Curbed SF: All Posts by Curbed StaffLove where you live2020-01-22T10:39:47-08:00https://sf.curbed.com/authors/curbedstaff3114925/rss2020-01-22T10:39:47-08:002020-01-22T10:39:47-08:00The Curbed SF moving guide
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<p>What you need to know about making the city your home</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="XojVwc">Despite the grime, the cost of living, and an incurable housing shortage, you’ve <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/6/4/17415618/move-to-san-francisco-advice-guide">decided to move to San Francisco</a>. (You weren’t emotionally tethered to that savings account anyway, right?) You’re not the only one: Between 2010 and 2017, SF’s population climbed from 805,770 to 884,363, a spike of <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/3/26/17165370/san-francisco-population-2017-census-increase">9.75 percent</a>. That’s a lot of people inside a city measuring a mere seven by seven miles. Hope you like things cozy.</p>
<p id="wYUG3o">People move here for myriad reasons, and a lucky few get to stay. San Francisco is astronomically priced—we’ve got the highest number of billionaires per capita—yet also concedes to a homelessness crisis that no amount of public policy or City Hall proclamations have been able to solve. And while it’s one of a handful of major U.S. cities where you don’t need a car to get around, its public transit system could use an extreme overhaul. But if you’re willing to put up with the negatives, you’ll be richly rewarded for living in the greatest city in the Golden State. </p>
<p id="hLNOA6">To help you navigate a move, and before you spend more than half your salary on rent—or should you buy? No matter the choice, it will sting—we’ve created a guide with everything you need to know about living in <em>the city</em>. From where to live and where to buy furniture to how to eradicate a mouse infestation, this guide will help you wade through the murky waters of SF living. <em>—</em><a href="https://twitter.com/BrockKeeling"><em>Brock Keeling</em></a></p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/6/4/17415618/move-to-san-francisco-advice-guide">Should you move to Sa</a><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/10/4/17781096/san-francisco-neighborhoods-where-to-live-advice">n Francisco?</a>
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<p id="tOJ09A">Thinking about moving to the city? Two points bear repeating: It’s expensive. And it’s small. Those factors will play a major role in your decision—and your life here.</p>
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<h2 id="r2YAJQ">FIND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD</h2>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/10/4/17781096/san-francisco-neighborhoods-where-to-live-advice">How to pick a neighborhood in San Francisco</a>
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<p id="EQNbCN">In an August survey released by real estate site Trulia, 42 percent of San Franciscans wish they had moved to a different neighborhood than the one they now call home. Don’t make that same mistake. </p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/9/19/16332616/sf-best-neighborhood-transit-walk-bike-score">The five most walkable places to live</a>
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<p id="j9cBVc">San Francisco is <a href="https://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Francisco">one of the most walkable cities in America</a>, but not all neighborhoods are equal when foot hits pavement. Here are the locales that will have pedestrians walking on easy street.</p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/7/6/17539806/san-francisco-neighborhood-names-history-origins-sf">How neighborhoods got their names</a>
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<p id="Ehc6gm">From Little Hollywood to Saint Francis Wood, here’s an almost definitive etymological guide to SF ’hoods.</p>
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<h2 id="Vsez8F">FIND YOUR HOME</h2>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/10/2/17927268/rent-or-buy-which-is-better-san-francisco">Is it better to rent or buy?</a>
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<p id="xcCbgy">While San Francisco has always been a renter’s city—the city’s Planning Department estimates that <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/7/12/17565192/housing-needs-trends-report-rent-control-san-francisco">nearly 65 percent</a> of denizens rent—the question for newcomers is: Should I rent or buy?</p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2015/6/5/9952466/find-apartment-sf-san-francisco-best-way-search">On the hunt for an apartment? Try these 9 Craigslist alternatives</a>
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<p id="Wik2GM">If you’re looking for a pad in San Francisco, give these alternative online outlets a shot. </p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/10/5/17938724/san-francisco-sf-apartments-renters-guide">The San Francisco renters’ guide</a>
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<p id="i8UCeC">Now that you’ve decided to rent, here’s everything you should know, from how rent control works to finding an apartment to issues that arise after you’ve signed your lease.</p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/10/8/17902408/guide-bmr-affordable-housing-lottery-san-francisco">A guide to below-market-rate housing</a>
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<p id="c2YAB6">It’s possible to score that white whale of San Francisco real estate: a unit of affordable housing in the city’s <a href="https://sfmohcd.org/inclusionary-housing-program">“inclusionary housing program</a>,” also known as the “BMR” (for “below market rate”) program. Here’s how. </p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/9/4/17645456/sf-apartment-buildings-tech-luxe-amenities">10 apartment buildings with luxe amenities</a>
