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The Excelsior District is a neighborhood in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.


Location

The Excelsior District is located along Mission Street, east of San Jose Ave, south of Interstate 280 Southern Fwy, west of John McLaren Park, and somewhat north of Geneva Avenue. Neighborhoods within the Excelsior District include the Excelsior Neighborhood itself, Mission Terrace, Outer Mission neighborhood & Crocker Amazon.


History

On April 15, 1869, the Excelsior Homestead was filed at City Hall. The record is in books “C” and “D” and in the book of
city map A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city (or part of a city) created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduce ...
s on page 129. This map section showing the area called the Excelsior can be found in ''Bancroft's Official Guide Map of City and County of San Francisco''. This map indicates that the Excelsior area was previously part of the
Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo Rancho Rincón de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo was a Mexican land grant, largely within present day southeastern San Francisco, California, and extending to San Mateo County, California . It was given in 1839 by Governor pro tem Manuel Jimeno to J ...
. Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo later became known as Southern San Francisco on city maps, not to be confused with the town of South San Francisco. The Southern San Francisco area referred to everything south and central along with the eastern bent of Mission Street and District. The neighborhood extends to its end at the county line. Over the years, as the southern end of San Francisco was developed, the city created Major neighborhoods & Districts within the area, and these were given names that appeared on city maps. These are: Bernal Heights, Ingleside, The Excelsior District, Visitacion Valley & The Bay View District. As the city grew, The Excelsior District was developed further, and it was split into even smaller sub-neighborhoods useful for Real Estate. Some of these given names are: the Excelsior neighborhood ''itself'', Mission Terrace, Crocker Amazon, Cayuga and the Outer Mission neighborhood. Despite this division into smaller sub-neighborhoods, most of these areas are still referred to as being the Excelsior District today. Many of the area's streets, those named for the capitals of countries, and its avenues, those that are named for the countries themselves, were done so by Emanuel Lewis and his daughter Jeannette. Emanuel built 200 houses which sold as a result of the 1906 earthquake. On the west side of the district, which is also known as the Mission Terrace, many of the streets were named after American Indian tribes (Mohawk Ave became Seneca Ave for example), and Onondaga, Navajo, Modoc, Ottawa, Oneida, Seminole, and Cayuga are named among the rest. It is evident that many names have been retained, and from the various neighborhoods' inceptions, while some have changed to accommodate changes in political climate. As an example, Excelsior Avenue itself was originally named "China". Likely due to anti-Asian feelings that led to the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplo ...
, India, Japan and China Streets were changed to Peru, Avalon, and Excelsior Streets. To recognize and publish the original street names local neighborhood booster group F.A.C.E. (Friends and Advocates of Crocker-Amazon and the Excelsior) won a 2011 Community Challenge Grant to replace 10 city street signs at intersections on each of these 3 streets which now show both the current and original street names. In 2013 San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed Resolution No. 130655 adding the original street names to the current street signs.


Demographics

In its earlier days, the Excelsior District was predominantly Italian, Irish, and Swiss. During the late 1970s, 80s, and 90s, the Excelsior District, like the Mission District, became predominantly Latino. In the 1980s, the neighborhood became predominantly Latino with the arrival of refugees from Central American wars and immigrants from Mexico. The Excelsior District also has a large Filipino community. For the past two decades the Excelsior District along with neighboring neighborhoods Ingleside, Ocean View, and Visitacion Valley, which were predominantly African American neighborhoods, have become predominantly Asian. Today it is one of the most ethnically diverse districts in San Francisco.


Noteworthy residents

*
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...
singer/guitarist
Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...
*
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
Hall of Fame shortstop
Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Cronin sp ...
* Industrial-rock band
Orgy In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex. Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swin ...
front man Jay Gordon * Turntablist and composer
DJ Qbert Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is an American turntablist and composer. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in ...
* 1949 world heavyweight contender Pat Valentino * San Francisco supervisor and political assassin
Dan White Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...
* Surrealist poet
Philip Lamantia Philip Lamantia (October 23, 1927 – March 7, 2005) was an American poet and lecturer. His poems were often visionary, ecstatic, terror-filled, and erotic, exploring the subconscious world of dreams and linking it to daily experiences, while s ...


