Category: Balboa Reservoir

Another Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos on the Cusp of History

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By Amy O’Hair
More photos and history about the Balboa Reservoir here. 

The Balboa Reservoir is due for big changes, if all goes to plan—perhaps the last of its many transformations since Adolph Sutro’s eucalyptus trees were cleared from this corner of his massive forest in 1894. From these recent images I hope to someday create then-and-now photo sliders, showing dramatic changes after housing and a park go up on this land. These are places that automated street-mapping cameras never went, but later will go, when there are new streets and houses.

On the Lower Reservoir, the planned housing project has yet to break ground, but I have included some images from the developers’ projections. See plans here (under ‘Meetings’ > PDFs labeled ‘Boards for Community Feedback’; the most recent one has been removed unfortunately). More about the planned housing project on the developers website. Read some recent news on the funding at the Ingleside Light.

Meanwhile, on the Upper Reservoir, City College is presently in the process of building the STEAM Center, for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math; a tall crane rises over the construction area, an unusual but increasingly more common sight in these neighborhoods. Read about the new project at the Ingleside Light. Or on CCSF’s own page about the new construction.  Rendering and floorplans here.

In related news, the Board of Supervisors has approved naming the extension of Lee Avenue through the housing project after the mayor who set the ball rolling for the new development in 2014: “Mayor Edwin M. Lee 李孟賢市長街”. The other planned new streets have been given generic plant names–read more at the Ingleside Light.

Taking the long view, it’s just another phase in the remarkable history of one plot of city land.

First some general views, then some attention to existing and projected pedestrian accessways.

Balboa Reservoir, spring 2023. View south from north berm. Ocean Avenue multi-unit development in view. Photo: Amy O'Hair.
Balboa Reservoir, spring 2023. View south from north berm. Ocean Avenue multi-unit development in view. Photo: Amy O’Hair.
Developers' projected view of central park, Balboa Reservoir. View toward south. Document here. https://sfplanning.org/sites/default/files/documents/cac/balboareservoirCAC_community_boards-101621.pdf
Developers’ projected view of central park, Balboa Reservoir. View toward south. Document here. 
Balboa Reservoir, spring 2023. View northeast from west berm. Mount Davidson and City College in view. Photo: Amy O'Hair.
Balboa Reservoir, spring 2023. View northeast from west berm. Mount Davidson and City College  construction in view. Photo: Amy O’Hair.

Continue reading “Another Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos on the Cusp of History” →

View of Mt Davidson and Balboa Reservoir: 1973 and Today

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Looking north from Summit Street near Thrift in Ingleside. Note changes in the Balboa Reservoir and along Ocean Avenue (center), while residential streets are little altered (except perhaps bigger trees) in 50 years. Science Hill at City College Ocean Campus visible on the far right.

Future changes planned for the Balboa Reservoir will alter the view once again in coming years—both the housing development on the western portion, and City College’s plans for the eastern portion. A new house on the lower left muddles the 2022 view a bit.

Move slider to compare photographs. Can take time to load. View larger here. Look at other comparison photographs here.

Sunnyside in the 1970s: Trees, Traffic, Taxes

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By Amy O’Hair

Traffic calming – planting and saving trees – safe places for children to play – newly revealed local history: the issues on the minds of Sunnysiders fifty years ago were not so different from things that interest residents now. The newsletters of Sunnyside’s local organization from those years have recently been archived and made available online at the Internet Archive, and tell some inspiring stories about actions that still impact our lives today.

Although Sunnyside has seen organized advocacy by residents since the 1890s (more here), the current organization, Sunnyside Neighborhood Association (SNA), dates to late 1974.[1] The 1970s saw a surge of local activism in the many neighborhoods in San Francisco. Five decades later, we still enjoy some of the fruits of that upwelling, for instance in open spaces that were established as parks. There was also a downside to the activism then that still affects the city; in some areas, such as the Richmond district, residents fought density with downzoning measures, working to exclude multi-unit buildings and “retain local character,” resulting in a dearth of housing units in subsequent decades, and de facto residential segregation.