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<p id="cbBvJe">From the lavish to the ridiculous, here are the five-star amenities that rival four-star hotels.</p>
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<h2 id="LhgMWN">SETTLE IN</h2>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/maps/sf-furniture-stores-home-decor-vintage">The best furniture and home design shops</a>
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<p id="w6sdN2">Furnish your apartment at these shops specializing in furniture and home decor—they’re all small, independently curated boutiques.</p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2019/9/20/20861165/san-francisco-311-noise-complaint-sidewalk-repair">How to fix (almost) anything in your SF neighborhood</a>
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<p id="WK1Hgw">From stopping rat infestations to planting trees, the city has a protocol for remedying many quality-of-life issues.</p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/4/17/15327078/renting-law-laws-sf-eviction-san-francisco-rules">SF rent laws your landlord probably doesn’t want you to know</a>
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<p id="jpzdUa">The dirt you need to know before signing a lease. </p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/1/19/16910268/noise-early-construction-complaint-contact-loud-sf">How to file a noise complaint</a>
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<p id="ipc8IT">What to do if construction crews disturb your sleep or your neighbors party too hard. </p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/8/7/16107364/rent-sf-roommate-leaves-landlord">What happens when my roommate leaves?</a>
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<p id="PW3BrX">Whether or not you can keep your existing rent—or your home—hinges on a few factors. This chart will help you find out.</p>
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<h2 id="P7pBOr">GET INSPIRED</h2>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/2/3/14475908/pottery-san-francisco-sf-ceramics">Local ceramists who are kiln it</a>
</h3>
<p id="gAOyQ6">Fill your space with these small-batch pieces of pottery. Who knows? They could be the next Heath Ceramics. </p>
<h3 id="gcampi">
<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2019/12/17/21024911/inside-best-favorite-bay-area-homes-house-sf">Inside the Bay Area’s best homes</a>
</h3>
<p id="1LU6L6">Tour 12 of our favorites, from a major remodel atop a famous hill to an empty-nester couple’s colorfully postmodern apartment in SoMa.</p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/2/1/14441812/san-francisco-castro-home-apartment-birds">Inside an artist’s maximalist Castro apartment</a>
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<p id="YstbEF">A leafy flat in the city, featuring a built-in aviary and found objects galore, proves that more is more.</p>
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<strong>▸ </strong><a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2020/1/6/21051976/warm-winter-apartment-tips-victorian-homes-dangers">How not to freeze inside your Victorian apartment</a>
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<p id="UnoWOv">Creative and safe ways to keep warm inside SF’s beloved yet chilly housing stock. </p>
<aside id="SUPz3r"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"sf-curbed"}'></div></aside>
https://sf.curbed.com/2019/9/26/20838456/sf-moving-tips-renting-buying-homes-neighborhoodCurbed Staff2016-02-05T12:00:00-08:002016-02-05T12:00:00-08:00Architects Say Levi's Stadium is Ready for Its Big Close-Up
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<p>Levi's Stadium was born almost 10 years ago, at least on a conceptual level. Back in 2006, the York family commissioned design firm <a href="http://www.hntb.com">HNTB</a> for what was then supposed to be a new Candlestick Park. HNTB heads say that the stadium we eventually got was more or less the vision they had a decade ago, even if it landed 40 miles away. <strong>And this Sunday is the biggest test of what they built, when Levi's hosts 75,000 fans and 100 million plus viewers at home for Super Bowl 50. </strong>How will the design stand up? </p>
<p> </p>
<p><br>From the outside, Levi's has almost a cubist look. The old Candlestick was shaped like an oblong bowl, while Oakland Coliseum is a giant ring, but from the air you can see that Levi's is an irregular dodecagon. "<strong>It's a steel structure, so you want segments rather than curves</strong>," says Tim Cahill, chief designer on the stadium. "We wanted it to be simple, geometric, and non-retro." </p>
<p> That straight-lines-and-steel look is partly a seismic concern—concrete and earthquakes are bad mojo together. The support columns are only 32 feet apart, and they slope outward as as they rise to the upper deck, making the whole thing a fairly solid and compact unit. They even went so far as to forego any exterior skin on the building, leaving its gridded steel interior exposed just to show off the work.</p>
<p><br>"The plates, the tie rods, it's all right there," says Cahill. Look closely and you can even make out the giant, white, tube-shaped braces installed to absorb the force of an earthquake—a comfort, perhaps, for our Super Bowl visitors anxious about visiting such a famous seismic zone. </p>
<p> The stadium is fond of touting its LEED gold certification, a first for a sports arena. "LEED was not meant to be applied to stadiums," Lanson Nichols, project manager on the stadium, points out. "We got creative looking for small ways to get extra points." </p>
<p> The oft-cited living roof, solar panels, and recycled water (used for irrigation and to fill the toilets, since it's not yet legal to sell recycled water for drinking in Santa Clara County) were big factors, but little things like reclaiming redwood paneling from an old hangar at Moffett Airfield to use in the clubhouse added up in the margins. </p>
