary is slated to close after 80 years; and a Kirkham street earthquake shack is almost ready for its public unveiling.
January 2006 - Read about the Richmond's George Washington High School through the eyes of its 1947 yearbook staff. And get ready for the great events of 2006!
December 2005 - Holiday Time! Look at some Outside Lands Christmas scenes, and buy someone a gift. The new books on the Theatres of San Francisco, West Portal neighborhoods and Richmond District are here! (And we still have Sunset books too.) The venerable Ocean Park Motel, the Sunnyside Conservatory, more old Sunnyside photos added to the tour and take a look at this great St. Francis Wood ad.
November 2005 - Who remembers Blackie, the horse that swam the bay? Or the Red Chimney restaurant at Stonestown? Plus we've added photos to the photo tours of Ingleside and Sunnyside!
October 2005 - Sunnyside District info and photos!
August 2005 - Polly Ann Ice Cream turns 50. Juan Crespi Home School!
July 2005 - Parkside District celebrates 100 years with photos!
June 2005 - See all the Kirkham Shacks heroes!
May 2005 - Hey, the Sunset wasn't the only place with cable car houses! Check out the Carzonia Apartments in the Richmond.
April 2005 - "Merchants on Ocean" and the Western Neighborhoods Project will present a self-guided OMI History Walk on San Francisco's Ocean Avenue in April 2005.
Guided walk - April 23, 2005
By popular demand, Woody LaBounty of the Western Neighborhoods Project will do a guided tour of the OMI History Walk. Come out Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 11am. We'll meet in front of the Voice of Pentecost Church (the old El Rey Theatre) at 1970 Ocean Avenue. It's all flat, will take about an hour, and Woody will bring as many OMI tidbits and trivia his brain can hold!
March 2005 - Kirkham Shacks Moved: On March 5th, 2005 over two years of work came to fruition as the four Kirkham Street Earthquake Refugee Cottages were craned off the lot and trucked to their new home at the San Francisco Zoo.
Now the real work begins! We have just over a year to get them restored and placed on public display in time for the Earthquake Centennial in April 2006.
February 2005 - The Doggie Diner Head was dedicated on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2005!
Amazing old San Francisco photos looking for a publisher, earthquake shacks news, and it's time to say goodbye to the Coronet Theatre so Jack Tillmany recounts the history of the old lady...
January 2005 - John Martini gives us the history of Merrie Way. (Now a parking lot near the Cliff House, it used to be more... merry.)
An interview with Ingleside resident and Ocean Avenue revitalizer Dan Weaver.
Start of a new photo tour: DeYoung Museum, Then & Now
December 2004 - A new Playland-at-the-Beach page, a gateway to all material on San Francisco's best-known amusement park. We've started a Playland photo tour, and have included some information on George K. Whitney, Jr. (one-time owner) courtesy of John Martini.
An interview with (former) Sunset and (current) Ingleside Terraces resident Ella Driscoll.
November 2004 - The Cal-Stanford "Big Game" was played in the Richmond District? Yes, says Angus Macfarlane in his article about the Richmond Grounds!
October 2004 - Read a Short History of Lake Merced by Tony Van Houten!
September 2004 - Christine Miller provides the complete history of Wave and Tidal Energy Experiments in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, (most of which took place in the outside lands).
Kirkham Cottages Work Continues
August 2004 - Work continues at a furious pace to get the Kirkham shacks ready for their move to Treasure Island! Read about our efforts to save the Kirkham cottages and about earthquake refugee shacks in general.
Plus, Dr. David West Reynolds and Phaeton Group give a beautiful tour of the closed Alexandria Theatre!
Kirkham Shacks work begins!
July 2004 - Volunteer carpenters from Mayta & Jensen start saving history! Read about our efforts to save the Kirkham cottages and about earthquake refugee shacks in general.
OMI Play is June 12!
June 2004 - OMI Play based on neighborhood history is this month! John Freeman tells us how the Richmond and Sunset received those "A-Z" street names in "Spanish Town". Also...
Contribute Your Photos and Memories to Book About West Portal, Forest Hill and St. Francis Wood!
WNP Board member Richard Brandi is working on a history of West Portal, including Forest Hill and St. Francis Wood, to be published by Arcadia Publishing (Order their Sunset District book now!). This is your chance to have your photos and memories be part of the history of these neighborhoods from the early 1900s to the mid-1970s when the Muni Metro Station was built. If you would like to share photos or memories, please contact Richard by e-mail at richard@outsidelands.org.
