Other Ghosts of Mission Street

The last time I wandered aimlessly along Mission Street, I was on about old Movie Palaces. I never really tire of exploring this fascinating street and its history. I'm a bit farther up the road this time, in the Excelsior District. This is the old Granada Theatre at 4631 Mission, opened in the early 1920s as the Excelsior. It was in operation until November of 1982 and now is home to a rather dull Goodwill Store (yes, there are exciting Goodwill Stores) and a Walgreens. Across the street and down a block I came across this F.W. Woolworth store, now an exceptionally uninteresting furniture store. Of note is the interior as it is a relatively intact example of an old Woolworth and features some enormous streamlined ceiling ventilation fixtures (I know, contain your enthusiasm). Don't forget to stop in at the Chick N Coop for lunch before you head out.

Sign of the Week

This little gem was on the window of one of the MANY dollar (or in this case 99c) stores on Mission Street. It's rather brilliant in its own way and I especially like the drawing of the key (it must be one of the copy's (sic)).

Movie Palaces of Mission Street

Taking advantage of an unseasonably rainy Sunday, I took a stroll to visit a few buildings that seem to look better on a gloomy day; the abandoned movie palaces that line the "miracle mile" of Mission Street. Second only to Market Street in its heyday, Mission St. featured several grand theatres showing second and third run pictures. All have been closed for years now and are in various states of decay. Some saw a second life as churches or discount stores, one (the El Capitan) has been a parking lot since the 1960s. The undisputed queen of the street is the New Mission Theatre. Designed by the Reid Bros. in 1916 and remodelled by Timothy Pflueger (architect of the Paramount in Oakland and the Castro Theatre in The City) in 1932, The New Mission ceased showing films in 1993 and did time as a low-rent furniture store. Recently it was designated City landmark #245 in an effort to save it from demolition by SF City College. Plans for restoration have gone nowhere, though. The (mostly intact) interior was recently vandalized by know-nothing ravers who gleefully posted their "work" on flikr (sigh, I'm only linking this so you can leave a nasty comment on their page!). There's nothing quite so sad and evocative as an old, abandoned movie house, at least that's true for me.

Excellent Excelsior

Utterly un-gentrified (in a good way), the Excelsior district of San Francisco is home to delicious restaurants, bakeries, fascinating shops and lots and lots of bargains. At the far end of The City, it's pretty safe from the forces that have turned so many shopping districts into outdoor shopping malls full of chain stores, overpriced food and useless luxury goods. One of my favorites is the fabulous "Chick N Coop". Delicious sandwiches and dinners at bargain prices served up with more than a bit of sass from the irascible owner. What I like about the place, apart from the food, is that it's a real working class joint like the kind my relatives ate at when The City was predominantly working class. Across the street is a small pharmacy with a marvelous exterior (it's a wonder it AND the storefront are still intact). You don't see many places like this anymore. It's all to found near the far end of Mission Street.