<p><br>Cantankerous sportswriters sometimes poke fun at Levi's Stadium's luxury suites and VIP lounges with their five-star cuisine, mostly consolidated into a multi-level block on one side dubbed the "hotel." But the designers shake off the teasing, saying that one of the principal goals was always to take advantage of Bay Area food culture, and that putting all of the suites in one place—closer to the kitchens—was just more efficient. </p>
<p> Still, if you're a grumpy purist who doesn't think anyone should be munching grilled artichokes and wedge salad during the big game, you might at least appreciate that moving all the hoity-toity stuff over to the "hotel" freed up design room down below. Levi's was meant to evoke the feel of a college stadium, with the biggest bowl as low as possible. Luxury lounges would normally form a strata between the upper and lower decks, but pushing them all to one side left that space open for, well, everyone else. </p>
<p><br>It chips in a little on the acoustics, too. "Since Levi's Stadium has no roof, you have to find other things to reflect the sound off of," says Nichols. <strong>"Putting all that glass and those hard surfaces on one side helps contain a lot of the noise the fans can make." </strong></p>
<p> Of course, a stadium is just a big empty bowl without the game. That's the puzzle of designing one: It needs to be huge and it needs to offer fans everything they could want, but it also all has to get the heck out of the way so that everyone can see what they came for. Cahill states—repeatedly, even if you don't ask—that there's "no bad seat in the house," citing the relatively small size of the upper deck as putting you deceptively close to the game and the big, wide concourses down below that help you still see the game over your shoulder if you go up to the concession stand. Is he right? Well, if all 75,000 visitors on Sunday want to drop us an email, we'll see. In the meantime, enjoy the game, and if you're a visitor to those luxury lounges, don't be afraid to take seconds on the grilled artichokes. Nobody's looking, and you only live once. —<em>Adam Brinklow</em></p>
<p> · <a href="http://www.hntb.com">HNTB</a> [Official Site]</p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2016/2/5/10940964/architects-say-levis-stadium-is-ready-for-its-big-close-upCurbed Staff2016-02-02T09:00:00-08:002016-02-02T09:00:00-08:00Curbed Is Relaunching, and We Want Your Feedback
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<p>Denizens, citizens, readers, hecklers: We know you love Curbed. You love to read it, you love to critique it, and you love to tell us what we should be covering. Now here's your chance to do that in a formalized way.</p>
<p> Here's the buried lede: <strong>Curbed is relaunching on February 21</strong> with a faster, souped-up engine (also known as Vox Media's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/business/media/voxcom-takes-melding-of-journalism-and-technology-to-next-level.html">proprietary publishing platform</a>, Chorus) and a better-looking and easier-to-navigate front end. You'll notice some subtle design changes, a stronger direction for photography, and more toys and tools that will help tell Curbed stories even better. Most importantly, we'll be introducing some new features—think original <a href="http://curbed.com/tags/house-calls">home tours</a>, <a href="http://curbed.com/tags/renovation-diary">renovation chronicles</a>, <a href="http://curbed.com/tags/home-tech">home tech</a> coverage, and more—alongside our better-than-ever <a href="http://curbed.com/tags/curbed-features">longform program</a>.</p>
<p> Now for your part. Below we've outlined the myriad ways to weigh in pre-launch, so hit us up with your most opinionated opinions. What recurring Curbed stories do you click on most? Which of the 16 homepages do you visit on the regular? What would you like to read more of?</p>
<p> · Comment on this post. <br>· Have more to say and prefer to do it privately? Send us an email at <a href="mail:beta@curbed.com">beta@curbed.com</a>. <br>· How about an anonymous survey that's already been formatted for you? <a href="http://goo.gl/forms/89NizsPHgY">Fill out our <strong>Google Form questionnaire</strong> right here.</a></p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2016/2/2/10942950/curbed-is-relaunching-and-we-want-your-feedbackCurbed Staff2016-01-22T14:00:00-08:002016-01-22T14:00:00-08:00Piecing Together the Past and Present at Lenox Stained Glass
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<figcaption>John Lenox uses Old World techniques to restore old stained glass windows and create new ones; photos via <a href="http://www.patriciachangphotography.com">Patricia Chang</a></figcaption>
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<p><a href="http://www.lenoxstainedglass.com">Lenox Stained Glass</a> has been at its current location at 1840 Clement Street for over three years, but it still looks like they are just moving in in. "Every year I tell myself I'm going to straighten the place up. Every year I say, this is going to be the year," says owner John Lenox. </p>
<p> Lenox is a packrat by nature. The further back in the studio you go, the more there is. He knows he ought to do something about it, but <strong>he has years upon years of treasure here</strong>, rare and finely crafted glass of species and styles that they simply don't make anymore.</p>
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<p><br>↑ Unbeknownst to most of us, not all glass is created equal. Every glassmaker has his or her own formula and style, which a glass connoisseur can often identify on sight. Lenox has so many choice sheets that he might need a lifetime, or even in several, to use them all. </p>
<p>The workspace is a broad array of worktables, tools, frames, sketches, and of course glass panes of every size and color, like squares of brittle candy. Yes, it's mildly chaotic. But here, perfection comes out of chaos. <br> <figure class="e-image">
