finally, PARK(ing) Day 2009 in North Beach

At the end, after years, and for me a year too late,
Park(ing) Day arrived to Columbus Avenue, North Beach.

The SFBC's Great Streets Project in partnership with RenewSF demonstrated the future of what an official "flexible parking space" will look like Cafe Roma (526 Columbus Avenue at Green) and Cafe Greco (423 Columbus Avenue at Green).
The locations of the occupied parking spots were mapped in the Community Map.
If you zoom in it´s crazy how the Upper Grant small businesses want to be visualized in the City´s commercial network. Go Upper Grant!

I found out about this too late in the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Facebook album.

I´m going to upload some of the pictures that come from their link to make it easier to see.

FLEX USE is finally here!!

This is the prefabricated device that they used.

Best Parking

This is an interesting website to study the rates for parking in the North Waterfront Area.

http://sanfrancisco.bestparking.com/index.php

I will have reflection later, but it seems to be a good study tool to detect the Parking issues in the neighborhood.

Beautiful Day!

Temporary Projects

I just found this link in the Rebar mail.
Despite the bad comments written below the article, I think that there is a real need for public and private space to transform the City faster and better (socially). It´s time for "growth" to focus on people, on social capital and not on taking capital from people.
Citizens need a break from seeing their cities being shaped by economic values. We need our Cities to be OUR Cities; to be spaces that we can live in, that we can occupy and stay in.
Fresh ideas and always welcome!
Hopefully soon we will get rid of the fish-faces that don´t see the changes coming!

San Francisco Terrain, Conor Fennessy

I got some feedback from the blog! That's great!
I want to thank Conor Fennessy, an Art and Antiques dealer, by posting his work and to show the creativity that exist in the Avenue.

Conor Fennessy Antiques & Design
801 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, California 94133 U.S.A.


> San Francisco Terrain
>
> San Francisco Terrain is a 10²x 10 ³ gypsum tile depicting the topography of
> the city limits. The piece has recently been released as a limited-edition and
> is sold at Conor Fennessy Antiques and Design in San Francisco.
>
> Fennessy, an interior designer and proprietor of Conor Fennessy Antiques and
> Design, said the piece is a recognition of what makes the city unique. ³When
> we walk through the city, it¹s hard to fully perceive the raw beauty of the
> land,² says Fennessy. ³The topography is a visceral experience of the shapes
> and contours that evolved over centuries. The city itself is a beauty that
> clings to the edge of the continent.²
>
> Jack Hirschman, San Francisco Poet Laureate, calls the piece ³an artistic
> celebration and paean to the beauty of the city.²
>
> In 2008, the San Francisco Mayor¹s Office of Protocol adopted the piece as a
> gift for visiting dignitaries.



> Looks like a painting,
> Feels like a sculpture,
> Reads like a map.
>
> What It is
> Is a 4th dimensional
> Abstract Expressionist
> sculpted painting
> that reads like a space map.
>
> If you try finding
> the space key,
> You'll have to look
> Here in the City Limits
> of San Francisco, the City
> we love.
>
> -Jack Hirschman,
> San Francisco Poet Laureate


I agree with both Connor and Jack about the topographic experience! It is obvious that San Francisco is know for its hills and steep streets: California St, Lombard St... But it´s so beautiful to find that contour lines actually shape our life experience so much!




I attach the Topography Map of Columbus Avenue.
Columbus Avenue draws a 1.20 mile diagonal from the Financial District in downtown to the Fisherman’s Wharf. It connects the Transamerica Building at the intersection of Montgomery and Washington Street to the Cannery Building at Beach Street. The road was not in the city’s original street grid and was designed and built in the late 19th century as one of two major avenues emanating from downtown. Its original purpose was to provide a link between the commercial district, now Jackson Square, and the north east waterfront fishing industry, and further to the northern highway that connected from North to Sausalito. Its diagonal shape in the rectangular grid of the City reveals a perfect topography study between the Telegraph Hill, Russian Hill, and Nob Hill.

I feels good to live in a Map!!

