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\centerline{\hl San Francisco Round-Up}

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People who live in San Francisco are fond of saying it's just a¨
big small town. It's more like a collection of small towns. SF is¨
divided into several fairly distinct neighborhoods, each with its¨
own name, commercial district and distinct flavor. 

Let's start with downtown. It has a lot of tall buildings, and it¨
spreads like a cancer. It's centered on Market Street, which¨
divides two of the city's largest neighborhoods.

South of Market (``SoMa'') is a combination warehouse¨
district/hip urban clubland. Artists and musicians used to live¨
there, and a few still do. Nightlife in SoMa used to mean gay¨
leather bars, now there are a variety of trendy clubs and¨
restaurants to choose from instead, centered on Folsom Street.

North of Market, downtown spreads its tentacles wide. However, it¨
hasn't yet completely penetrated the city's most urban¨
neighborhood, the Tenderloin. The central feature of the 'Loin is¨
the SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotel and other forms of¨
``cheap'' housing. How cheap? You can get an SRO room for¨
\$400/month these days. This area is populated mainly by those on¨
fixed incomes, low-income working or non-working people, punk¨
rock wastrels and, in increasing numbers, Southeast Asian¨
families. The police presence is heavy, and so is street crime.¨
The 'Loin abuts a growing district of expensive but half-empty¨
speculative hotels.

Going back toward the Bay a bit but further North is Chinatown,¨
one of the city's growing neighborhoods. The main tourist drag is¨
Grant Avenue, the main street for local Chinese residents is¨
Stockton. Housing here means tiny, tiny rooms shared by whole¨
families at incredibly high prices. Restaurants from super-cheap¨
to outrageously expensive, Chinese grocery stores and shops with¨
bargains from the Far East are everywhere. Chinatown is a fun¨
urban experience for the visitor.

When Chinatown runs into Broadway, San Franciscans start calling¨
it North Beach. North Beach includes a strip of, well, strip¨
joints on Broadway, which also once included the two main punk¨
clubs in the city, the Mabuhay Gardens and the On Broadway. Both¨
have been rehabilitated as ``legitimate'' businesses. North Beach¨
was the center of the beatnik community in the '50s -- remaining¨
artifacts from that era include City Lights Books, owned by poet¨
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Vesuvio's bar next door and lots of¨
coffeehouses, from the trendy to the still-sorta-boho. North¨
Beach is thought of as the city's Italian district, although few¨
Italians still live there, and it's centered on Columbus Avenue.¨
You'll find many Italian restaurants, and a certain atmosphere¨
remains.

As you move into the residential area in the hills above North¨
Beach and Chinatown, you'll find some of the city's most¨
exclusive areas. There's a lot of old money on Nob Hill, Russian¨
Hill and the area known as Pacific Heights. There are also¨
buildings full of Chinese immigrants in Nob Hill, which is¨
rapidly becoming a mostly-Chinese area. 

Running along the base of Nob Hill is Polk Street, which has many¨
(mostly gay) bars as well as neighborhood shops, increasingly¨
catering to the Chinese community.

Parallel to Polk is Van Ness Avenue, a major thoroughfare that¨
bisects Market Street. Several of the city's large movie theaters¨
are near Nob Hill on Van Ness. As it nears Market, Van Ness¨
brings you to the Civic Center area. Here is City Hall,¨
juxtaposed with a tent city for the homeless (which may be gone¨
by the time you read this.) Here is UN Plaza, site of a Farmer's¨
Market and of the ARC/AIDS Vigil, another encampment where people¨
with ARC and AIDS are living to put on the pressure for medical¨
research and other assistance. This area is a center for homeless¨
people because there are several places nearby where some¨
services -- food, shelter, medical care -- are available. 

West of Van Ness is an area known as the Fillmore -- unless¨
you're a real estate agent trying to sell one of the hundreds of¨
new condos recently built there, in which case it's ``Lower¨
Pacific Heights.'' The Fillmore was a Jewish neighborhood in the¨
early part of the century, but took center stage as the main base¨
of San Francisco's large black community during the wartime boom¨
of the '40s. After the war, black munitions workers and their¨
families found themselves unwanted and unemployed, and the area¨
soon became a notorious ghetto. In the '60s, huge areas were¨
demolished in the name of urban renewal (or ``negro removal,'' as¨
the ``joke'' went then) and thousands of people were displaced.¨
Some of the empty areas were replaced with housing projects,¨
others remained vacant until the last two or three years. The¨
city sold them to developers, who are now producing condo¨
buildings with a few allegedly affordable units (\$800 for a 
one-bedroom apartment is the guideline.) Tension simmers under¨
the surface here. The projects are not a safe place to be --¨
definitely not for those who live there, and hopefully not for¨
the yuppie scum who are moving in.

