We all know that the sun rises in the east (over Oakland), and sets in the west (over Twin Peaks) — right?
Yes! That’s true! But during this week’s huge full moon, Neighbor David witnessed a trick of the light that looked an awful lot like dawn emerging from the west:
I got this shot while walking my dog yesterday…
The full moon looks like the sun rising in the west over Noe Valley, as seen from the southwest corner of Bernal Hill!
PHOTO: Neighbor David
Indian summer is here (pretty much), and your neighbors on Elsie Street are throwing their big annual block party NEXT Saturday, Sept 28. All Citizens of Bernalwood are herewith invited to join the fun:
A Neighborhood Gem for Your Enjoyment
The 7th Annual Elsie Street Block Party
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013
12 Noon~3pm
Elsie Street between Cortland & Eugenia
Bernal Heights, San Francisco** Bake-Off
** Bhangra Dancers
** Bouncy House
** Bean Bag Toss
** Barbecue
** Piñata
** Elsie Debut of Wolfie the PuppetFreely presented with lots of heart and talent by Elsie Street Neighbors.
- The beautiful Bhangra dancers return to perform and teach us
- Lots of Baking Sweat Behind those Bake-Off Smiles (You can be a judge!)
- Ye Olde Bouncy House on our Block
- The Piñata for the Kids’ Enjoyment
- Wolfie and Puppeteer Nick Jones make their Elsie Debut this year
- Busting Out the Brand-New Bernal Bean Bag Toss
And the Darnedest Friendliest Neighbors!
PHOTOS: 2012 Elsie Block Party
Wanna share your amazing art with the rest of us? The Inclusions Gallery on Cortland is still accepting submissions for the annual (and excellent) “Art From Within Bernal Heights” show, but you’d best hurry, because the submission deadline is October 2:
This annual event is dedicated to the multi-talented individuals that make up the highly creative community of Bernal Heights. All residents are welcome and encouraged to participate. Each year this successful exhibit displays over 100 diverse works of art. It’s a terrific opportunity to have your work shown while participating in an event that celebrates and supports the creativity of the local community.
Exhibition dates
October 19 – November 17, 2013Artist reception
November 2, 2013 / 6:00 pm – 8:00 pmEligibility
You must be a resident of Bernal Heights to participate.Mediums welcome
Painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, artist book, ceramics, sculpture, textile, fiber art, mix media, collage, assemblage. Original art only.Deadline for Submission October 2, 2013, before midnight.
Submission guidelines and complete details right here.
IMAGE: Mosaic of 2012 Art From Within Bernal Heights, by Inclusions Gallery.
Neighbor Noah wants you to know about a benefit garage sale that’s happening in Bernal this weekend:
The Second Annual Rocky Mountain Nursery School Yard- and Bake- Sale
When: 9:00-3:00 on Saturday, Sept 21st
Where: 22 Norwich St. (Between Harrison and Alabama)
Books, toys, furniture, records, clothing and other treasures.
100% of all sales go directly to our co-op Nursery School
Neighbor Rebecca shared this photo of her young son learning a formative lesson about civic incompetence and the perils of not giving a shit about how you get the job done.
Neighbor Rebecca’s only comment about the experience came in the form of a rhetorical question:
Seriously?!
Yes, seriously.
This glaring typo cast in concrete on “Folson” is not at all unique; Urban infrastructuralist Eric Fischer has amassed a darkly entertaining collection of photos documenting similar concrete sidewalk typos all over town.
PHOTO: Neighbor Rebecca
Yesterday a few of our bloggy friends around town flagged a spiffy infographic created by the online real estate service Trulia which presents a block-by-block picture of residential real estate prices for all of San Francisco. In general, the map has been described as something of a metaphorical “bloodbath,” because a) the infographic shows that rental prices are generally very high in San Francisco and b) the infographic represents these high rental rates via deep shades of red.
Yet when we zoom and enhance the Bernal Heights portion of the map, we see that the picture in our neighborhood is marginally less depressing for would-be renters. That’s because much of central Bernal is orange-colored, which means that rental prices there are somewhat lower, clocking in at “only” $1400-ish per bedroom.
CurbedSF calls out some wonkiness in Trulia’s price calculation methodology:
As noted in Trulia’s disclaimer about their methodology, the price-per-bedroom index low-balls the average prices for the most common units on the market today – studios and one-bedrooms. Smaller units are rarely priced in proportion to larger units with more bedrooms (meaning that in a neighborhood where a three-bedroom rents for $3,600/month, it’s rare that you can get a one-bedroom for as little as $1,300/month). But this type of index does provides a great reminder of what kind of price tag larger units entail.
Indeed. While imperfect, the map the virtue of at least being consistent, so it introduces some potentially interesting and/or useful geographic granularity to our understanding of Bernal’s residential rental market.
The hit-and-run that caused the death of Christy Svanemyr in Holly Park at 2:30 pm on September 5 was a terrible tragedy that continues to unfold in many sad chapters.
