Thursday, March 22
My friend Selena’s aunt and uncle, Carolyn and Fred (C&F), live in San Francisco. Selena put me in contact with Carolyn a few weeks in advance of this trip. Today, The Boyfriend (TB) and I met C&F at the 24th Street BART station in the Mission. First, they drove us on a mini-tour through the city and up to the top of Twin Peaks, where we saw dazzling views of the city.
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Then C&F took us to Octagon House in the Pacific Heights/Union Street neighborhood. C&F have lived in San Francisco since the late 1960s and this was their first visit to Octagon House. I happened to wander by Octagon House on my last Bay Area sojourn—and the house happened to be closed. I researched it later and found out that visiting days and hours are limited, so this time TB and I planned ahead.
Several octagon houses were built in San Francisco in the city’s early days. Only two survive in San Francisco, and one on the Russian River. This particular house was built for William C. McElroy, a miller, in 1861. The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in California acquired the house 91 years later (1952). Feusier Octagon House, at 1067 Green St., is located in the Russian Hill neighborhood, less than a mile from the McElroy house (we didn’t visit it). From what one of the Dames and Fred said, while it’s bit hidden from the street and has been remodeled quite a bit, it remains recognizable. The Feusier house is not open to the public.
McElroy Octagon House is larger than it appears from the outside. The Colonial Dames Society doesn’t allow photography inside the house, not even non-flash photos. That’s a shame, because the third floor staircase and balcony area is a beautiful combination of curves and lines, flooded in natural light. I can’t really do it justice by simply writing about it. I was tempted to sneak a picture, anyway, but figured by the time I got the camera out of the camera bag, turned it on, and aimed it, one of the many Dames or docents on site today would have caught me. (And then what? I suppose they would have asked me, and possibly TB and C&F, to leave. Ooo, scary.)
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Next, we visited York Mini Park in the Mission. The neighborhood association, including Carolyn, recently transformed the property from a haven for drunks, druggies, and debris into a stunning public art space. Oh yeah, it’s also a playground. Quetzalcoatl, the mosaic serpent, makes his home here.
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Carolyn guided TB and me on a walking tour through part of the Mission close to York Mini Park. So many spectacular murals! An explosion of colors and an array of designs and themes. If you go to San Francisco and you love art, I encourage you to spend time in the Mission, especially Balmy Alley.
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Precita Eyes created Quetzalcoatl, murals in York Mini Park (I think) as well as other murals in Balmy Alley and throughout the Mission.