San Francisco Neighborhood Name-Game

I don´t normally buy the San Francisco Chronicle every day when I get on Bart (even though it's cheaper), but I did on Friday. I wanted to have thee metropolis feeling in my daily commute. And I did. :)

I found an article about SF Neighborhoods, about their names and boundaries. Apparently, San Francisco Association of Realtors (you can find the link here) is going to update the real state map (2005). In this new map coming up this summer, the Financial District will become the Barbary Coast, and the Western Addition will be NoPa (North Panhandle).

I wanted to upload some maps that I've been working in this year to share them, so that we can see the Financial District- Barbary Coast dilemma, and then you can decide, give an opinion:
US Coast Survey 1853.
Columbus Avenue didn´t exist yet and the shore line was up to Montgomery Street and California Street:


The superimposition of the existing GIS Map and the 1853 map explains how the Finacial District was in deed a place for pirates (ironic, right?)



The existing Zoning direct the land use of the City, therefore some commercial districts have define an identity from the land use allowed. In the case of North Beach and Barbary Coast i would guess that it´s been the other way around, the regulations came after the character of the neighborhood. I guess this requires specific study for each case, look for the History and stories of our cities...


My first reaction was to think in which world we live that real state practitioners give names to our cities? How does this work? Is it always been like that? Is this the "normal" way of shaping, and naming our cities? (I really appreciate some answers and opinions). For me, it explains perfectly the concept of "urban branding". It helps understand the fact that citizens identify themselves with the places where they live; understand the concept of identity; and also understand the strategy for development: to increase land value, and to attract investors ($)to certain parts of the cities.

It has been a relief to google the article this morning and find out that there is a opposed reaction from SFranciscans about it in the comments of SF Gate and in other blogs (SFist). It was fun to go to a list of neighborhoods that people have created as a reaction about the article. I think it´s a great tool to know about a city and the character of its citizens. I´m really hoping to see the final map soon! I´m sure the boundaries of the neighborhoods will be another battle to fight!

Space Burster Community Meeting Venue

A new format of Community organizing Venue in public spaces:www.storefrontnews.org.
SpaceBuster is a mobile inflatable art installation that expands and organically adjusts to its surroundings (like a highway overpass in brooklyn



Wouldn't it be nice to have this along Columbus Avenue for the next set of Community meetings?
Proposed sites:
Washington Square Park.
Parking lot intersection at Filbert Street and Columbus.
Parking lot intersection at Mason Street and Lombard Street.
Triangular "Public Letfover". Intersection at Pacific Street and Kearny Street.
Triangular "Public Letfover". Intersection at Bay Street and Jones Street.

BEAUTIFUL to assure a creative, openminded, effective meetings!

Bruce Conner, Beat artist

I´ve been holding this information to research more about this Beat artist:
Bruce Conner

I found about him here and that is where I´m going to take you, without giving you much about my humble opinion. I´m a reader this time, just like you!

Central Subway Future Proposal

Muni Monday: The Future of the Central Subway
Indispensable Article to understand the Future for the Columbus Avenue Project.

...to be continued...

and it is actually continuing. THE DEBATE goes on and on...

The Bean, Chicago

I was thinking of having a great re-opening but it makes things lot more complicated. You really want to surprise the spectator so get stuck and at the end don't want to go on stage...
Meaning,

I decided to just keep going with this blog as if nothing had happened, "como decíamos ayer..." de Fray Luis de León.
Today I was looking at the picture of the Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor in the Millenium Park, Chicago.

It is made of 168 highly polished stainless steel plates, and stands at 33 feet high, 66 feet long, and 42 feet wide, weighing 110 tons.

I have chosen it for its great performance with the place and its great contribution to the space and people's interaction.
It gives people the reference of the City and themselves in the waterfront Park of Chicago. It doesn't let you forget you are in the city, it IS an Urban Park, an open space that supports the asphalt and the building skylines. At the same time, it gives the idea of the scale of the park and allows you to meet the walkers beside in the reflection of the Cloud.




You can find some good pictures and standard explanation about it in this blog:
http://freshome.com/tag/millennium-park/

There are tones of articles and references to this sculpture and to this Park that has been a mayor project of great urban revitalization but I wanted to just give my opinion and humble experience of the piece.

Coming Back... soon

I just want to come back soon.
Enough of nonproductivity.

Be back soon!