Vivian Ho at the San Francisco Chronicle has been reporting on Thomas Burnoski, 57, the Recreation and Parks employee whom police say was driving the City-owned vehicle that ran over Svanemyr as she lay on the grass with her infant and dog:
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department worker who ran over a woman as she lay with her baby in a Bernal Heights park initially suspected he had hit something, but did not realize it was a person until he was arrested, his attorney said Friday.
Thomas Burnoski, 57, was driving a city truck on a pedestrian path in Holly Park just before 2:20 p.m. Sept. 5 when he veered onto the grass to avoid an object on the pavement, said his attorney, Robert Waggener, providing his client’s first public account of the fatal accident.
It was the end of Burnoski’s shift and he was on his way to St. Mary’s Park a few blocks to the south, where city gardeners gather at the end of the day, Waggener said. When he arrived, Burnoski told his supervisor he thought he had struck something back at Holly Park, but wasn’t sure what it was.
The supervisor suggested they return to Holly Park. But police stopped both of them on their way back, Waggener said.
He said it was only when Burnoski was in custody at the Ingleside Police Station that he learned he had run over Christine Svanemyr.
As the investigation into the incident continues, The Chronicle reports that Burnoski is currently free on $25,000 bail while prosecutors decide upon possible charges.
In a written statement released by his attorney [Burnoski] said that he and his family “wish to express our profound sorrow to the family of Christine Svanemyr and her community of friends.”
“My actions caused the death of this person and there is nothing I can do to bring her back,” the statement reads. “I am absolutely devastated by this tragic accident. Mere words can never convey what I and my family feel, knowing that a child will grow up without her mother, and that Mr. Svanemyr faces parenting alone, in shock, bewilderment and immeasurable grief.”
In a separate Chronicle item, columnist C.W. Nevius follows up with Vegar Svanemyr, the surviving husband of Christy:
“Someone told me that grief is really chaotic and never what you expect,” [Vegar Svanemyr] said. “One moment I feel OK and then it just washes over me. I feel like I am in this dream state. Everyone feels the need to do something and there’s nothing to be done.”
His natural tendency, he admits, is to withdraw. But that day, standing next to Christy’s body at the hospital, he made a decision.
“I’ve always been kind of reluctant to share my feelings and thoughts,” he said. “I don’t know why. But I kind of made a promise to her not to be a hermit but to open myself up. When I saw her lying there, I felt an immediate need to open up my heart to the world. I think it makes all the difference to talk.”
There are a few things he wants to say. First, the outpouring of support has been overwhelming.
“I have felt completely held and loved by everyone, from family and friends to total strangers that have cooked us meals and donated breast milk,” he said. “I’m experiencing a strange blend of total loss and total gratitude.”
And second, he’s moved beyond the blame and anger.
“My wish would be to say something beyond that this is so shocking and how can this happen,” he said. “Some things seem terribly unimportant right now, but I want to be sure whatever I do from here has value and meaning.”
Bernalwood will continue to provide updates about the Svanemyr family, memorial efforts, and the criminal investigation as additional information becomes available.
IMAGE: Illustration by Bernalwood. Inset, Thomas Burnoski via SFPD. Background, tire tracks at Holly Park incident scene on Sept 5, 2013, by the San Francisco Examiner.
Last weekend was the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday, and in Neighbor Kelly’s family, tradition dictates that Yom Kippur should end with the blowing of a shofar (ram’s horn) from atop Bernal Hill.
This year, Neighbor Kelly’s oldest son Charlie made his shofar debut, and he did so in grand style:
Mazel tov!
PHOTOS: Neighbor Kelly
After a week of frantic preparation and greasy troubleshooting, those gas-huffing dudes from the Bernal Dads Racing Team are at this very moment en route to Thunderhill Raceway, just north of Sacramento, for a weekend of inelegant motorsports competition with the 24 Hours of LeMons series.
If you’d like to tune in to see just how awkwardly the Bernal Dads perform out on the track this weekend, you can follow them on the Facebook or on the Twitter.
PHOTOS: Bernal Dads working on their cars this week, by Telstar Logistics
Fashion Alert!
Bernalwood is a big fan of Amos Goldbaum’s wearable views of San Francisco. Plus, our sources tell us that he actually grew up in Bernal Heights (Fair Ave.) and that he still lives here (on Precita).
All that may help explain why Goldbaum created a brand-new design that depicts Bernal Hill. Amos tells Bernalwood:
I’ve wanted to do a Bernal shirt for a while, but couldn’t find the right angle. Finally I found an awesome view that showed the contour of the hill as well as the complexity of the streets traversing it. I wanted to include the Doggie Diner that used to be on Mission and (then) Army but the only picture I could find was the wrong angle. In the end, I drew the Doggie Diner head as a sort of apparition, just hanging out on Mission St.
Check out the detail:
Be the first on your block to get one, right here.
IMAGES: Amos Goldbaum Hat Tip: Neighbor David
Neighbor Lisa snapped this photo yesterday.
It is strangely perfect and wonderful.
She calls it a “Cortland morning tableau.”