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<br><span class="credit">John Lenox at work; photos via <a href="http://www.patriciachangphotography.com">Patricia Chang</a></span><br>↑ Lenox moved to San Francisco 34 years ago for love—friends set him up on a blind date with his now-wife right before she moved to California for a job. After a minimal degree of soul searching he said "What the heck," and followed. </p>
<p> He found his other love—stained glass—through similar serendipity. "Someone asked me if I would do a stained glass window for them. I'd never done one before. I said okay," he explains. Lenox had previously restored mirrors as a hobbyist craftsman, and the leaded glass is similar to that in a stained glass window. </p>
<p> Out of this experimental work order Lenox got two decent quality windows and a new calling. He chucked his previous career plans (parks and recreation) and became a stained glass man, piecing together windows, skylights, and ornamental installations for countless San Francisco houses. Over three decades the shop has seen ups and downs, and it's presently riding high on the white-hot real estate market. It seems that what's good for Realtors is also good for craftspeople. </p>
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<p><br>↑ Lenox can't always quite put his finger on what the elemental appeal of glasswork. "There's just something about the way the colored glass plays with the light," he says. </p>
<p> The work that goes into is gritty, hard, and blue-collar. With the exception of diamond grinders, the tools are the same as they were a century ago, mostly pliers and glass cutters. Most of Lenox's orders are contractor commissions. "They've all got their plumbing guy, their wiring guy, and their stained glass guy," he says.</p>
<p> It's a best of both worlds formula: Stained glass work lets him be an old school craftsman who works with his hands and also a savvy artist producing works of fragile beauty. </p>
<p> The challenge is also part of the appeal. Glass is an unforgiving medium, and it prefers to do things on its own terms. "It wants to break a certain way" when you put pressure on it, Lenox explains. Coercing it to break the way you want—the way that will create pieces shaped to fit your design—is a test of patience and diligence, not to mention the steadiness of your hand. </p>
<p>Straight lines are easiest, inside curves the most difficult. (Lenox's hardest commission ever was a quarter-sphere of colored glass.) Most jobs are for residences, either new pieces or restorations of old ones. Lenox has lost track of how many thousands of San Francisco houses feature his work. In some neighborhoods he can cruise slowly down the block and point them out, one after another. Not all the work is residential: Right now he's working on a metal and glass memorial for a middle school student. <br> <figure class="e-image">
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<br><span class="credit">From left: John Lenox holding Roxy, Bob Lucas, and David Fontes; photos via <a href="http://www.patriciachangphotography.com">Patricia Chang</a></span><br>↑ Gentrification has been good for business Lenox admits, cringing a little at the term. He's felt the sting of the city's soaring real estate market himself through the rising cost of owning a business (Clement Street is Lenox Stained Glass' third location), but he's working more than ever. </p>
<p> Which of course means that that long-deferred cleanup may have to wait just a little longer. But there's always next year. —<em>Adam Brinklow</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><br> · <a href="http://www.lenoxstainedglass.com">Lenox Stained Glass</a> [Official Site]</p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2016/1/22/10844244/piecing-together-the-past-and-present-at-lenox-stained-glassCurbed Staff2016-01-12T15:05:01-08:002016-01-12T15:05:01-08:00David Ireland's Mission District Home Opens as a Museum
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<p>San Francisco artist David Ireland spent decades undermining himself, literally. A lot of Ireland's found-object sculptures consisted of materials dug out of the basement of his home and studio at 500 Capp St., including much of the brick and mortar holding up the 1886 house. When the artist moved into an assisted living facility in 2008, the house had morphed into one large, precarious artwork. It went on the market and, had it been sold to most people, it would have certainly faced an extreme remodel or demolition. That's when an art collector stepped in and saved the house by purchasing it. <strong>Today, after the addition of a visitor center, it's set to become a museum and art studio.</strong></p>
<p> By the time Ireland died in 2009, there wasn't much left underneath the old place. "It was just dirt. Wooden staves were shoved into the gaps in the brickwork," says Dean Orr, principal architect for <a href="http://jensen-architects.com">Jensen Architects</a>, the firm given the delicate task of preserving the Ireland house. Despite—or, actually, because of—its funky vibe and teetering foundations, <strong>the house is widely considered Ireland's greatest work in and of itself</strong>. It had been his home from the time he bought it for $50 thousand in 1975 (the equivalent of $220 thousand in today's economy).</p>
<p> Art collector Carlie Wilmans put a down payment on it and formed the <a href="http://500cappstreet.org">500 Capp Street Foundation</a>. <strong>The decision to make it a museum for some 2,000 of Ireland's works was a natural one.</strong> But first they had to save it from falling in on itself, <em>Poltergeist</em>-style. </p>
<p> The basement was prone to flooding, making it essentially an in-home swamp. It had to be irrigated and excavated, and then a new foundation was poured, all in piecemeal fashion so as not to tempt gravity by unsettling the structure. "Most contractors took one look at it and ran for the hills," says Mark Jensen, principal of Jensen Architects. </p>
