Hospital officials in San Francisco are trying to identify a patient who was admitted two weeks ago in critical condition after being found unconscious on a Bernal Heights street.
The unidentified man, who arrived at San Francisco General Hospital on April 11 after being located on Richland Avenue not far from San Jose Avenue at 4 p.m. that day, is now in fair condition, hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said.
Although hospital officials had hoped to identify the man with his help once he became conscious a couple of days ago, “the normal processes of identifying him were not successful,” Kagan said.
The patient, a Latino man in his 40s who has short black hair and brown eyes, has not been able to tell hospital workers his name, Kagan said. He is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 150 lbs.
Hospital officials are asking anyone who may know who the patient is to contact the hospital at (415) 206-8000.
Here’s a special celebrity guest post by Vicky Walker of the excellent Bernal History Project. Vicky shares a charming tale about a charming house that sat on Elsie Street, alongside the College Hill Reservoir, for 100 years. As a special bonus, she also brings the Interweb premiere of a home movie that shows the sad day in 1971 when the cottage was torn down. Take it away, Vicky…
The College Hill Reservoir was built on the edge of Holly Park in 1870 by the Spring Valley Water Company; the reservoir-keeper’s cottage at 336 Elsie Street was built next to it in 1871. It is described in Here Today thus: “This simple farmhouse, set in a well-maintained garden, looks as if it really belongs on the San Mateo coast. From its lot next to a reservoir, the home commands a fine view of Twin Peaks.”
It was one of only four Bernal Heights buildings considered to be architecturally significant by the Junior League of San Francisco in 1968 (the others are 450 Murray Street, 34 Prospect Avenue, and 3340 Folsom Street) and the only one of the four that no longer survives.
Peter B. Quinlan (1813-1903) was a longtime employee of the Spring Valley Water Company who rose from the position of plumber to superintendent, registrar, and then financial adjuster. While he never lived in Bernal Heights, Peter Quinlan may have helped a relative find work with the company: one Thomas Quinlan is listed as the reservoir keeper from 1880, and was still living there in 1915.
The reservoir’s expanse of open water seems to have beckoned many Bernal residents. An April 1892 Chronicle story tells of how Thomas’s wife, Caroline (described in the headline as “An Old Woman” – she was 53!), accidentally or deliberately fell in and drowned. “He and his wife frequently wandered around the edge of the basin,” the article reports. “About 4 o’clock the old man missed his wife from the house and went to the pond. To his horror he saw her body floating in the water a short distance from the shore.”
One morning in December 1877, Mrs. Peter Brickley of Cherubusco Street strolled naked (except for a wand tipped with several brightly colored ribbons) up to the reservoir. Once there, she took a leisurely bath first in a water trough and then in the reservoir itself. The reservoir-keeper’s aged father “shut his eyes tight and tried to fight her off with a garden rake,” but she managed to evade him. Finally, one young man jumped in to nab her; she was pulled to shore and wrapped in an assortment of clothing provided by the women of the neighborhood. The article concludes, “Mrs. Brickley was conveyed to the City Prison and thence to the House of the Inebriate, and her neighbors are using well water for a few days.”
In January 1916, the determinedly suicidal Agnes Graham of 24 Heyman Avenue was spotted by Holly Park Station relief firefighter Edward Ford, “who, noticing something queer in her actions as she hurried toward the reservoir,” jumped into the water after her and wrestled her to shore. She survived; he sustained severe bruises.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission decided to demolish 336 Elsie after it fell into disrepair; there were attempts to turn the building into a teenage dancehall before it was destroyed. This two-minute home video was shot by sisters Betty Mikulas Kancler and Janet Mikulas Thompson from their home on the other side of Elsie Street, sometime in 1971. It didn’t take long to reduce the century-old building to a pile of timber and rubble, as you can see in this silent home movie filmed on the day the cottage was demolished:
PHOTO: Top, 1891 photo from Bernal hill shows the houses at 418 and 412 Eugenia in the foreground. The keeper’s house is beside the uncovered reservoir, all by itself on Elsie Street. Courtesy of Andrea Cochran. Clean version of the photo here.
