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Mission District, San Francisco

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This article is mainly about a neighborhood of the Mission District in San Francisco - the Inner Mission - located on District 9. There is also a Mission District in Calgary, Alberta
Mission Theatre on Mission Street

The Inner Mission, often called "The Mission" or "The Heart of the Mission" (La Misión or El Corazón de la Misión in Spanish) is a neighborhood in the Mission District of San Francisco. It is built roughly on what used to be Spanish-Mexican ranchos owned by the Valencianos, Guerreros, Dolores, Bernals, Noes and DeHaros and built near the sixth Alta California mission - Mission San Francisco de Asis. The neighborhood is ethnically and economically diverse, with significant populations of Chicanos/Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans including Cantonese-speaking Chinese, European Americans, and multi-racial Americans (mestizos in Spanish).

The actual Mission District used to comprise the following neighborhoods: Bernal Heights, Castro District, Cayuga, College Hill, Crescent, Crocker Amazon, Diamond Heights, Dolores Heights, Eureka Valley, The Excelsior, Fairmont, Glen Park, Holly Park, Inner Mission, and Mission Terrace. [citation needed] Today, the Mission District is part of San Francisco's Districts 5, 9 and 10.

Geography

As its name suggests, the principal thoroughfare of the Inner Mission of the Mission District of San Francisco is Mission Street. Its borders are U.S. Route 101 to the east which forms the boundary between the Inner Mission and its eastern neighbor, Potrero Hill, while Dolores Street separates the neighborhoods from Eureka Valley "The Castro" and Noe Valley to the west. Cesar Chavez Street (formerly Army Street) is the south border which lies next to Bernal Heights and roughly by Duboce Street is the north boundary neighboring South of Market.

Also along Mission Street, further south-central is the Excelsior and Crocker-Amazon neighborhoods often referred to as the "Outer Mission".

As of 2006, the Inner Mission is part of San Francisco's District 9.

Climate

The micro-climates of San Francisco create a system by which each neighborhood has radically different weather at any given time. The Mission's geographical location insulates it from the fog and wind from the west. As a result, the Mission has a tendency to be warmer and sunnier than the rest of the city, earning it the nickname "Banana Belt". [citation needed] This climatic phenomenon becomes apparent to visitors who walk downhill from 24th Street in the west from Noe Valley (where clouds from Twin Peaks in the west tend to accumulate on foggy days) towards Mission Street in the east, partly because Noe Valley is on higher ground whereas the Mission is at a lower elevation.

History

The large Latino population in the Mission District can be seen highlighted in this thematic map of San Francisco

The Ohlone Indians inhabited the region of what is now the Mission District for over 2,000 years. Spanish missionaries arrived in the area during the late 18th century. They found the Ohlone living peacefully in a village at the edge of a lagoon, hunting and gathering. In this location, the Spanish founded a Mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis, in June, 1776. This period marked the beginning of the end of the Ohlone culture. Archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians observe that the Franciscan friars used Ohlone slave labor to complete the Mission building in 1790.

During European settlement of the City in the 19th and 20th century, large numbers of Irish and German immigrant workers moved into the area. Development and settlement intensified after the 1906 Earthquake, as many of city's displaced businesses and residents moved into the area, making Mission Street a major commercial thoroughfare. In 1926, the Polish Community of San Francisco converted a church on 22nd Street and Shotwell Street and opened its doors as the Polish Club of San Francisco. Today its commonly referred to as "Dom Polski", or Polish Home. During the 1940-1960s, large numbers of Mexicans moved into the area as whites moved out, giving the Mission the Latin character it is known for today. During the 1980s to 1990s, the Mexican population was joined by large numbers of immigrants and refugees from Central and South America fleeing civil war in their home countries.

Despite rising rents and housing prices, gentrification, a stubbornly high crime rate, and gang warfare, many Mexican and Central American immigrants continue to move into the Mission district.

Culture of the Inner Mission

Murals in Balmy Alley

The Inner Mission ("The Mission" or "La Misión") has been for several decades the central nexus of the Chicano and Latino community of San Francisco Bay Area, and though it faces stiff competition from the Outer Mission, the Fruitvale community across the bay in Oakland as well as down south in San Jose, and by a constant influx of new populations moving into the area, The Mission is a vibrant community of a rich multicultural history.

Between the late 1960s and the 1970s, the musician Carlos Santana, who grew up here, became famous with his band The Santana Blues Band - one of the most influential American bands in Latin America and Europe.

In 1970 the local bilingual newspaper El Tecolote was founded.

In the same year 1970, the Galería de la Raza was founded by local artists active in el Movimiento (the Chicano civil rights moment). Today the Galery a non-profit, community-based Latino arts organization located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District is nationally recognized and is one of the Bay Area’s oldest, most well-respected arts organizations.

By 1971, artists, musicians and performers attracted by low rents for former industrial spaces; created one of the most well-known spaces named Project Artaud, which is home to several theaters (Theater Artuad, Theater of Yugen, A Traveling Jewish Theater) and dance studios as well as Southern Exposure Gallery and many genuine live-work artists' lofts.