<p><br>There was plenty of work to be done upstairs too—40 percent of the wall surfaces had to be replaced—but they couldn't come at it like a normal historical preservation job. The cracks in the plaster and the dings in the floor weren't there just because it's an old house. They were there because Ireland liked them. He once dented the stairs trying to move a heavy safe, and rather than fix it he put up small plaques over each to commemorate the occasion.</p>
<p><br>This makes sense when you see Ireland's work, on display throughout: A crocodile's skull papered with fortune cookie slips; aluminum serving platters piled with concrete rubble; serving spoons forever trapped in their dishes; Mason jars filled with the crumbled remains of walls or the foundation; and his freestanding sculpture "Broom Collection With Boom" (on loan from the San Francisco Museum Modern of Art), which is indeed a collection of antique brooms arranged in order of worn-out condition.</p>
<p><br>Much of these materials Ireland found in the Capp Street house, left by its previous owner (who operated an accordion shop—the gold-leaf lettering advertising his wares is still visible in the front window). Ireland delighted in used, worn-out, and broken things. Contrary to appearances, he didn't let the house just go to pot around him. "These walls probably wouldn't be here at all if he hadn't done the work on them," says Wilmans. But when a crack in a wall appealed to his aesthetic, he kept it.</p>
<p> So conservationists diagrammed each and every scuff and scratch and saved them. Nothing of what was removed was thrown away (there are 20 buckets of dirt alone removed from the basement), so that future artists might use the materials in their own work. </p>
<p> The house opens to the public this Friday, with an exhibition of Ireland's work, appearances by artists who knew him, live performances, and food. "It used to be you'd see the lights on in this place and wonder what was going on," says artist and curator Bob Linder. "People who toured it talked about it for weeks." It will probably be hard to recapture that mystique in its entirety again. But at least the old place isn't going anywhere. —<em>Adam Brinklow</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><br> <a href="http://500cappstreet.org">· 500 Capp St. Foundation</a> [Official Site]<br><a href="http://jensen-architects.com">· Jensen Architects</a> [Official Site]</p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2016/1/12/10847266/david-irelands-mission-district-home-opens-as-a-museumCurbed Staff2016-01-11T14:22:37-08:002016-01-11T14:22:37-08:00Massive Landmark Oakland Mansion Up for Sale for $1.8M
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<p>Oakland's landmark Ellen Kenna House is a <strong>massive 8,000-square-foot mansion with a wild history</strong>: <a href="https://localwiki.org/oakland/Ellen_Kenna_House">According to the book <em>History of an Old House</em></a>, its first owner was the widow of a man killed in a Wild West shootout. She built the house in 1888 and used as her architect Augustus Laver, who also built the Pacific Union Club at the top of Nob Hill. The house was purchased three years ago by Steve Kopff, who paid $1 million and then put another $425,000 worth of renovations into the place, <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2016/01/oakland-historic-mansion-sale-for-sale-luxury.html">according to the <em>San Francisco Business Times</em></a>. He tells us that he financed the remodel by renting it out for catalogue photoshoots for companies like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. He's now put the mansion back on the market for $1.8 million. </p>
<p> We asked Kopff about why he bought the house and how he remodeled it.</p>
<p> <strong>Why did you buy this house?</strong> <br>"When I first became interested in moving to Oakland from San Francisco I was looking to buy in a nearby neighborhood. I passed on most of the homes because they had already been remodeled and all the original charm and character had been stripped out of them. The second this house came on the market I was obssed with it. I remember walking in and seeing the 12-foot ceilings and the oversized door openings and 10-foot tall windows and my jaw dropped in disbelief. I get to relive that a bit every time I see someone see it for the first time."</p>
<p> <strong>Why did you preserve the character? </strong><br>"This house, as large and grand as it is, was built to be a simple Victorian. Some of the previous owners of this home didn't understand the beauty of her simplicity and tried to dress her up with over-the-top design elements that hid her true beauty. One owner adorned her as a bordello with red-velvet tapestries, dizzying wallpaper, and walls painted in clashing colors. My job was to strip back all the add-ons and let her character shine by using a subtle palette of colors and landscaping with a restraint of color. Now there is a sense of sophistication and the details of the house actually pop and stand alone on their own without the gimmick of painting them different colors."</p>
<p> <strong>Did the catalogue shoots inspire your design? </strong><br>"It was fun to see rooms reinvented and take on different looks over and over. But I don't think it affected my aesthetic. If anything, in some cases the house inspired some of the retailers. Restoration Hardware, for instance, painted the entire first floor not their infamous RH Grey but the one my ex-partner had chosen that had a touch more brown in it. They also copied the same black we used to paint the staircase and used it to paint all their moldings in their studios for a period of time."</p>
<p> <strong>How did you get the idea to rent for shoots? Was it easy, or annoying? </strong><br>"It had not even occurred to me when purchasing the house. A few weeks after the deal went into contract, I was approached by a location scout to see if I would be interested in letting Pottery Barn shoot in the house. She pointed out that having them shoot in the house would pay for the renovations I had planned. I jumped at the opportunity. And, as a home owner, it is quite easy. You just have to let the crew inside in the morning and they are out at the end of the work day. The house did all the work and paid for itself. The crews from all the different retailers become like family since they usually repeat their business once they have found a location they like."</p>
