Excelsior District, San Francisco

Excelsior District
—  Neighborhood of San Francisco  —
A feature of the Excelsior District is that nearly all of the streets are named after national capitals such as London, Paris, and Moscow, or famous universities such as Cambridge or Bowdoin.
Excelsior District Location within San Francisco
Coordinates: 37.72058°N 122.43276°W / 37.72058; -122.43276
Government
• Board of Supervisors	John Avalos
• State Assembly	Fiona Ma (D)
• State Senate	Leland Yee (D)
• U.S. House	Jackie Speier (D)
Area
• Total	3.50 km2 (1.350 sq mi)
• Land	3.50 km2 (1.350 sq mi)
Population (2008)
• Total	23,823
• Density	6,810/km2 (17,640/sq mi)
ZIP Code	94112, 94134
Area code(s)	415

The Excelsior District is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California.

Location

The Excelsior District is located along Mission Street, east of San Jose Ave, south of Interstate 280 Southern Fwy, west of John McLaren Park, and somewhat north of Geneva Avenue.

Neighborhoods within the Excelsior District include the Excelsior Neighborhood, Mission Terrace, Outer Mission neighborhood, & Crocker Amazon.

During the early 1900's The Excelsior District as it is known today was previously apart of what was referred to as the Outer Mission. The Outer Mission referred to everything South central with an Eastern bent of the Mission District, all the way to the county line. Over the years as far back as the late 1940's the city divided the Outer Mission into neighborhoods and were given names that appeared on city maps such as the, Excelsior District, Visitation valley, Ingleside. The Excelsior District was later split into even smaller sub-neighborhoods for Real Estate purposes and were given names such as the Excelsior neighborhood itself, Mission Terrace, Outer Mission neighborhood, & Crocker Amazon. Despite of this division into smaller sub-neighborhoods most of these areas are still known as and referred to as the Excelsior District today.

Map of what most considered the Excelsior District today. http://www.excelsiorsf.org/district/images/excelsior_district_map.jpg

History

On April 15, 1869, the Excelsior Homestead was filed at city hall. The record is in books “C” and “D” and in the book of city maps on page 129. This map section showing the area called the Excelsior can be found in Bancroft's Official Guide Map Of City And County Of San Francisco. This map indicates that the area was previously part of the Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo later became known as Southern San Francisco on city maps, not to be confused with the town of South San Francisco. During the early 1900's the Southern San Francisco area included what locals and city politicians started calling the "Outer Mission". The "Outer Mission" referred to everything South central with an eastern bent of the Mission District, all the way to the county line. Over the years as far back as the late 1940's the city divided the Outer Mission into neighborhoods and were given names that appeared on city maps such as the, Excelsior District, Visitation valley, Ingleside. The Excelsior District was later split into even smaller sub-neighborhoods for Real Estate purposes and were given names such as the Excelsior neighborhood itself, Mission Terrace, Outer Mission neighborhood, & Crocker Amazon. Despite of this division into smaller sub-neighborhoods most of these areas are still known as and referred to as the Excelsior District today. Many of the area's streets were named after capitals of countries and its avenues named for countries by Emanuel Lewis and his daughter Jeannette. Emanuel built 200 houses which sold as a result of the 1906 Earthquake. On the west side of the District also known as the Mission Terrace, many of its streets were named after American Indian Tribes. Mohawk ave became Seneca Ave, Onondaga, Navajo, Modoc, Ottawa, Oneida, Seminole, Cayuga, etc. Although many names retain from its inception some were changed to accommodate changes in political climate over the years. Excelsior Avenue itself was originally named "China". It was renamed during the Second World War, as were "Japan" and "India" Streets. In its earlier days the Excelsior was predominantly Italian, Irish, and Swiss.

Characteristics

In its earlier days the Excelsior District was predominantly Italian, Irish, and Swiss. During the late 1970's, 80's and 90's the Excelsior District like the Mission District became predominantly Latino. The Excelsior also has a large Filipino Community. For the past two decades The Excelsior District along with neighboring neighborhoods Ingleside, Ocean View, and Visitation Valley which were predominantly African American neighborhoods have become predominantly Asian, mostly of Chinese decent. Today it is one of the most ethnically diverse districts in San Francisco.