As we all know, Bernalwood is basically a landlocked mountain. It’s great for rugged hikes and soaring vistas, but it’s not so ideal if you want to hang out on the beach. Nevertheless, our neighborhood still attracts some waterfowl tourism, as evidenced by these photos of Great Blue Heron captured by reader Phern Hunt:
These are the Great Blue Heron who visit my yard with a pond on Peralta Avenue. This bird visits frequently! The first one is at the pond… waiting for the goldfish to surface… she has definitely scored in that department.
The natives on Cortland are apparently feeling rather tense about all this, so as Vladmir Lenin put it, “What is to be done?”
As is the case with most attention-starved provocateurs, the most withering thing one could possibly do is ignore the wackos entirely. One source who’s dealt with this particular group suggests:
The thing that bugs these folks most is confrontation.
The thing they hate is to be ignored.
The best thing is if a person stood 10 feet away holding a sign that says “Ignore Them.”
I missed all the excitement with Jesus on Friday night, but the scene on Cortland Avenue was definitely hopping when I dropped by to run a few errands on Sunday afternoon. The Easter Bunny had the run of the street, but his/her helpers were also out in force to help celebrate the day.
Jesus is being crucified on bernal hill (@ Bernal Heights Park)
Brian’s photo, shown above, was a real eye-catcher as well.
Meanwhile, according to reader Roger, the reenactment took place the corner of Folsom and Ripley, on the north side of the park.
He writes:
It was pretty epic. According to my neighbor (40 years on corner of Folsom/Ripley) it has been going on for years but typically happens in the early afternoon. After doing some digging, I discovered it was not St. Anthony’s but another church from down on the flats.
Apart from being rather graphic, he reports that it was also unquiet, with loudspeakers carrying chants of Latin and Spanish prayers. Very intense.
There are many things to love about this photograph, but what I love most is that at first glance, it’s pretty much impossible to tell if the image was captured in 1950 — or just last week.
The green-thumbs at Friends of the Urban Forest are on one of their tree-planting sprees. If you live in South Bernal, and want to get a tree planted (for cheeeeep!) in front of your home, here’s the tip:
Friends of the Urban Forest is working to get enough commitments to plant trees to enable us to have a tree planting in South Bernal Heights neighborhood and in almost every other area of the City.
When we get up to 30 trees committed by property owners we’ll be able to schedule a community tree planting. Your neighborhood currently has 8 trees signed up to plant. Can you help create the necessary demand? In so doing you will create a legacy right here in our “front yards” — one that can be enjoyed by yourself and the children and grandchildren of the neighborhood. And at just $75 for the tree and periodic maintenance for 3 years the price is a real bargain.
Research shows that trees increase property values, help the environment and improve our quality of life in many ways. So please plant a tree in front of your house or talk with neighbors or local business about planting one (or two) in front of their property! If you know the owner of a site that could plant several trees please let me know — we would love to help them start reaping the benefits of having trees. Plantings are fun and literally bring neighborhoods together.
What FUF Offers:
Our $75 tree planting package includes:
– Concrete Removal (if needed)
– Tree and periodic maintenance for 3 years
– Tree planting (as part of a community planting)
– Staking/Support
– Permit
For more information contact me:
Doug Lybeck
Friends of the Urban Forest
Community Outreach Manager
415-268-0773 or douglybeck@FUF.net
True confession: It took me a while to clue in to what’s going on at the 331 Cortland food market. It’s basically six gourmet kiosks congregated under one roof, but there’s more to the concept than just fancy food; 331 Cortland also acts as a kind of incubator for budding food entrepreneurs who want to get a start in the business with lower risk and relatively lower cost. They build their businesses, and we get to taste the R&D. Very cool.
331 Cortland is marking its First Anniversary this week, and you can join the celebration during an open house party on Friday evening, April 22, from 6 to 9 pm. There will also be a series of classes and presentations on Saturday the 23rd, beginning at 12 noon. Check out the complete schedule.