<p> <strong>Did the shoots really finance the remodel?</strong> <br>"Totally! I don't know what I was thinking when I bought the house on how I was going to pay for all the restoration projects. I think I was just so taken by the house and saw through all the ugly colors and mismatching patterns and colors and dove in head first. The income from the photo shoots even surpassed my own income from being a CPA, and I poured it all right back into the house to get her to this point."</p>
<p> <strong>Why are you moving?</strong><br>"After spending the last three years restoring my home back to it's former glory, I felt the time was right to pass it on to a larger family or an owner who sees the value in the potential of all the different streams of income the house may generate."</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br> · <a href="https://localwiki.org/oakland/Ellen_Kenna_House">Ellen Kenna House</a> [LocalWiki]<br>· <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2016/01/oakland-historic-mansion-sale-for-sale-luxury.html">Historic 8,000-Square-Foot Oakland Mansion For Sale</a> [SF Business Times]<br>· <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/homeandgarden/article/Couple-uncover-Oakland-Victorian-s-beautiful-6224043.php">Couple Uncover Oakland Victorian's Beautiful Bones</a> [SF Chronicle]<br><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realtor.com%2Frealestateandhomes-detail%2F1218-E-21st-St_Oakland_CA_94606_M21070-32182%3Fex%3DCA592902328&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fsf.curbed.com%2F2016%2F1%2F11%2F10848146%2Fmassive-landmark-oakland-mansion-up-for-sale-for-1-8m" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">· 1218 E 21st St, Oakland</a> [Realtor.com]</p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2016/1/11/10848146/massive-landmark-oakland-mansion-up-for-sale-for-1-8mCurbed Staff2016-01-11T14:22:37-08:002016-01-11T14:22:37-08:00Massive Landmark Oakland Mansion Up for Sale for $1.8M
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<p>Oakland's landmark Ellen Kenna House is a <strong>massive 8,000-square-foot mansion with a wild history</strong>: <a href="https://localwiki.org/oakland/Ellen_Kenna_House">According to the book <em>History of an Old House</em></a>, its first owner was the widow of a man killed in a Wild West shootout. She built the house in 1888 and used as her architect Augustus Laver, who also built the Pacific Union Club at the top of Nob Hill. The house was purchased three years ago by Steve Kopff, who paid $1 million and then put another $425,000 worth of renovations into the place, <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2016/01/oakland-historic-mansion-sale-for-sale-luxury.html">according to the <em>San Francisco Business Times</em></a>. He tells us that he financed the remodel by renting it out for catalogue photoshoots for companies like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. He's now put the mansion back on the market for $1.8 million. </p>
<p> We asked Kopff about why he bought the house and how he remodeled it.</p>
<p> <strong>Why did you buy this house?</strong> <br>"When I first became interested in moving to Oakland from San Francisco I was looking to buy in a nearby neighborhood. I passed on most of the homes because they had already been remodeled and all the original charm and character had been stripped out of them. The second this house came on the market I was obssed with it. I remember walking in and seeing the 12-foot ceilings and the oversized door openings and 10-foot tall windows and my jaw dropped in disbelief. I get to relive that a bit every time I see someone see it for the first time."</p>
<p> <strong>Why did you preserve the character? </strong><br>"This house, as large and grand as it is, was built to be a simple Victorian. Some of the previous owners of this home didn't understand the beauty of her simplicity and tried to dress her up with over-the-top design elements that hid her true beauty. One owner adorned her as a bordello with red-velvet tapestries, dizzying wallpaper, and walls painted in clashing colors. My job was to strip back all the add-ons and let her character shine by using a subtle palette of colors and landscaping with a restraint of color. Now there is a sense of sophistication and the details of the house actually pop and stand alone on their own without the gimmick of painting them different colors."</p>
<p> <strong>Did the catalogue shoots inspire your design? </strong><br>"It was fun to see rooms reinvented and take on different looks over and over. But I don't think it affected my aesthetic. If anything, in some cases the house inspired some of the retailers. Restoration Hardware, for instance, painted the entire first floor not their infamous RH Grey but the one my ex-partner had chosen that had a touch more brown in it. They also copied the same black we used to paint the staircase and used it to paint all their moldings in their studios for a period of time."</p>
<p> <strong>How did you get the idea to rent for shoots? Was it easy, or annoying? </strong><br>"It had not even occurred to me when purchasing the house. A few weeks after the deal went into contract, I was approached by a location scout to see if I would be interested in letting Pottery Barn shoot in the house. She pointed out that having them shoot in the house would pay for the renovations I had planned. I jumped at the opportunity. And, as a home owner, it is quite easy. You just have to let the crew inside in the morning and they are out at the end of the work day. The house did all the work and paid for itself. The crews from all the different retailers become like family since they usually repeat their business once they have found a location they like."</p>
