Mission District, San Francisco, California
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The Inner Mission, often called "The Mission" or "The Heart of the Mission" (La Misión or El Corazón de la Misión in Spanish) is a neighborhood in the Mission District of San Francisco. It is built roughly on what used to be Spanish-Mexican ranchos owned by the Valencianos, Guerreros, Dolores, Bernals, Noes and DeHaros and built near the sixth Alta California mission - Mission San Francisco de Asis. The neighborhood is ethnically and economically diverse, with significant populations of Chicanos/Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans including Cantonese-speaking Chinese, European Americans, and multi-racial Americans (mestizos in Spanish).
The actual Mission District used to comprise the following neighborhoods: Bernal Heights, Castro District, Cayuga Terrace, College Hill, Crescent, Crocker Amazon, Diamond Heights, Dolores Heights, Eureka Valley, Excelsior, Fairmont, Glen Park, Holly Park, Inner Mission, and Mission Terrace.[citation needed] Today, the Mission District is part of San Francisco's Districts 5, 9 and 10.
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[edit] Geography
As its name suggests, the principal thoroughfare of the Inner Mission of the Mission District of San Francisco is Mission Street. Its borders are U.S. Route 101 to the east which forms the boundary between the Inner Mission and its eastern neighbor, Potrero Hill, while Church Street separates the neighborhoods from Eureka Valley (also known as "The Castro") and Noe Valley to the west. Cesar Chavez Street (formerly Army Street) is the south border which lies next to Bernal Heights and roughly by Duboce Street is the north boundary neighboring South of Market.
Also along Mission Street, further south-central is the Excelsior and Crocker-Amazon neighborhoods often referred to as the "Outer Mission".
[edit] Climate
The microclimates of San Francisco create a system by which each neighborhood has radically different weather at any given time. The Mission's geographical location insulates it from the fog and wind from the west. As a result, the Mission has a tendency to be warmer and sunnier than the rest of the city. This climatic phenomenon becomes apparent to visitors who walk downhill from 24th Street in the west from Noe Valley (where clouds from Twin Peaks in the west tend to accumulate on foggy days) towards Mission Street in the east, partly because Noe Valley is on higher ground whereas the Mission is at a lower elevation. [1]
[edit] History
The Ohlone Indians inhabited the region of what is now the Mission District for over 2,000 years. Spanish missionaries arrived in the area during the late 18th century. They found the Ohlone living peacefully in a village at the edge of a lagoon, hunting and gathering. It was here that a Spanish priest named Father Palou founded Mission San Francisco de Asis on June 29, 1776. This period marked the beginning of the end of the Ohlone culture. The Mission was moved from the shore of Laguna Dolores to its current location in 1783.[2] Franciscan friars are reported to have employed Ohlone slave labor to complete the Mission in 1791.[3] Many native Indians were forced to flee the area, and the Indian population at Mission Dolores dropped from 400 to 50 between 1833 and 1841. Mexican and Spanish ranches continued in the area until 1849.[2]
During European settlement of the City in the 19th and 20th century, large numbers of Irish and German immigrant workers moved into the area. Development and settlement intensified after the 1906 earthquake, as many displaced businesses and residents moved into the area, making Mission Street a major commercial thoroughfare. In 1926, the Polish Community of San Francisco converted a church on 22nd Street and Shotwell Street and opened its doors as the Polish Club of San Francisco, referred to today as the "Dom Polski", or Polish Home. The Irish American community made their mark during this time, with notable people like etymologist Peter Tamony calling the Mission home. During the 1940-1960s, large numbers of Mexicans moved into the area as whites moved out, giving the Mission the Latin character it is known for today. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Mexican population was joined by large numbers of immigrants and refugees fleeing civil wars from Central and South America.
Despite rising rents and housing prices, gentrification, many Mexican and Central American immigrants continue to move into the Mission district.
[edit] Culture of the Inner Mission
The Inner Mission was viewed as a Hispanic neighborhood through much of the 1960s and 1970s. However, the Mission today is both the nexus of the Chicano and Latino community and a neighborhood of artists and hipsters. While Mexican, El Salvadorian, and other Latin American restaurants are pervasive throughout the neighborhood, residences are not so evenly distributed. Traditional residents, including most of the neighborhood's Hispanic residents, tend to live on the eastern side. Hipsters center around Valencia Street and Mission Dolores Park on the western side. However, there are certainly no distinct racial lines. A fusion of the conceivably disparate cultures is evidenced by the many colorful Mexican and Latin American themed murals throughout the neighborhood.
Numerous hispanic artistic and cultural institutions are based in the Mission. The Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts, established by Chicano artists and activists, is a rich art space serving young, teens, adults and elders. The local bilingual newspaper, El Tecolote, was founded here in 1970. The Mission's Galería de la Raza, founded by local artists active in el Movimiento (the Chicano civil rights moment), is nationally recognized as one of the Bay Area’s most well-respected arts organizations. And every late May, the city's annual Carnival festival and parade marches down Mission Street. Meant to mimic the festival in Rio de Janeiro, it is held in late May instead of the traditional late February to correspond with local weather.
