Mission District, San Francisco, California

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This article is about a neighborhood in the United States. For the Mission District in Canada, see Mission, Calgary.
New Mission Theatre on Mission Street
New Mission Theatre on Mission Street

The Mission District, also commonly called "The Mission", is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, USA, named after the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis. The area occupies land previously settled by Spanish-Mexican ranchos such as the Valencianos, Guerreros, Dolores, Bernals, Noes and DeHaros.

The neighborhood is ethnically and economically diverse, with a population that is half Latino, a third White, and 11 percent Asian.[1]

The Mission District is part of San Francisco's supervisorial districts 5, 9 and 10.

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[edit] Geography

As its name suggests, the principal thoroughfare 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 eastern portion of the district, known as "Inner Mission" and its eastern neighbor, Potrero Hill, while Church Street separates the neighborhoods from Eureka Valley (also known as "The Castro") and Noe Valley to the west. Cesar Chavez Street (formerly Army Street) is the southern border which lies next to Bernal Heights, while to the north the neighborhood is separated from South of Market roughly by Duboce Avenue and the elevated highway of the Central Freeway which runs above Division Street. Also along Mission Street, further south-central are the Excelsior and Crocker-Amazon neighborhoods, sometimes referred to as the "Outer Mission".

[edit] Climate

The microclimates of San Francisco create a system by which each neighborhood can have 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. 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 Inner Mission is at a lower elevation. [2]

[edit] History

Mission San Francisco de Asis (Mission Dolores) between 1880 and 1902.
Mission San Francisco de Asis (Mission Dolores) between 1880 and 1902.

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. It was here that a Spanish priest named Father Palou founded Mission San Francisco de Asis on June 29, 1776. This period marked the beginning of the end of the Ohlone culture. The Mission was moved from the shore of Laguna Dolores to its current location in 1783.[3] Franciscan friars are reported to have employed Ohlone slave labor to complete the Mission in 1791.[4] Many native Indians were forced to flee the area, and the Indian population at Mission Dolores dropped from 400 to 50 between 1833 and 1841. Mexican and Spanish ranches continued in the area until 1849.[3]

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 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, referred to today as the "Dom Polski", or Polish Home. The Irish American community made their mark during this time, with notable people like etymologist Peter Tamony calling the Mission 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 and 1990s, the Mexican population was joined by large numbers of immigrants and refugees fleeing civil wars from Central and South America.

Despite rising rents and housing prices, gentrification, many Mexican and Central American immigrants continue to move into the Mission district.

[edit] Culture of the Inner Mission

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

The Inner Mission was viewed as a Hispanic neighborhood through much of the 1960s and 1970s. However, the Mission today is both the nexus of the Chicano and Latino community and a neighborhood of artists and hipsters. While Mexican, Salvadorian, and other Latin American restaurants are pervasive throughout the neighborhood, residences are not so evenly distributed. Traditional residents, including most of the neighborhood's Hispanic residents, tend to live on the eastern side. Hipsters center around Valencia Street and Mission Dolores Park on the western side. However, there are certainly no distinct racial lines. A fusion of the conceivably disparate cultures is evidenced by the many colorful Mexican and Latin American themed murals throughout the neighborhood.

Murals in Balmy Alley
Murals in Balmy Alley

Numerous hispanic artistic and cultural institutions are based in the Mission. The Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts, established by Chicano artists and activists, is a rich art space serving young, teens, adults and elders. The local bilingual newspaper, El Tecolote, was founded here in 1970. The Mission's Galería de la Raza, founded by local artists active in el Movimiento (the Chicano civil rights moment), is nationally recognized as one of the Bay Area’s most well-respected arts organizations. And every late May, the city's annual Carnival festival and parade marches down Mission Street. 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.

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

Due to the existing 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. A lively independent arts community resulted and since the 1990s, the area has been home to the so-called Mission School art movement. Many studios, galleries, performance spaces, and public art projects call the Mission home, including the Clarion Alley Mural Project, Project Artaud, Southern Exposure, Art Explosion Studios, Artist Xchange, Theatre Rhinoceros, Artists' Television Access, and the oldest, alternative, not-for profit art space in the city of San Francisco, Intersection for the Arts. 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. The neighborhood was dubbed "the New Bohemia" by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1995 (see link below). The cultural shift, often referred to as gentrification, has led to tension between traditional and new residents.