<p> <strong>Did the shoots really finance the remodel?</strong> <br>"Totally! I don't know what I was thinking when I bought the house on how I was going to pay for all the restoration projects. I think I was just so taken by the house and saw through all the ugly colors and mismatching patterns and colors and dove in head first. The income from the photo shoots even surpassed my own income from being a CPA, and I poured it all right back into the house to get her to this point."</p>
<p> <strong>Why are you moving?</strong><br>"After spending the last three years restoring my home back to it's former glory, I felt the time was right to pass it on to a larger family or an owner who sees the value in the potential of all the different streams of income the house may generate."</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br> · <a href="https://localwiki.org/oakland/Ellen_Kenna_House">Ellen Kenna House</a> [LocalWiki]<br>· <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2016/01/oakland-historic-mansion-sale-for-sale-luxury.html">Historic 8,000-Square-Foot Oakland Mansion For Sale</a> [SF Business Times]<br>· <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/homeandgarden/article/Couple-uncover-Oakland-Victorian-s-beautiful-6224043.php">Couple Uncover Oakland Victorian's Beautiful Bones</a> [SF Chronicle]<br><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realtor.com%2Frealestateandhomes-detail%2F1218-E-21st-St_Oakland_CA_94606_M21070-32182%3Fex%3DCA592902328&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fsf.curbed.com%2F2016%2F1%2F11%2F18230668%2Fmassive-landmark-oakland-mansion-up-for-sale-for-1-8m" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">· 1218 E 21st St, Oakland</a> [Realtor.com]</p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2016/1/11/18230668/massive-landmark-oakland-mansion-up-for-sale-for-1-8mCurbed Staff2016-01-07T14:12:20-08:002016-01-07T14:12:20-08:00The New Dolores Park Will Be Pristine—But Can It Last?
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<p>It was another beautiful morning in Dolores Park, accompanied by the soothing sound of jackhammers. City officials—including Mayor Ed Lee, Supervisor Scott Wiener, and Dolores Park's Project Manager Jacob Gilchrist—went along on a preview hard hat tour (sans hard hats—it's mostly just grass out there, after all) of the park's south end to show off <strong>the final phase of </strong><a href="http://sf.curbed.com/tags/dolores-park-revamp"><strong>the park's $20.5 million renovation</strong></a>. The grand (and long awaited) reopening of a unified Dolores Park is set for next week.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br>Now that the six-year project (construction began in March of 2014, but the planning phase was twice as long) is coming to an end and the beloved piece of green space will be whole again, the question is: <strong>Can San Francisco have nice things?</strong></p>
<p> The assembled honchos accentuated the positive when talking about the park's role as centerpiece of the Mission. The mayor said that with the price of living in the city soaring, parks are a "great equalizer," free to the entire public. Wiener noted how far the park had come from the drug-infested, no-go zone of his youth. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> Gilchrist pointed out the recent removal of the park's "nuisance buildings" that used to block views. The administration office is now a secret lair underneath the basketball court, and the new bathrooms are built Hobbit-style into the side of a hill so that the park's beautiful green slopes can roll uninterrupted. </p>
<p> A new walkway connects the 19th Street promenade to the playground, the grade calculated to the nearest degree to be ADA compliant. And there's a new overlook at the corner of Church and 20th, providing a place to enjoy arguably the greatest view of the San Francisco skyline—and maybe to also hoist your small pet into the air, Lion King-style, if you're so inclined. But for every two words about the beauty of the park and the hard work going into it, there was at least one about the how tricky it is to safeguard. For example, the new restroom is nestled into the hillside to preserve views but also because "the less exposed wall we have, the less there is to vandalize" says Gilchrist.</p>
<p> (Gilchrist also pointed out some of the new flagstones, which were vandalized "as soon as they were poured," albeit mostly by people just writing their names.)</p>
<p> The mayor adopted the demeanor of an affable but chiding school principal as he reminded park users "not to leave their waste, human or otherwise, behind." His warning is surely linked to the many recent instances of park trashing.</p>
<p> Without a doubt, San Francisco has proven that it can build a beautiful green space. But keeping it beautiful is a constant struggle against urban entropy and general thoughtlessness. </p>
<p> The park looks humble—a few square blocks that, once upon a time, were a cemetery—but there are tens of millions of dollars and an ineffable but irreplaceable sense of community tied up in it. Time will tell if we can treat it right. The grand reopening is scheduled for January 14 at 4 p.m. Come as you are, but leave only footprints. <br>—<em>Adam Brinklow</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><br> <a href="http://sf.curbed.com/tags/dolores-park-revamp">· Previous Dolores Park Revamp Coverage</a> [Curbed SF]</p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2016/1/7/10848634/the-new-dolores-park-will-be-pristine-but-can-it-lastCurbed Staff2016-01-04T14:33:11-08:002016-01-04T14:33:11-08:00Echoes of the Past Haunt a New Gallery in a SFMOMA Exhibit