Noteworthy residents

• Grateful Dead singer/guitarist Jerry Garcia
• Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame shortstop Joe Cronin
• Frontman for the industrial-rock band Orgy, Jay Gordon
• turntablist and composer DJ Qbert
• former heavyweight contender Pat Valentino
• San Francisco supervisor and political assassin Dan White
• Surrealist Poet Philip Lamantia

There are several events associated with the Excelsior District.

The biggest one is Jerry Day, which celebrates Jerry Garcia (founder of the Grateful Dead) and typically draws thousands of residents, former residents, deadheads, and other revelers to John McLaren Park and the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, which is bordered by the Excelsior, Visitacion Valley, and Portola districts. This annual event typically occurs in August.

The Excelsior Festival draws hundreds to Mission Street to celebrate the neighborhood's assets such as its cultural diversity, food and to draw people together in a family-friendly environment for music, shopping and fun. The Excelsior Festival is typically held on the first Sunday in October.

Central to the neighborhood for quite some time was the landmark Granada Theater, at the intersection of Mission and Ocean. In 1922 it opened with the name "Excelsior" but, was replaced with the name "Granada" in 1931 after the downtown Granada Theater changed its name to the Paramount, freeing up the name. Both the name and a vertical "Granada" sign were deployed in the Excelsior. However, the theater closed in 1982.

Among the various schools in the district is the "San Francisco Community Alternative School", a public grade school with a unique 'project-based' curriculum, and the School of the Epiphany.

Latino history in Excelsior

The Excelsior District in San Francisco is famous for its multi-cultural community. It’s a diverse neighborhood with working families coming from different immigrant communities. In the 1980s, there were several civil wars in Central America including El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. Refugees from these countries relocated to big cities including San Francisco. There were also many temporary workers from Mexico who came to the US to work on farms. At that time, the Excelsior district which is next to the Mission District became predominantly Latino. Julie and Richard Mitra, each from Asian and Mexican backgrounds, formed a family in the Excelsior and share their story about the early struggles with prejudice.

Crime

The Excelsior District experienced high crime rates during the 1980's, 90's and early 2000's mostly do to drugs and gang activity. E-Mob Excelsior Mob, is a predominantly Latino gang from the Excelsior District. E Mob is said to have started to protect themselves from gangs from the neighboring Mission District. The E-Mob gang had a history of not getting along with Norteneo gangs from the Mission district which were the dominate gang who would battle any gang that would not affiliate themselves with the Nuestra Familia Prison gang. This gave rise to many beatings, stabbings, and murders along Mission st between the gangs. E Mob which was later known to affiliate themselves with Norteneo gangs from Daly City eventually branched off into smaller sets, some became Norteneos and some remained true to being about the Excelsior neighborhood. The Sureneos from the Mission district are known to use the Excelsior as a "Norteneo hunting grown" the Excelsior is perceived as a Norteneo Neighborhood by Sureneos. Murders of Ivan Miranda, and the Bologna family are examples of how Sureneos look for rivals in the Excelsior. The Excelsior District is closely surrounded by well known Projects of San Francisco, From Alemany Projects projects and Holy Courts Projects to the South, Lakeview Randolph Projects to the West, to San Francisco largest housing Projects known as the Sunnydale Housing Projects to the East along With the Infamous Geneva Towars also known as Towerside not being too far away made the Excelsior a haven for gangs, drugs, prostitution, theft, & violence. During the 1990's Lakeview and Sunnydale Housing Projects were rivals, The Excelsior District being in between Lakeview and Sunnydale would often be at the center of these project conflicts. The Excelsior and its surrounding areas have come along way since these times and have gotten a lot better as far as crime goes. There are still some parts that are sketchy and should be avoided at night but overall the Excelsior has become a relatively safe neighborhood.^{[citation needed]}

References

 6. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Gang-Related-Raid-Yields-3-Arrests-S-F-cops-2837776.php
 7. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6323488

External links

• http://www.jerryday.org
• Excelsior District Improvement Association
• Excelsior Action Group
• http://www.excelsiorfestival.org
• Excelsior District Improvement Association (EDIA) website