[edit] Nightlife

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

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

  • Dalva
  • Delirium
  • Kilowatt
  • Double Dutch
  • Gestalt

Valencia St. between 16th and 20th:

  • Casanova Lounge
  • Blondie's
  • Elbo Room
  • Amnesia
  • Lexington(on Lexington, a small side street off 19th between Valencia and Mission streets.) (to avoid confusion; their slogan is "Your Friendly Neighborhood Dyke Bar")

Valencia and Duboce:

  • Zeitgeist

17th St. between Mission and Capp:

  • The Uptown

Mission St. between 21st and 23rd Streets:

  • 12 Galaxies
  • Doc's Clock
  • Lazlo (attached to the restaurant Foreign Cinema)
  • Medjool, with a rooftop bar and hotel
  • Mission BAR

22nd St. between Mission and Valencia:

  • The Makeout Room
  • Latin American Club
  • Revolution Cafe

Mission St. between 24th and Cesar Chavez Street:

  • Cultural Center for Latino Arts
  • Savannah Jazz Club
  • The Phonebooth (on Van Ness between 24th and Cesar Chavez.)
  • Carlos Bar
  • 26 Mix

Mission St. between Cesar Chavez and 30th Street:

  • Roccapulco
  • El Rio
  • Nap's Only
  • Argus Lounge
  • Knockout Room
  • Club 3300

Valencia Street. between 25th and 26th Streets and Guerrero:

  • Clooney's
  • Dovre Club

24th St. between San Bruno and Bartlett:

  • Jack's
  • Pop's
  • El Mexicano
  • Dirty Thieves
  • The Napper Tandy
  • Carlos' Club
  • The Attic

[edit] Transportation

The neighborhood is served by the BART rail system with stations on Mission Street at 16th Street and 24th Street, by Muni bus numbers 9, 12, 14, 14L, 22, 26, 27, 33, 48, 49, 67, and along the western edge by the J Church Muni Metro line, which runs down Church Street and San Jose Avenue.

[edit] Highlights of the Inner Mission

Balmy Alley
Balmy Alley
  • Mission Dolores, the eponymous former mission on Dolores Street.
  • Mission High School (San Francisco) built 1927, 18th Street between Church and Dolores
  • Carnaval San Francisco held on the 4th Sunday in May on Memorial Day Weekend is the largest ethnic event on the West Coast[citation needed] with over eighty parade groups and 7-stage 2-day music festival on Harrison 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, officially Mission Dolores Park, bounded by Dolores Street, Church Street, 18th Street, and 20th Street.
  • Nightlife centers on the intersection of 16th Street and Valencia Street.
  • The Roxie Cinema and the Victoria Theatre on 16th Street are the only remaining neighborhood movie theatres in the Mission. The Roxie has struggled for years financially and was purchased by New College of California in January 2006. The college runs its film studies program out of the Roxie during the day and shows independent films in the evening.
  • Intersection for the Arts, the oldest alternative non-profit art space in San Francisco. Longtime artistic and community hub for residents of the Mission. Intersection's theater and gallary are located on Valencia between 15th and 16th street.
  • Excellent Mexican food, especially burritos; the Mission district is the original home of the San Francisco burrito style.
  • Excellent restaurants serving the cuisines of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Japan, Italy and China.

[edit] Movies filmed in the Mission District

The following films feature scenes shot in the Mission District:

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

Hooper, Bernadette (2006). San Francisco's Mission District. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-4657-7.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mission Economic Development Agency (2006). Socio-Economic Profile of the Mission District. Retrieved on 8 August 2007.
  2. ^ San Francisco Planning Department (2005). Inner Mission North 1853-1943 Context Statement, 2005 (PDF). Cultural Resources Survey 9, 10, 40. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
  3. ^ a b Alejandrino, Simon Velasquez (Summer, 2000). Gentrification in San Francisco's Mission District: Indicators and Policy Recommendations (PDF). Chapter 3: An Overview of the Mission District; History 16. Mission Economic Development Association. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
  4. ^ Nolte, Carl. "Centuries-old murals revealed in Mission Dolores Indians' hidden paintings open window into S.F.'s sacred past", San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2004, p. A-1. Retrieved on 2006-11-27. 

[edit] External links

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