We can also arrange to interview you or you may mail photos or information to Richard at: Western Neighborhoods Project, PO Box 460936, San Francisco, CA 94146-0936
Baseball in the Fog
May 2004 - Greg Gaar tells us about Ewing Field, information on Joseph A. Leonard and lots of WNP events! Have you become a WNP member yet? We need you! Please join now!
Sand Shacks Story
April 2004 - Remember the 98th anniversary of the great quake and fire by reading about City Landmark #171 (Jane Cryan's earthquake shacks in the Sunset). Read the recap of our great OMI History Day, and the Sunset books are back in stock! Please come to Shades of the Sunset, Lorri Ungaretti's Sunset slide show and other great April events! (For more about how the 1906 quake affected the Outside Lands, become a member and get our next newsletter.)
Burning Crosses and Closing Theatres
March 2004 - Second half of Richard Brandi's Farms, Fire and Forest, the latest news on the closed Alexandria Theatre, the story of an Ingleside Terraces cross-burning, and an interview with Patti Poole. Plus, be sure to come to OMI History Day! (Saturday, March 27, 2004)
Sutro's Ranch
February 2004 - We have part one of Richard Brandi's paper on Adolph Sutro's ownership of the Rancho San Miguel: "Farms, Fire and Forest". Plus, read Duncan McDuffie's 1932 memories of St. Francis Wood, see photos of the Parkside theater from friend Jack Tillmany, and get ready for OMI History Day! (Saturday, March 27, 2004)
Boxers and Builders
January 2004 - A Boxer's Death in Streetwise, Ken Zinns writes about the Sunset Developers, and the life of Lovie Lee Ward.
Brooks Park and a New Sunset History Book!
December 2003 - Read about Brooks Park, and our recent OMI interviews. Let John Martini tell you about "The Lineup", filmed at Sutro Baths. See traffic kid photos, and read about Westwood Park. And order the new Sunset book now!
Wave Power
November 2003 - Christine Miller gives us a detailed and fascinating look at the different wave and tidal machines at Land's End over the last century. And what is the "House of Refuge Lot"? Angus Macfarlane gives us 150 years of history. Plus our OMI History Day was a great success, and now we have an events page!
Parkside Politics
October 2003 - Parkside school, old and older, and Richard Brandi tells us about that district's "modern" library. Plus interviews with Al Harris and Rita Rivera Doyle. Get ready, because a Sunset book is on the way!
Movies Arrive
September 2003 - Not that we're not confident with our technology, but maybe you can watch a movie about Ingleside Presbyterian Church. Plus, an interview with Maria Picar, Jack Tillmany's memories and photos of a 1947 streetcar disaster, and new shacks found in the Ocean View.
And come visit us at these upcoming Saturday events: September 20, 2003 at the OMI International Family Festival (Ocean View Rec Center, 650 Capitol at Montana, Noon-4pm). September 27, 2003 at the Sunset Community Festival (28th Ave and Lawton, 11am-4pm). October 11, 2003 at OMI History Day, (Temple United Methodist Church, 1111 Junipero Serra Blvd., 2pm-4pm!).
House of Mystery and OMI Memories
August 2003 - What was the House of Mystery? What's going on with the Cliff House? How did our OMI summer youth video program go? Who are Ray Wilson and Reverend Gordon? And what's the latest with the earthquake shacks? All questions are answered!
Photo Paradise
July 2003 - See historical photos of Ingleside Terraces, of Ingleside (once Lakeview), and the old Geary Street carbarn.
Speaking of old photos, WNP Member Lorri Ungaretti needs to copy your old family photos for her book on the Sunset. Be famous and help save Sunset history! Contact Lorri via phone 415-922-7439, email (lorrisf@aol.com), or mail P.O. Box 640076, San Francisco, CA 94164.
I am OMI!
June 2003 - Our new project in the Ocean View-Merced Heights-Ingleside neighborhood is launched! Read about how you can help, look at lots of historical photos of the Ocean View, and learn more about the OMI.
Schools, Shacks and Stores
May 2003 - Bob Burness remembers West Portal Creamery; we have an Earthquake Shacks update; Jack Tillmany gives us a glimpse of the old Lincoln Theater (later a bowling alley); and 1910 photos of Sheridan School.
Forest Hill
April 2003 - Mark Daniels, Forest Hill, and a new Streetwise in addition to a preview of the Parkside District Improvement Club scrapbooks!
