Patrick Boury captured this magical image from atop Bernal Hill exactly one year ago today, on January 11, 2010.
That same night, he also shot this:
Frankly, I have no recollection of that day one year ago. Yet after seeing Patrick’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous images, I’m suddenly feeling nostalgic.
Photos: Patrick Boury via the Bernalwood group
As seen near the 280/101 interchange on the south side of Bernal Heights.
A lovely photo by Dyche, taken just a few days ago. With the entire city watching, these two need to get a room!
Or not.
UPDATE 1/2/11
Reader Erin Veneziano was moved to create a remix of the photo shown above, transforming it into a groovy 1978-style graphic that would look right at home on a vintage t-shirt or mounted alongside that Farrah Fawcett poster you may still have somewhere in the garage:
Fabulous! Glam! Sportif! These photos were taken early this Christmas morning by TyrellVoightKampff — presumably shortly after Santa paid his overnight visit. They come to us via the Bernalwood group on Flickr. Thanks!
PS: Notice… not a fixie!
This intersection is fantastic at all times of the day. But especially after dark.
I was in New York last week for business.
I stayed at a hotel in midtown, so I decided to do something I’d never done before (despite having been born in Manhattan and raised in New Jersey): I went to visit the Empire State Building.
It was nice. But when you’re used to spending a lot of time at atop Bernal Hill, a trip to the Observation Deck of the Empire State Building can seem a little… well… meh.
It’s no secret that Bernal Hill and the Empire State Building have a lot in common: Both soar high above the urban fabric below. Both are topped with stylish radio antenna arrays. And both are glamorous icons that symbolize their respective cities.
Yet in the end, even though the Empire State Building is taller, I have to say I prefer Bernal Hill. Here are a few reasons why:
I suspect there are a few more good reasons, so you can add them in the comments.
Photos: Telstar Logistics
Another gem from the Cushman Collection at Indiana University. Notice how the western portion of Bernal Heights Boulevard — the part that’s now closed to cars — was open to them then.
Oh wow.
Check this intensely fabulous photo by Cyril_at_sf, which was submitted recently to the Bernalwood group on Flickr. Join us there if you have an itchy shutter finger.
Reacting to my armchair theorizing about the deterrent effect Bernal’s hill may have upon fixie-loving hipsters, Vic Wong sent us a link to the above photo of Folsom Street, boasting:
Ha! I leveled your dumb streets so I can ride my fixie up them. The Mission wins again! Your move, Bernal!
Curses! Foiled again!
One of the perks of last week’s Holiday Stroll on Cortland Avenue was meeting the business owners who’ve kept shop here over the years.
Seen above: the interior of Four-Star Video. Seen below: the interior of Red Hill Books.
Among friends some things are ok. David Gallagher/Flickr
In Bernal Heights, we’re forced to look our neighbors in the eye, to make sure we’re taking care of them. It’s the way the neighborhood was built, with small lots and narrow streets. When driving, you have to look a block ahead, see who’s coming, and what you can do to get both of you by. If somebody pulls over or waits for you, you learn to thank them.
On my street, we know every car, we know whose driveway you can block, whose you can’t, and how to park our cars to make the most out of what we have. We may not talk, but we look out for each other.
The week we moved into our house, the neighbor came over and welcomed us. He also said he need our permission to connect his house to ours, to keep the rain out. We agreed and thanked him for thinking of both of us.
Our Connection David Gallagher/Flickr
Our closeness is part of living on the hill, and one of the things that makes this place special.
My wife and I recently rescued a 9 month old puppy named Jpeg. As such, I now find myself walking through the slopes of Bernal Heights several times each day.
There are a lot of interesting looking homes in the south slope of this neighborhood. I hope to photograph as many as I can in the coming weeks, months, and years. The only rule is: no cars parked in front.
I stumbled across the photo above a few years ago. It shows the corner of South Van Ness Avenue at Army (Cesar Chavez) as it looked in 1953, shortly after the completion of the now-infamous widening that turned Army into a major east-west thoroughfare.
Since I just happened to be just a few blocks from that very spot when I first saw the 1953 photo, I wandered over to see how the scene changed after all these years. Behold, the same view, as it looked on August 12, 2008:
In a way, the most impressive thing is how *little* has changed, overall. Gas used to cost 25 cents a gallon, but in 2008 it sold for $4.17. (It’s cheaper now, unfortunately.) Notice that the microwave tower that sits atop Bernal today was just a little sproutling in 1953. It took a long time for it to grow so big and tall and beautiful.
Otherwise, Bernal Hill look very much as it did 50 years ago. My favorite detail is the Golden Gate Cleaners, visible at center left. The shop is still there, and with the same neon signage. Like a bug in amber.
The 1953 photo came from the Cushman Collection at Indiana University, which, for reasons unknown, maintains an excellent online collection of vintage color photographs of San Francisco. PROCRASTINATION WARNING: Do not click this link to the Cushman Collection website unless you have at least an hour to burn in blissful Technicolor historic reverie. You have been warned.
Bernalwood 