From the 1980's and on many Central American banks and companies have set up branches, offices, and even their regional headquarters on Mission Street.
Due to the existing cultural attractions, relatively less expensive housing and commercial space, and the high density of restaurants and drinking establishments, the Mission has become a magnet for young people, including a clearly identifiable hipster crowd on Valencia Street. A lively independent arts community resulted and since the 1990s, the area has been home to the so-called Mission School art movement. Many studios, galleries, performance spaces, and public art projects call the Mission home, including the Clarion Alley Mural Project, Project Artaud, Theatre Rhinoceros, and Artists' Television Access. The Roxie Theater, the oldest continuously operating movie theater in San Francisco, is host to repertory and independent films as well as local film festivals. The neighborhood was dubbed "the New Bohemia" by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1995 (see link below). The cultural shift, often referred to as gentrification, has lead to tension between traditional and new residents.
[edit] Nightlife
There are bars, pubs, and clubs all over the Inner Mission and bordering neighborhoods. They tend to appear in clusters.
16th St. between Valencia and Guerrero: (Inner Mission and Mission Dolores Neighborhoods)
- Dalva
- Delirium
- Kilowatt
- Double Dutch
- Gestalt
Valencia St. between 16th and 17th:
- Casanova Lounge
- Blondie's
- Elbo Room
Mission St. between 21st and 23rd Streets:
- Doc's Clock
- Lazlo (attached to the restaurant Foreign Cinema)
- Medjool, with a Roof Top bar and hotel
22nd St. between Mission and Valencia:
- The Makeout Room
- Latin American Club
- Revolution Cafe
Mission St. between 24th and Ceasar Chavez Street:
- Cultural Center for Latino Arts
- Savannah Jazz Club
Mission St. between Ceasar Chavez and 30th Street:
- Roccapulco
- El Rio
- Nap's Only
- Argus Lounge
- Knockout Room
- Club 3300
Valencia Sreet. between 25th and 26th Streets and Guerrero: (Near Outer Mission):
- Clooney's
- Dovre Club
[edit] Transportation
The neighborhood is serviced by the BART rail system to the 16th Street and the 24th Street stations, and by Muni bus numbers 26, 12, 14, 49, 48, 33, 22 and 27. To the west, the J Church Muni Metro line runs down Church Street, and is a popular way of getting to the Mission (16th Street) from the western districts.
[edit] Highlights of the Inner Mission
- Mission Dolores, the eponymous former mission on Dolores Street.
- Murals initiated by the Chicano Art Mural Movement of the 1970s and inspired by the traditional Mexican paintings made famous by Diego Rivera can be found on 24th Street, Balmy Alley, and Clarion Alley.
- Dolores Park at Dolores Street and 18th Street.
- Nightlife centers on the intersection of 16th Street and Valencia Street.
- The Roxie and the Victoria on 16th Street are the only remaining neighborhood movie theatres in the Mission. The Roxie has struggled for years financially and was purchased by a local college in 2005. The college will run its film studies program out of the Roxie during the day and show independent films in the evening.
- Excellent Mexican food, especially burritos; the Mission district is the original home of the San Francisco burrito style.
- Also excellent restaurants serving food in the styles of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Japan, Italy and China.
[edit] Movies filmed in the Mission District
The following films features scenes shot in the Mission District:
- Vertigo
- Crackers
- High Crimes
- Sucker Free City
- Tales of the City
- Take the Money and Run
- Quality of Life
- Pursuit of Happyness
- The Enforcer
- Bullet
[edit] See also
- Precita Eyes - Mission Mural Project
- Adobe Books - local independent bookstore which supports local artists, writers, and musicians.
- The Deaf Club
[edit] References
- ^ San Francisco Planning Department (2005). Inner Mission North 1853-1943 Context Statement, 2005 (PDF). Cultural Resources Survey 9, 10, 40. Retrieved on November 27, 2006.
- ^ a b Alejandrino, Simon Velasquez (Summer, 2000). Gentrification in San Francisco's Mission District: Indicators and Policy Recommendations (PDF). Chapter 3: An Overview of the Mission District; History 16. Mission Economic Development Association. Retrieved on November 27, 2006.
- ^ Nolte, Carl. "Centuries-old murals revealed in Mission Dolores Indians' hidden paintings open window into S.F.'s sacred past", San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2004, p. A-1. Retrieved on November 27, 2006.
[edit] External links
- WikiTravel — overview of the district
- Western Half of The Mission — Guided photographic tour
- Eastern Half of The Mission — Guided photographic tour
- Mission Street Itself — Guided photo tour
- The Mission — Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco
- oddwall.com Murals and street art of the mission and throughout San Francisco
- Project Artaud
- Artists' Television Access (ATA)
- The history of ATA — documented and created by Lex Lonehood
- Polish Club Inc. — Polish Community center in the Mission District since 1926
- San Francisco Chronicle, 26 November 1995: 'Neo-Hipsters Keep the Beat in the Mission'
- Sureño and Norteño gangs in the Mission