Forts and Forests
March 2003 - Christopher VerPlanck writes about Fort Miley and the VA Medical Center; Jacob Pemberton gives us the history of Sigmund Stern Grove; Sean M. Hall investigates a jockey house from the old Ingleside race track; and from the 1910s Newell-Murdoch explains why one should buy a house in Forest Hill, and Baldwin & Howell why to pick one in Presidio Terrace.
Parkside Intrigue
February 2003 - Read how the Parkside figured in the famous graft trials after the 1906 earthquake. Ralph Selleck, longtime Richmond and Sunset resident (and Playland employee) is profiled by his daughter, Denise. The Forest Hill Clubhouse (designed by Bernard Maybeck), plus updates on the Kirkham Shacks and the Cliff House.
Sunset Reflections
January 2003 - We're lucky in the new year to have terrific memories of the Sunset from Val J. Golding, Fred Van Dyke, and Stan Adair. Plus: the western lands were terrific in the 1920s for institutions seeking space to build. Read about Arden Wood and the former Infant Shelter that is now the home of the SF Conservatory of Music.
China Beach, a Church, and More Carville
December 2002 - Read about Carville's Last Remnant in Streetwise, how a China Beach marker leaves out the bad parts, Jack Coll's memories, and the history of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Oh, and Christmas is coming.
Carville
November 2002 - The famous community made of discarded streetcars in a new Streetwise, Val Golding tells us about the Boneyard, a chat with Joe Politz, and check out some interior shots of the Sutro Baths!
Fires and Talking Cats
October 2002 - Of course Halloween calls for some scariness. Read Christine Miller's article on Lands End disasters, Hamilton Barrett's talking cat of the Ingleside, and look at home you wish you had bought in 1970. Plus Sunset streetcar memories and the 17-line.
Shacks in the Sunset
September 2002 - Refugee shacks from the great 1906 Earthquake and Fire are facing the bulldozer. Lorri Ungaretti interviews a longtime Irving Street pharmacist. Plus, old photos of the 31-Balboa and Monterey Boulevard!
A Stones' Throw
August 2002 - Who were the Stonesons? Builders of Stonestown, a landmark living/shopping center. Also, Sunset Nursery School, and our interview with Warren Crandall, a descendant of the Whiteny Brothers who owned Playland-at-the-Beach.
A Missing Boat and Crushed Red Rock Roads
July 2002 - Read our interview with Bob Fisher, who's lived in the same Sunset house for 74 years; Hamilton Barrett's piece on the Amundsen monument and "the Gjoa"; Richard Brandi's profile of developer Fernando Nelson; and take a "then/now" peek at a piece of the Richmond district.
Sutro Heights and the Giant Camera
June 2002 - Read about the history of the Giant Camera and the people that saved it. Take a tour of the area up the hill as it was in 1890 in the Sutro Heights Album, courtesy of Christine Miller.
Run Out of Town on a Rail
May 2002 - Yes, cable and streetcars once plowed through the sands of the Richmond district, and in 1899, a wireless radio milestone occurred at the Cliff House. Also, see the terrific photos in the Sundial at Ingleside Terraces brochure!
Coins and Crosses
April 2002 - Read about the Musée Mécanique situation in the new Streetwise. Jacquie Proctor gives us a personal view of the woman who saved Mt. Davidson as a park, Hamilton Barrett remembers the giant sundial, and more Sutro stuff!
Elephants in the Park
March 2002 - We're pleased to have a new column from Pat Swendsen on her memories of Children's Playground. Also, if you missed Christopher VerPlanck's lecture the other night, you can read his terrific Social and Architectural History of the Richmond District.
The San Francisco Chronicle has an article about the West Portal History Walk, and now you can become a member of the Western Neighborhoods Project online!
Ocean View Redux
February 2002 - The Ocean View Branch Library is collecting OMI neighborhood photographs on February 24, 2002. We'll be there to help, so bring your old shots to 345 Randolph Street between 10am and 4pm. For more information, call Nina Sazevich at 415-752-2483!
To get you in the mood, we feature two articles on the neighborhood this month. First, read about the start of Ocean View in Marsha Fontes' terrific article she kindly let us republish. Then take a Streetwise walk through the development that never really was: Ocean View Park.
Finally, Matt Vuolo brought an interesting coin to our attention. Take a look!
Light of the Bay
January 2002 - A new Streetwise recalls the marvel that was Mile Rocks lighthouse, and we finally give Adolph Sutro a page, and more of the West Portal History Walk.