Characteristics

Central to the neighborhood for quite some time was the landmark Granada Theater, at the intersection of Mission and Ocean. The theater was designed for the Excelsior Amusement Company by architect G. Albert Lansburgh. It was mentioned in several issues of Building and Engineering News in 1921. In 1922 it opened with the name "Excelsior" but was renamed "Granada" in 1931 after the downtown Granada Theater changed its name to the Paramount, freeing up the name. Both the name and a vertical "Granada" sign were deployed in the Excelsior until the theater closed in 1982..The Granada Theatre building is now a Goodwill store and a Walgreens. The theatre's marquee and vertical sign is long gone, but community advocates, led by the Excelsior Action Group (EAG) hope to raise money to install a new vertical sign reading “The Excelsior” to highlight the neighborhood's identity. Among the various schools in the district is the San Francisco Community Alternative School, a public grade school with a unique 'project-based' curriculum, and the
School of the Epiphany School of the Epiphany, colloquially called Epiphany or Epiphany School, is a Catholic school in San Francisco, California. The school opened in 1938 and is named for the Feast of the Epiphany. Quick Facts * 94% of the students are baptized ...


2000s

Tom Murphy founded Jerry Day in 2002 to celebrate the legacy of
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...
front man and Excelsior native, Jerry Garcia, and fundraise for a neighborhood playground. The Jerry Garcia estate supported the event by donating towards the fund and allowing them to use Garcia's name. The event typically occurs in August at the
Jerry Garcia Amphitheatre The Jerry Garcia Amphitheater is an outdoor concert venue located in McLaren Park in San Francisco, California, opened in 1971. Its maximum capacity (as of 2022) is 1,200 people. It is named after Jerry Garcia of the rock band Grateful Dead, and ...
at John McLaren Park, which is bordered by the Excelsior, Visitacion Valley, and Portola districts. The event draws thousands of residents and
Deadhead A Deadhead or Dead Head is a fan of the American rock band the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings o ...
s annually. In 2002, the Excelsior Festival was created by the Excelsior Action Group. Because the city's public maps omitted (and still do, in some cases) any part of the city below Cesar Chavez, the Festival was created to put the Excelsior District on the map. In 2008, the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
, led by shortstop and Hall of Famer Omar "Little O" Vizquel, funded the renovation of the Excelsior Playground baseball field and the creation of its new mural, "Coming Together Through Sports". The mural was designed and painted with
Precita Eyes Precita Eyes Muralists Association is a community-based non-profit muralist and arts education group located in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1977 by Susan and Luis Cervantes.Joe's Cable Car Restaurant closed. The restaurant was founded in 1965, and owned and operated by Joe Obegi. The restaurant was a popular tourists' destination, which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2008. Nevertheless, Obegi closed the restaurant in 2014. As of January 2021, the building that Joe Obegi's restaurant occupied is slated to be demolished. The Excelsior District Car Show originated from Jim Espinoza, while working with the neighborhood youth, created an organization called The Excelsior Youth Club. The Car Show, which takes place in Excelsior Playground each year around October, brings together hundreds of locals residents to celebrate the Chicano culture & Irish, Italian roots of the Excelsior District. Displays of low riders and Muscle cars line the street of Madrid, food, vendors, live local rap artist performances all take place within Excelsior Playground. Today, Jim Espinoza, along with some of the members of The Excelsior Youth Club, is memorialized on the wall behind the basketball court in the Excelsior Playground mural. For 2015–2016, Diane Wunderlich, former Secretary of The Excelsior Youth Club, brought the car show back.


2020s

Photographer Travis Jensen is currently working on a photo book called "Forever Upward". In January 2020, SF Heritage Foundation, initiated a new program, "Heritage in the Neighborhoods" focusing on the Heritage in the Excelsior District. SF Heritage is partnering with Excelsior Action Group and the SF Victorian Alliance to jointly identify historic buildings, public artwork, or legacy businesses to raise their profile and significance to avoid losing these gems.


References


External links


Jerry Day 2021 @ www.JerryDay.org

Excelsior District Improvement Association

Excelsior Action Group

Excelsior District Improvement Association (EDIA) website

Travis Jensen Photo website
{{Neighborhoods_of_San_Francisco Neighborhoods in San Francisco Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California