But SNA was, according to the record of these early newsletters, more intent on trees, parks, and calming traffic. Monterey Boulevard had already undergone big changes in the 1950s and 1960s, with an extensive apartment-building boom. The 1970s saw even more upzoning on the boulevard. SNA didn’t oppose more housing, but as we’ll see, it did try to rescue trees that were eventually to fall victim to a particularly determined developer of multi-unit buildings, among many other projects, such as tree-planting and boosting local businesses.

The publication of the new archive of the SNA newsletters is due to the work of LisaRuth Elliott and her team for the Neighborhood Newspapers of San Francisco project on the Internet Archive. Continue reading “Sunnyside in the 1970s: Trees, Traffic, Taxes” →

Another Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos V

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Part of a series of posts about the history of the Balboa Reservoir. View more photos here, and here, and here and here.

The shabby open space that makes up the remaining portion of the Balboa Reservoir was certainly one place where a person was unlikely to catch Covid this year. Plenty of people came to chill out, literally in the fog or figuratively in the solitude.

From February to June 2021, the reservoir land played its part in the recovery by serving as an overflow route for people in cars coming to the adjacent City College of San Francisco mass vaccination site. The goats were back for their annual munch in August. The big storm in October briefly left more standing water than this would-be reservoir ever held before. Construction on the planned housing project. for the site is due to begin in 2022. All photographs Amy O’Hair except where noted otherwise. Thanks to Susan Sutton and Joanna Pearlstein for their contributions.

A dramatic sunset at Balboa Reservoir in March 2021.
A sunset at Balboa Reservoir in March 2021.
This modest swing has seen a lot of both joy and contemplation over the years. Sept 2021.
Masked teens, lounging on the berm. Mar 2021.
Masked teens, lounging on the berm. Mar 2021.

Continue reading “Another Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos V” →

The History of the Balboa Reservoir: A Timeline

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By Amy O’Hair

In the next few years, a large section of the Balboa Reservoir land will be developed as a housing project and park, making it a good time to review its long, complex, and often surprising history.

View this timeline in a stand-alone format here. More about the Balboa Reservoir here.

 

View this timeline in a stand-alone format here. More about the Balboa Reservoir here.

A Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos IV

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Part of a series of posts about the history of the Balboa Reservoir. View more photos here, and here, and here.

Okay, it’s been more than a year of photographing this soon-to-be-lost semi-wild open space. By this time next year, maybe, the lower portion of the Balboa Reservoir will have begun its transformation into a housing development.

Graffiti. Balboa Reservoir. Nov 2020. Photo: Amy O'Hair
Graffiti. Balboa Reservoir. Nov 2020. Photo: Amy O’Hair
A coyote, quietly hunting on the Balboa Reservoir. Dec 2020. Photo: Amy O'Hair
A coyote, quietly hunting on the Balboa Reservoir. Dec 2020. Photo: Amy O’Hair
Berm walker. Balboa Reservoir. Nov 2020. Photo: Amy O'Hair
Berm walker. Balboa Reservoir. Nov 2020. Photo: Amy O’Hair

Continue reading “A Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos IV” →

A Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos III

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Part of a series of posts about the history of the Balboa Reservoir. View more photos here and here.

By this time next year, the lower portion of the Balboa Reservoir will have begun its transformation into a housing development. These photos were taken over the previous year to document some of its life as a a rather scrappy and wild open space–used by people and animals–which will soon pass into history.

The massive north tree. Balboa Reservoir, Oct 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
The massive north tree. Balboa Reservoir, Oct 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair
Foggy view north on the west berm. Balboa Reservoir, Aug 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
Foggy view north on the west berm. Balboa Reservoir, Aug 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair
A walker and a cyclist. Balboa Reservoir, June 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
A walker and a cyclist. Balboa Reservoir, June 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair
Looking west to San Ramon Way. Balboa Reservoir, Aug 2019. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
Looking west to San Ramon Way. Balboa Reservoir, Aug 2019. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair

Continue reading “A Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos III” →

A Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos II

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Part of a series of posts about the history of the Balboa Reservoir. View more photos here and here.