Richmond Memories
December 2001 - Read Pat Swendsen's vivid account of the Coliseum Theater in the 1930s and Florence Holub's memories of her friend Phoebe Brown and the first house in Sea Cliff. Also, the milestones (historical photos with text) of the West Portal History Walk are on schedule to appear in merchant windows in late January. See a preview!
Garden Walk
November 2001 - Where did Strybing Arboretum get medieval stones to make a patio? Read Streetwise to find out.
Thanks to the California Council for the Humanities for their minigrant which will allow us to set up a history walk on West Portal Avenue! (More on this soon.)
A big welcome to Pat French Swendsen, who is graciously sharing her memories of the Richmond district. Read Pat's first column on Playland!
Memories of the Avenues
October 2001 - Thanks to Jerome Sapiro and Bernice Lassiter and all the other people who came by our booth to share memories and images at the Sunset Community Festival. We learned more about the old Sunset Community Improvement Club, Lincoln High School, Polly Ann's Ice Cream... a terrific day!
Bring us Photos!
September 2001 - Drop by and say hello at our booth at the Sunset Community Festival on September 22 at Sunset Playground (28th Ave & Lawton). Bring your old western neighborhoods family photos: we'll scan them onsite to save for posterity! Until then, read about the Golden Gate Park windmills in Streetwise.
Land of the Dead
July 2001 - A new Streetwise remembers the old cemeteries in the Richmond. Plus, a new library in Ingleside, and a short history of the San Francisco Zoo.
Sunset Storyteller
May 2001 - We interviewed Ron Jones, a writer, storyteller, and Sunset district native. Also, Carnegie libraries in the city are being proposed for landmark status. Read about the first one built here: the Richmond branch.
Doggie Disaster!
April 2001 - The beloved Doggie Diner head topples, but we expect a full recovery. The home-that-turned garage goes for over 2 million, and we have a new Streetwise.
Swimming with the Fishes
February 2001 - Thirty years ago, one of the world's largest swimming pools closed for good. The new Streetwise tells the story. Also, what was the west side of town like in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries?
Losing History?
January 2001 - A unique beach cottage may be under threat, and in the latest Streetwise, a childhood home has been turned into... a garage?
The Great Race
December 2000 - The Great Race of 1873 featured four horses, 20,000 people, and over $100,000 in betting. A new Streetwise tells the story.
Jack Tillmany Interview
November 2000 - Read about our latest interview, a conversation with a man who grew up in the outer Richmond district and ended up with 20,000 historical photographs.
St. Francis Wood
We've added some material on the famed St. Francis Wood neighborhood, including a promotional pamphlet from the 1910s.
UCSF Pushes for Sutro Forest Rehab
October 2000 - Since summer, UCSF representatives have been meeting with neighborhood and community organizations, sounding out ideas for the rehabilitation of aging Sutro Forest.
Western Walks
Take a free guided walk and learn some local history. The last two Sundays of October, a 90-minute tour of the Inner Sunset begins at 11AM. On Saturdays at 2PM, the secrets and surprises of Land's End and Sutro Heights are explored. See City Guides for more details.
Race and Real Estate
30 August 2000 - Willie Mays, the great San Francisco Giant outfielder, lived in the western neighborhoods but it wasn't easy. Read the latest Streetwise.
Guns everywhere!
4 August 2000 - See where Wyatt Earp lived and read S.W. LaBounty's latest Streetwise column on the Broderick-Terry duel.
Coronet to be Demolished
22 July 2000 - United Artists confirmed the sale of the struggling Coronet Theater to the Goldman Institute on Aging. The 1,230 seat theater, bought for $8.5 million will be leased back to UA for at least six months, and perhaps longer as construction plans are finalized for an elder-care center. (Details from the San Francisco Examiner).
Fay Interview
28 May 2000 - For our latest interview, we traveled to Healdsburg to talk with John and Irene (Sullivan) Fay. The couple raised eight children over 33 years in the Sunset district, and had some vivid memories of their lives there. more...
Conservatory of Flowers Renovation Begins
15 May 2000 - Today renovation work began on the 121-year-old Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. more...
Cliff House Renovation Planned
1 April 2000 - The National Park Service held a colloquium today on the future restoration of the Cliff House in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. more...
Conservatory of Music Moving
25 March 2000 - After close to fifty years at 19th Avenue and Ortega Street, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music is moving to the International Center in the city's Civic Center area. more...
Page updated 2 March 2007