By 1977 the Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts was established by Chicano artists and activists. The center became the pilot project of a series of community art centers that were established around the city. Today, the center is a rich art space serving young, teens, adults and elders.

During those years also The Mission was the pioneer in the Low-rider culture as well as a hotbed of violent gang warfare, primarily between the Norteños (commonly referred to as the Nortes and sometimes the Bloods, due to their sharing the same gang color [red] and alliance with that group) and the Sureños gangs that still continues off and on today.

From the 1980s and on many Central American banks and companies have set up branches, offices, and even their regional headquarters on Mission Street.

Today the San Francisco Labor Temple (aka the Redstone Building) is the home of the Theater Rhinoceros and a number of community and activist groups.

The Roxie Theater, the oldest continuously operating movie theater in San Francisco, is host to repertory and independent films as well as local film festivals.

On Cinco de Mayo in 1984, curator René Yañez of Galería de la Raza, helped Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza form the latino comedy performance group, Culture Clash, The group, now based in Los Angeles, is known for their productions which satirize American cities.

In 1987, Artists' Television Access rose from the ashes of its old space south of Market and moved into the storefront at 992 Valencia Street (near the corner of 21st Street). ATA was founded in 1984 as a place for artists and the community to learn how to edit video and produce their own television shows. It promoted the idea of Media Literacy and the production of culturally aware and responsible artworks. Today ATA hosts video and film screenings by independent and underground artists, exhibitions for SF Bay Area emerging artists in its screening room that doubles as a gallery, art installations in its storefront window, and a weekly public access cable show.

The Dark Room Theater opened in may of 2004 in the old Mission Records Space at 2263 Mission St. at 19th St. and puts on independent stage productions and other live events.

Last, every late May, the city's annual Carnival festival and parade is held here. Meant to mimic the festival in Rio de Janeiro, it is held in late May instead of the traditional late February to correspond with local weather.

Due to these cultural attractions, relatively less expensive housing and commercial space, and the high density of restaurants and drinking establishments, the Mission has become a magnet for young people, including a clearly identifiable hipster crowd on Valencia Street and a lively independent arts community with many studios, galleries and open spaces including organizations such as Cellspace, ArtsExplosion and Independent Arts and Media. Consequently the neighborhood was dubbed "the New Bohemia" by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1995 (see link below).

It became somewhat of a musical hotbed in the mid- to late-1990s, producing such acts as Charlie Hunter (See Bing, Bing, Bing!). Historically it has had a largely Latino population and there are many colorful murals on Mexican and Latin American themes in the area.

The headquarters of the Electronic Frontier Foundation is in the Mission District.

The area has undergone much change in the past, thanks to continued gentrification, which has lead to tension between earlier and later residents. The San Francisco Mime Troupe used this as an inspiration for "City for Sale," one of their agitprop theatre pieces.

Nightlife

There are bars, pubs, and clubs all over the Inner Mission sometimes bordering neighborhoods. They tend to appear in clusters.

16th St. between Valencia and Guerrero: (Inner Mission and Mission Dolores Neighborhoods)

  • Dalva
  • Delirium
  • Cama
  • Kilowatt

Valencia St. between 16th and 17th:

  • Casanova Lounge
  • Blondie's

Mission St. between 21st and 22nd Streets:

  • Doc's Clock
  • Lazlo (attached to the restaurant Foreign Cinema)
  • Sky Lounge (?) above Medjool

22nd St. between Mission and Valencia:

  • Makeout Room
  • Latin American Club

Transportation

The neighborhood is serviced by the BART rail system to the 16th Street or the 24th Street stations, and by Muni bus numbers 26, 12, 14, 49, 48, 33, 22 and 27. To the west, the J Church Muni Metro line runs down Church Street, and is a popular way of getting to the Mission (16th Street) from the western districts.

Highlights of the Inner Mission

File:Balmy Alley Mission SF1.jpg
Balmy Alley
  • Mission Dolores, the eponymous former mission on Valencia Street.
  • Murals initiated by the Chicano Art Mural Movement of the 1970s and inspired by the traditional Mexican paintings made famous by Diego Rivera can be found on 24th Street, Balmy Alley, and Clarion Alley.
  • Dolores Park at Dolores Street and 18th Street.
  • Nightlife centers on the intersection of 16th Street and Valencia Street.
  • The Roxie and the Victoria on 16th Street are the only remaining neighborhood movie theatres in the Mission. The Roxie has struggled for years financially and was purchased by a local college in 2005. The college will run its film studies program out of the Roxie during the day and show independent films in the evening.
  • Excellent Mexican food, especially burritos; the Mission district is the original home of the San Francisco burrito style.
  • Also excellent restaurants serving food in the styles of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Japan, Italy and China.

Movies filmed in the Mission District

The following films features scenes shot in the Mission District:

See also

  • Precita Eyes - Mission Mural Project
  • Adobe Books - local independent bookstore which supports local artists, writers, and musicians.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mission.
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