4 posts tagged “muni”
This week the production of Milk, Gus Van Sant's biofilm about Harvey Milk (you may have heard about it) moved north a block toward Market Street. The first of the march scenes was filmed tonight (February 4) and they'll be closing up the street again this Friday to wrap it up. (For a copy of the funny clothing guidelines for march extras, head over to this post on Towleroad. In case you were going to pull out your Disco Stu costume, think again!)
Down toward 19th Street, the location of Given which had been transformed into Milk's old Castro Camera has begun its return to the 21st century. The outside signs have come down, and the interior has begun to be disassembled.
In the window they've displayed a photo of the original store interior which they apparently used to guide the set dressing. The Gaycities.com travel blog has a great shot of the photo propped up against the set during the construction, and this really shows how the crew was shooting for historical accuracy. Now the photo is in the window and easier to inspect closely.
Across the street, Swirl is already back to normal and open for business (although the old sign is still up). It's actually stunning how quickly they were able to transform this place with shelving, moved walls, exterior work, etc. and then just as quickly put it back to normal. As someone who has struggled through a monster renovation which has overtaken our lives completely for the last 4 years of our lives, I'm actually incredibly bitter about this, but I'm trying to work through this. My partner also reminds me that the Swirl renovation was all for show and wouldn't pass code, but still, I want my shower back!
The newly-opened Lisa's Hair Design has lost its awning and has been made over into Alda Yarn. Nothing says the 70's like knit vests.
Quickly, the bubble-tea purveyor made infamous by our dearly-departed supervisor Ed Jew, is made up as a real estate agent's office. If you want to be depressed, go check out the posted listings closely.
Also on that side of the street, The Bead Store had its awning taken down, but is otherwise unchanged. I guess it has retained enough of its woo-woo, 70's, earth-mother styling that it fit into the movie just fine. Likewise, Twin Peaks looks untouched since the 70's -- and coincidentally the same thing could be said about many of its customers. (Hey-oh! These are the jokes people! I'll be here all week!)
Finally, this isn't a business, but the Muni stop has been shielded by wooden structures. I guess it would be hard to explain the presence of a "Harvey Milk Plaza" in the background of the movie. It would kind of give away the ending.
I called the paint job gaudy and garish before, but I have to admit that it looks pretty nice now that it's done. Thanks Gus!
Some recent changes in signage in the Castrohood:
- SF MUNI has installed these new signs in the Castro underground station, and judging from the comments people have already been left, a lot of you don't like them. I actually like the font and the use of lowercase for the header words "castro" and "outbound," but the "Boarding Zone" looks like it was designed by an entirely different committee.
I wish they had installed signs like the ones that they have on train platforms in Japan, which give the names of the next station in either direction. Here's an example which I took from jpellgen's Flickr stream:
Not that our train system is so complicated, but when you are riding an unfamiliar line it is very comforting to know where you are headed next.
- And speaking of signs, DeLano's IGA has finally removed the outside Cala signs are replaced them with the new name:
Signs on the inside of the store have also been updated.
- Probably the best sign I've seen in a while is in the window of the yard-sale-like store which occupies the space which was Lot'sa Stuff which was Browser's Nook. According to signs in the window, right after the "big sale" this retail melange is "closing soon."
Although the store started out with a specialty in posters, its stock has been evolving and now funky peasant handbags, colorful scarves, and huge nativist wood carvings (no joke) fill the window. What is it about this space that only attracts these crazy, thrift-shop, do-it-yourself stores?
... a twin brother?
This weekend the newest MUNI line opened for service. Dubbed the "T" line, it stretches from Castro Station down along Third Street to Monster Park. It will be interesting to see if this additional subway line connecting the Castro to a previously underserved section of the city will bring new customers to the area businesses. Here's a map of the route from the MUNI website:
In addition to the inaugural festivities, this weekend MUNI workers were handing out informational flyers and hats at the Castro stop, and at least the MUNI reps I encountered were talking the new line up with the fervor of a religious convert. Here is the kiosk ad describing the newly debuted service:
(Apologies for the crappy picture.) The text reads:
All You Can Ride!
Starts Jan. 13th
T-Third Street
Weekends Only
10 am to 7pm
20 Min. Frequencies
Full Service
Starts April 7th
Now there are four underground lines which connect the Castro to downtown: K, L, M, and T. In addition, there is still the above-ground streetcar line F, which also heads up Market but takes a left at Embarcadero instead of a right and heads up to Fisherman's Whart. When that line opened there was much hand-wringing that such a touristy line would bring hoards of straight Midwestern families into the Castro and dilute the community spirit. Interestingly, I haven't heard any similar grousing about the T, although the line connects the Castro with both major stadiums, AT&T Park and Monster Park.
The Examiner has a front page article about the new T line with a sub-headline which could be the dictionary definition of "damning with faint praise":
Ride longer than estimated but called 'interesting'
They report an end-to-end running time of 63 minutes which seems pretty long for a 5 mile ride. I remember once we decided to give the new F-line a try and rode it on a rare visit to Fisherman's Wharf. It also took almost an hour; we cabbed it back.
The Examiner article also has a interesting sidebar about the next phase of the T-line, which is an underground branch at Bryant Street which heads straight downtown, with new stops at Moscone Center, Market, Union Square, and Clay Street.
If you want one of the snappy hats (a black baseball cap with an embroidered T line logo on the front and "it's my line" on the back) there's a pile of them available for the taking at Spike's on 19th Street.
