Gloomy

It has been grey on my street for at least ten days now. There has not been the usual blowing off of fog in the afternoon. A couple days ago I walked two blocks toward the ocean and it was sunny. Seriously, I can look out and see sun to the east, which is normal, but also to the west, north and south, everywhere but here it seems.

So I've pulled out some sunny photos from my walk east of 19th Ave. It's been so long that I've forgotten the exact locations, drat. This mural and the garden that follows are somewhere around 11th and Noriega.

Lovely garden:


Check out the mouse on the mailbox:


And the artist's signature:


Down the street is Jack's Rose Garden.



I wonder what variety these lovelies are:

A Mural on Veterans Day

Have you ever noticed this house on 46th Avenue?


I like the clever use of the space for the mural, and have wondered what the significance of the Harry Truman quote is.

"The only thing you don't know is the history you haven't read"

It turns out that the artist who painted the pizza murals at the Pizza Place, Nicole Andrijauskas, was commissioned to do these. Go check out her website: nicolearts.com. She has done a lot of fun things. Here is the page with the explanation for the project, which was commissioned by the family of a WWII aircraft mechanic.


Apologies for the poor photos. It was a beautiful time of day, but I didn't capture the details very well.

Update Day

Today will be a day of updates and links.

First, welcome to recent readers, who are coming from the Western Neighborhoods Project. Thanks for reading, and I value your collective history and experiences.

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I just discovered the photographer Jim Vecchi. He has done a Sunset Triology, including a look down at painted sidewalks.

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Unless you were under a rock or something, like me, you probably know the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival is this weekend in Golden Gate Park. I've gone twice and it is a lot of fun, discovering new bands.

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It was confirmed by a reader that the Lincoln Way overpass did have lights. Still hoping to find photos.

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I went to The Pizza Place last night, here are the photos I posted last week of the mural. This time I actually went in and got dinner, which was great. Sweet potato fries and hot wing sauce, genius! There's a bar with six beers on tap, and a nice wine selection. Thin crust pizza, FYI. The Greek was excellent. A neighborhood feel, people seemed to know each other.

I didn't realize it, but the pizza car has wheels that rotate. Fun.


I learned that yes, the big mural on 46th Ave was there when they opened a year-and-a-half ago, and they worked around it. There is also a mural across the front, here's part of it.


Naturally my battery died before I got the rest, and naturally it wasn't until I was leaving that I learned that the woman who did the painting actually works there.

The Pizza (and Beer) Place

The Pizza Place is on Noriega at 48th Ave. I haven't gone in yet, but the Yelp reviews are generally good. Of course I was drawn to the mural.


My memory is foggy, but it seems like the mural has been there a long time. Maybe before this was a pizza place, but without the pizza and beer angels?


And that's my favorite part, the glasses of beer hovering around the pizza, sandwich and salad.


Apparently there is good pizza, beer on tap, and a good local feel inside. And a car with pizza wheels.

(10/4/08 Update - I went and got a pizza and took some more photos which are here.)

Dinosaur Island

Have you seen this house on 30th Ave between Judah and Kirkham?


Not only are there lovely murals:



But also a "Friendship Bench"


And "Dinosaur Island"


I always enjoy walking by. It's a cheerful spot in the fog.