By this time next year, the lower portion of the Balboa Reservoir will have begun its transformation into a housing development. These photos were taken over the previous year to document some of its life as a a rather scrappy and wild open space–used by people and animals–which will soon pass into history.

A walker on the berm taking a selfie in setting sun. Balboa Reservoir, Apr 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
A walker on the berm taking a selfie in the setting sun. Balboa Reservoir, Apr 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair
Looking west on the west berm. Balboa Reservoir, Aug 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
Looking west on the west berm. Balboa Reservoir, Aug 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair
Walkers on the west berm. Balboa Reservoir, Sept 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
Walkers on the west berm. Balboa Reservoir, Sept 2019. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair

 

View of southwest corner. Balboa Reservoir, Sept 2019. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
View of southwest corner. Balboa Reservoir, Sept 2019. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair

Continue reading “A Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos II” →

A Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos I

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Part of a series of posts about the history of the Balboa Reservoir. View more photos here and here.

By this time next year, the lower portion of the Balboa Reservoir will have begun its transformation into a housing development. These photos were taken over the previous year to document some of its life as a a rather scrappy and wild open space–used by people and animals–which will soon pass into history.

Sitters on the berm. Balboa Reservoir, Sept 2019. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
Sitters on the berm. Balboa Reservoir, Sept 2019. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair
View of southwest corner. Balboa Reservoir, Oct 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O'Hair
View of southwest corner. Balboa Reservoir, Oct 2020. Sunnyside History Project. Photo: Amy O’Hair

Continue reading “A Year on the Balboa Reservoir: Photos I” →

The Congo in Sunnyside

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One of a series of posts about Sunnyside streets and street names.

By Amy O’Hair

Congo Street in the Sunnyside neighborhood runs nine blocks, from Circular Avenue to Bosworth Street, from the edge of the I-280 freeway to the edge of Glen Canyon Park. It makes the ‘C’ in the short run of alphabetical street names that begins with Acadia Street on the east and ends with Hamburg Street on the west (changed to Ridgewood Avenue in 1927).

The name has been a mystery of sorts to many. A scooter messenger I once knew who liked to contemplate the city’s enigmas used to find himself pleasantly puzzled when stopped at Congo on his way out Monterey Boulevard. If you live in the neighborhood, it’s easy for the name to become part of the furniture—used but not noticed.

Unlike the picturesque set of river-themed street names in a Sacramento suburb, where ‘Congo’ sits next to ‘Klamath’ and ‘Nile,’ Sunnyside’s Congo seems without meaningful context, being next to streets named Detroit and Baden. How it came to be the choice of the Sunnyside Land Company when the district was laid out in 1891 is the story of idealized capitalist aspirations that would soon meet the realities of imperialist atrocities against indigenous peoples in the heart of Africa.

In the two decades following the naming of the street in Sunnyside, the Congo in Africa was the site of a genocide of staggering proportions. Many people have told the story; this article highlights only some of it, including a few heroes of humanitarian reform of the time who should be better known, as well as an African American poet who evoked the Congo throughout his long working life.

And the Congo has resonance in the immediate present: the recent efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement in Belgium may finally knock the villain responsible for the atrocities, King Leopold II, off his plinth. Better a century too late than never.

Blood on his hands. Many statues King Leopold II were defaced and removed during Black Lives Matter protests in Belgium, June 2020. The (UK) Independent.
One of many statues King Leopold II , being removed from its public location in Brussels, Belgium, June 2020. Reuters.
Statue of King Leopold II in Brussels, Belgium, smeared with red paint during the Black Lives Matter protests. in June 2020. Photo: John Thys. Getty Images.

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