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<p>We are all waiting for the <a href="http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/10/22/the_new_san_francisco_museum_of_modern_art_is_a_heavyweight.php">San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to reopen</a>, but there's something to see—and hear—before the new building is revealed in May. SFMOMA and Canadian media artist Janet Cardiff are <strong>replacing singers with machines</strong> in a pop-up exhibit at Fort Mason Center. It's not a scheme to somehow automate the choral singing sector, it's Cardiff's 2001 "audio sculpture" <em>The Forty Part Motet</em>, on loan to the museum and installed in Fort Mason's Gallery 308 through January 18.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br>Over 15 years ago, Cardiff recorded 40 members of the Salisbury Cathedral Choir singing 16th century English composer Thomas Tallis' <em>Spem in Alium</em> (translation: "Hope in Any Other"). In <em>The Forty Part Motet</em>, each singer's individual voice is projected through just one of 40 speakers arranged in a circle, essentially swapping out chorus members for audio devices during the 14-minute performance. "The speakers become the person," Cardiff says (which sounds weirder than it really is).</p>
<p><br>Standing in the center of the piece can feel a bit like an acoustic barrage or 360 degrees of Latin harmony. The real appeal of <em>The Forty Part Motet</em> is that you can get up close to each "singer" and freely encroach on their personal space—after all, they're just speakers. Cuddle up to one of the 40 and you'll pick out the individual voice, something that Cardiff's statement points out is normally impossible, saying: "Only the performers can hear the person next to them" in a normal performance. </p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ncWFLzVrwU4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p> There are also quiet moments when the choir takes a break and we get to eavesdrop as they talk amongst themselves: One discusses the challenges of singing with a hangover, while a kid regales his friend with a story about a log ride (and also explains the concept). It becomes personal, albeit mechanical.</p>
<p> Of course, it was all recorded more than a decade ago (<em>The Forty Part Motet</em> premiered in New York City just days after 9/11), so the kids singing the soprano section are all grown up now, and at least one of the older singers has subsequently died. But their voices remain frozen and preserved just as they were that one particular day, at least as long as anyone continues to turn them on. </p>
<p> Cardiff credits a CD recording of the piece as her inspiration, saying that when she heard the 40-part harmony she could "see it all around me" and designed an audio arrangement that would illustrate the concept. Maybe that's what it's like being a media artist: <strong>You get a weird insight and then devote many years to building an apparatus that explains it to everyone else.</strong></p>
<p> Installing <em>The Forty Part Motet </em> comes with a few design challenges. For instance, the audio gear has to be "tuned" to each new space. Gallery 308's many windows are just dreadful for bass acoustics, which have to be turned way up to compensate. </p>
<p> Although it is painted a Zen-inspiring shade of white through and through, pains were made to make sure that the exposed rafters, concrete floors, and those bass-confounding windows intentionally resemble the disused army base it really is. It's hard to imagine any place less Cathedral-like, but there is something pleasing about hearing celestial voices in a spare, stripped room.</p>
<p> And of course, just outside the windows is a view the Golden Gate Bridge and the masts of the many boats at the nearby marina, which appear to have been enchanted by the music into swaying along with it. Soon, this kind of media art will be on display in the towering SFMOMA addition downtown, which is a beautiful space in its own right. But it doesn't give you bay views with your heavenly choir. <em>—Adam Brinklow</em></p>
<p> <a href="http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/10/22/the_new_san_francisco_museum_of_modern_art_is_a_heavyweight.php">· The New San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a Heavyweight</a> [Curbed SF]</p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2016/1/4/10849788/echoes-of-the-past-haunt-a-new-gallery-in-a-sfmoma-exhibitCurbed Staff2015-12-31T14:07:06-08:002015-12-31T14:07:06-08:0030 Instagram Accounts We Loved in 2015
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="6" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div>
</div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/3s1WcIIitF/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Mid century classics mixed - by Laplace @luislaplace #inspiration #interiordesign #midcentury #midcenturymodern #parquet #Laplace</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Sophie Ashby (@studioashby) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-06-09T07:46:28+00:00">Jun 9, 2015 at 12:46am PDT</time></p>
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<br><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <p>2015 was the year of <a href="http://instagram.com">Instagram.</a> The social media platform was a favorite of designers, architects, photographers, florists, <a href="instagram.com/johnthogan/">glassblowers</a>… the list goes on. We especially loved all of the excellent interior design inspiration to be found on Instagram, from the effervescently bohemian rooms snapped by 'grammers like designer <a href="http://instagram.com/justinablakeney">Justina Blakeney</a> and photographer <a href="http://instagram.com/dabito">Dabito</a> of the blog<a href="http://www.oldbrandnew.com/%20"> OldBrandNew</a>, to the spare, Scandinavian cool of Muuto design manager <a href="instagram.com/nina_bruun">Nina Bruun</a> or ELLE Decoration Sweden editor <a href="https://instagram.com/ettrumtill/">Katarina Matsson</a>. Here now, <strong>30 Instagram accounts</strong> we loved in 2015 and can't wait to see more of in 2016.</p> <p><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2015/12/28/instagram-design-decorating-inspiration.php">Take a look at our picks! >> </a></p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2015/12/31/10850278/30-instagram-accounts-we-loved-in-2015Curbed Staff