Meanwhile, Tablehopper brings a tasty status report on the 331 Cortland Class of 2011:
The one-year mark comes with some changes too as both El Porteño Empanadas and ICHI Sushi are ready to move on from the small business incubator site. El Porteño will focus on expanding their market presence at the Ferry Building and in Whole Foods Markets, while ICHI is busy with their new sushi bar.
Within the space, Paulie’s Pickling and Bernal Cutlery will be expanding their kiosks. Bernal Cutlery plans to offer a larger inventory of knives, and Paulie’s Pickling will increase their sandwich offerings (they’ve already grown from 4 to 12 sandwiches, including “Bernalogna” and beef brisket) and will add new items, like cookies from Debbie Does Dinner and rugelach from Black Jet Bakery. By the way, you can also nab Paulie’s pickles at Whole Foods Market on Haight, Home Restaurant, Smoke BBQ, Lilah Belle’s, The Liberty Café, and a couple local bars (The Dogpatch Saloon, Marlena’s, Stray Bar, and Wild Side West).
What?! You couldn’t make it to the community meeting at the San Francisco Police Department’s Ingleside Station on Tuesday night to get some facetime with Captain Louis Cassanego? Lucky for you, reader Sarah attended… and she took some excellent notes. Here’s her invaluable summary of Captain Cassanego’s Bernal Heights crime report:
Notes from Community Meeting at Ingleside, 4/19/11
– There was a sexual assault in Crocker-Amazon Park around 4:30 on 4/1. An arrest has been made.
– They are still seeing lots of thefts of iPhones and iPods around Glen Park and Balboa Park BART stations. They have plainclothes officers at each station to try to catch the folks involved in this. Asian females seem to be common targets of the thieves. They think the people involved are from outside SF. Thieves can get $200 for an iPhone, so when you are using email or talking on your phone, it’s as if you were waving $200 around. Also, of course, you are distracted and more easily victimized. (The stolen phones are apparently often sold at 7th and Market, where there is a robust black market.)
– They are also seeing thefts on MUNI in which a thief grabs a victim’s purse /backpack/bag right as they are exiting through the back door of the bus.
– Burglaries are slightly down for the year. But 50% are front-door entry, meaning observant neighbors are especially essential.
– Auto thefts are high and trending up. Shaved keys can get a thief into a car in seconds, especially 1990s Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas, and Acuras. Steering-wheel clubs strongly advised.
– Car break-ins are up 44% on the year. The most heavily targeted areas are Precita Park, Glen Park, Noe Valley, and Miraloma Park. Sparkplug chips can silently break glass, and thieves like quiet, winding streets where they can hear a police car coming blocks away. In one-third of break-ins, nothing is taken (because there is nothing to take).
– Police arrested a 14-year-old male in possession of an assault weapon on 4/18/11 – he was seen at 30th and San Jose behind the Safeway, and numerous people called 911. They now think he was also behind a recent robbery in which a similar weapon was used (Kel Tec 223, which is like an M-16).
– I asked about the recent shooting on Holly Park at Appleton (a man was shot in his car around 6:30pm). They are looking into a drug deal gone bad and/or a gang connection. He couldn’t say much more about it at this time because the investigation is ongoing.
As Bernalwood reported earlier, it looks like the renovation of the storefront that will soon become the Precita Park Cafe has finally started at the corner of Precita and Alabama. The plywood is up, construction has started, and we assume all sorts of magic is happening inside.
On a related note, I ran into the always-affable Charlie from Charlie’s Cafe (on the Folsom side of Precita Park) last night while I was taking the photo above. We got to talking about how the Precita Park Cafe might fare, and if it will make Precita Park itself a more sexy and glamorous destination. Time will tell, of course, but I certainly hope that a rising tide will lift all boats.
Andy Taylor took this photo inside Avadano’s on Cortland Street. This Easter, it looks like they’re serving up a blend of Hello Kitty cute, carnal omnivorous pleasure, and Catholic guilt. A delicious combination. Happy Hossenfeffer!