North of the Fillmore is another predominantly black area, the¨
Western Addition, which is centered on Divisadero Street. This¨
district has many fine Victorian and Edwardian homes, as does the¨
Fillmore. The plague of gentrification has crept in over the past¨
ten years, but there are still many low-income and working people¨
in this area.

Divisadero crosses Haight Street, forming a dividing line between¨
``Lower Haight'' (really part of the Fillmore district) and the¨
Haight district proper. Lower Haight Street used to be a business¨
district serving the Fillmore neighborhood; now it's playland for¨
the black leather/art scene/English motorcycle crowd. It's not¨
necessarily an expensive area to live, and some of the area's¨
``attractions'' (Nickie's Bar and Grill comes to mind) are hip¨
but fun.

Following Divisadero south, its name changes to Castro Street.¨
The center of the Castro, probably the best-known gay¨
neighborhood in the world, is at Market and Castro. It's a rather¨
upscale area, with many gay bars, boutiques, bookstores and¨
cafes. The surrounding area includes many beautifully restored¨
homes.

Back to the North, the neighborhood known as the Haight starts¨
where Haight Street crosses Divisidero. Bound Together Books, San¨
Francisco's anarchist bookstore, is rapidly becoming an old-timer¨
as the street becomes a haven for chain stores like The Gap,¨
fashion boutiques and galleries. They come and go quickly, thanks¨
to spiraling rents. Weekends bring big crowds to the Haight. 

At the end of Haight Street is the start of Golden Gate Park, a¨
long, wide park that runs all the way to the ocean. That end of¨
the park is a gathering place for the area's street people, many¨
of whom sleep in the park surreptitiously. Within the park are¨
playing fields, biking, running, walking and horseback riding¨
trails, picnic areas, gardens, forested areas, several museums¨
and children's playgrounds.

San Jose Blvd. (Highway 280) is a dividing line. Below it lie the¨
neighborhoods of Hunter's Point and Bayshore. There are projects¨
in this area, including some with a well-earned reputation for¨
violence. There are also more owner-occupied homes in Hunter's¨
Point than in any other city neighborhood. It boasts a large¨
black middle class and a large black underclass. Both¨
neighborhoods grew up as a result of Navy shipbuilding activity¨
during WWII and have suffered since as both skilled and unskilled¨
labor jobs left the city.

The conference sites are all located in SF's warmest¨
neighborhood, the Mission district. Site of one of the earliest¨
Spanish settlements, the Mission was long an Irish stronghold. A¨
few Irish bars remain, but it has long since become the center of¨
the city's Hispanic community. Mexican-Americans share the area¨
with newcomers from Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and parts¨
further south. Bodegas and restaurants with specialties from all¨
over Central and South America can be found in this area, which¨
runs on both sides of Mission Street, along with cultural centers¨
and galleries serving the Hispanic communities. Also in the¨
Mission are a number of lesbian/women's bars and bookstores,¨
especially on Valencia Street.

The Inner Mission is currently the hottest real estate buy in the¨
city, according to the local papers. That means displacement and¨
gentrification are going on, with low-income artsy types in the¨
vanguard as usual. This makes for a certain amount of tension,¨
but not so much as in the city's black neighborhoods. Political¨
realities here are such that large-scale demolition projects are¨
unlikely in the Mission, and a considerable amount of low-income¨
housing development there in the past ten years has been¨
spearheaded by community-based non-profits. There has been a¨
reported increase in street crime in this neighborhood recently,¨
possibly as a result of crack. But it is basically a safe and¨
friendly neighborhood for respectful visitors who pay attention.

I've not mentioned several areas -- the Richmond, Sunset, Lake¨
Merced, Potrero Hill, Noe Valley, Duboce Park and Glen Park¨
spring to mind -- but space constraints are a reality. This is a¨
city for walking and a city for enjoying. If you have spare time¨
during the conference, don't let the opportunity to see the real¨
San Francisco (not the tourist traps) pass you by. 

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