San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Neighborhood Spotlight
Mission District continues to be a leading artistic and cultural hub for the city.
Home to vibrant murals and scores of remodeled residences, the Mission District stands out as one of San Francisco’s most recognizable neighborhoods.
Located in eastcentral San Francisco, the Mission District is bordered by U. S. Route 101, as well as Sanchez and Cesar Chavez streets and Duboce Avenue. Mission Street is the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare and the community enjoys a warm and sunny microclimate. It’s insulated from the fog and winds from the west. The Mission District has long been an artistic and cultural hub for the city. Musician Carlos Santana spent his teenage years in the community, graduating from Mission High School in 1965.
“Mission in the Rain,” a song by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, was inspired by the neighborhood as well. Alternative rock bands and hiphop groups and record labels have also emerged from the Mission District. Actor Benjamin Bratt is one of the Mission’s famous denizens. Painter, sculptor and graffiti artist Ruby Neri has a studio in the Mission District.
The community celebrates heritage and history in a number of ways. The Party on Block 18 is a biannual summer benefit for The Women’s Building and other nonprofits. This daylong event takes place on 18th Street between Dolores and Guerrero streets.
There’s also Remembering 1906, an annual event where people gather and repaint the fire hydrant at Church and 20th streets, which was the only working hydrant during the 1906 earthquake.
Several modes of public transportation service the Mission District. The neighborhood has three BART stations and Muni makes multiple stops in the community.
Fences and walls throughout the Mission District are adorned with murals initiated by the Chicano Art Mural Movement of the 1970s and inspired by traditional Mexican paintings by Diego Rivera. Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley have some of the most significant pieces and the murals have been painted or supported by the Precita Eyes muralist organization.
The neighborhood gets its name from the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis. It’s the community’s oldest building and located in the northwest area of the neighborhood.