I’d call it a telling mashup of Cartier-Bresson, Hopper, and Pixar.
Call us impressed.
PHOTO: Lisa Morehouse
Did you know there once was a movie theater on Cortland Avenue? The Cortland Theater (which became the Capri, after 1957) operated for more than 50 years (!!!) at 802 Cortland, in the building that’s now a church.
In this Bernalwood exclusive, the fabulous Vicky Walker from the Bernal History Project tells us the tale of this former Bernal landmark:
Before television, VCRs, DVDs, Four Star Video, TiVo, and Netflix streaming, residents of Bernal Heights went to the movies for entertainment. The Lyceum Theater on Mission Street was a short trip away, but if you didn’t want to walk down the hill, you could watch a movie at the Cortland Theatre at 802 Cortland.
The Cortland specialized in family-friendly double-features. Opened in 1915, it was revamped with a new facade in June 1957 and relaunched as the Capri Theatre. Despite the impact of television, the Cortland/Capri managed to survive until April 1969, and of course the building is now a church.
Jack Tillmany is a lifelong movie buff and the author of Theatres of San Francisco. In the 1950s, Jack signed up to receive The Cortland’s monthly calendar in the mail, so he often found himself at screenings in Bernal. Jack says:
“When I got my first car (in 1956), going to the movies in remote locations was an adventure. And since I lived in the Richmond District (near Geary Blvd. & 21st Avenue), Cortland Avenue definitely fell into that category.
“I was also concerned about seeing wide-screen movies in their proper ratio, and, I’m happy to report, The Cortland’s proscenium was wide enough to do just that. Alas, my own ‘local’ 4-Star’s did not, and so I never darkened their doors again after I saw how they squeezed and mutilated CinemaScope to fit their painfully too narrow screen in 1954!
“As a result I saw John Wayne in The High and the Mighty, Judy Garland in A Star Is Born, and, one of my personal favorites, Land of the Pharaohs, in their intended wide-screen grandeur at The Cortland.
“At least once a month, I would find some excuse to drive over to The Cortland even though the Alexandria, Coliseum, and Balboa were still in my geographical range.
“This all ended when I went into the Army in 1959; when I came back to the Bay Area two years later, I began managing theaters in the East Bay, and never had occasion to go back to The Cortland, which, by that time, had been renamed the Capri, with a new flat front. But I did return for one last hurrah, in 1966, when, on my night off from theatre management, I drove over from Oakland to see Peter Cushing in The Skull, which was just the sort of thing to see at the Capri!”
Along with all his other movie memorabilia. Jack kept the programs he got in the mail from The Cortland. A few years ago, he sold a few of them at his “Theaters of Mission Street” presentation for the Bernal History Project. Longtime Bernal resident and historian Jerry Schimmel purchased Jack’s last batch of Cortland and Capri programs, and he donated them to the Bernal Heights Branch Library. BHP scanned them as well.
The handwritten notes on some of the programs are quite charming. “SAVE CARFARE AND PARKING WORRIES,” one urges. “Patronize your neighborhood merchants. Movies are your best entertainment.”
Jack also provides proof that Bernal’s little movie house once competed with the likes of the Castro Theatre: In March 1958, the Cortland’s operator, Ward Stoopes (1926-1999), attempted to run silent films in the middle of the week, with portable organ accompaniment. Jack recalls:
“His first offering was A Tale of Two Worlds (1921), with Wallace Beery, filmed in San Francisco and shown via an original, tinted, 35MM print. I was among the very few in the audience, appreciative of the opportunity to see such a rarity, under such ideal circumstances. But, at the same time, future theatre manager that I was, I worried over the lack of attendance. Alas, the series failed, but, for me, at least it was a memorable moment.”
PHOTOS: Cortland Theater (year unknown) and Capri Theater facade (1965). All photos and programs courtesy of Jack Tillmany.
More fallout from the hit-and-run death of Christy Svanemyr last Thursday in Holly Park. San Francisco Chronicle reporter (and Bernal neighbor) Marisa Lagos has the details about a round of hearings proposed by District 9 Supervisor David Campos:
Campos will call for a hearing Tuesday to examine the Recreation and Parks Department’s vehicle policy. He can’t focus exclusively on Svanemyr’s death, he said, because of the ongoing investigation, but wants to make sure nothing like the incident ever happens again.
Neighbors have told the Chronicle that they saw park workers repeatedly driving off pathways and too fast in Holly Park, but that complaints went unanswered.
“I want to do a hearing to see: What are the policies and procedures that govern how maintenance vehicles enter and drive in parks? How are they enforced? What training is provided? How are complaints handled?” Campos said. “I was sick to my stomach, dismayed and very angry and upset (by the death).”
According to the parks department, workers are not allowed to drive on park pathways, sidewalks, closed roads or the actual park area “merely for convenience purposes.” If they do need to drive “on a park-scape or other surface not designed for vehicle operation,” they are supposed to have a spotter outside the vehicle.
PHOTO: The Rec and Park vehicle that struck Christy Svanemyr, via KCBS.
Bernalwood 