— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
A meeting held yesterday at the Mission Police Station made clear that plans to replace the Elbo Room with condos are pushing ahead, despite protestations to the contrary. One of the meeting attendees, Darius Lock, says that “the community packed the Mission Police Station with most people opposed to the project and some prepping to organize against it.”
The meeting included the below rendering of the proposed development project.
We’ve emailed the project developers, and will update this post if we hear back.
[Photos: Darius Lock]
Comments (59)
More perma-tourists in The Mission (TM). Perfect business for the cocktail bar awaiting takeover of Luna Park.
What will never cease to amaze me is…if you’re spending such an exorbitant amount of money on rent, why not spend that money living in a place that would grant you some of the many great, scenic views San Francisco has to offer? I understand these people’s life-decisions are based solely on social media talk and blogs (not their own personal research; for example, getting off their ipads, going outside, and exploring new neighborhoods on foot. What is the appeal of the mission at this point? All of your friends have condos there? Proximity to stores that offer slick deals on $10,000 Eames replications? I think it’s safe to say these people aren’t there to support the Roxie, Aquarius, the Dark Room, Weekend Video, and the like…
Got a bit off topic. In closing, bummer.
Just an aside, but there are no “stores that offer slick deals on $10,000 Eames replications,” or anything really even close, in the Mission. There probably *should* be, though. [starts drafting business plan]
Ah, you’re right. Blu Dot is the one I was thinking of. Upon looking at their website, it’s just Eames imitations that sell for a mere $2K - $4K.
I’m kind of a fan of mid-century stuff, so when I see Blu Dot, I don’t see anything Eames-y at all. Just a matter of perspective, I guess. Interestingly, in this regard, for over a decade, across Valencia, there has been a seller of actual Eames items (and other mid-century stuff), Monument. One of the owners is still doing business in the space, but split with his partner, so I don’t think it’s called Monument anymore. In any event, it is and was a wildly high-end used furniture store that pre-dated the tech boom by many years. Turns out, there’s been money in the neighborhood for awhile.
You guys know an awful lot about this Eames furniture to complain about people who would want to buy it.
Who’s complaining?
I can assure you that, none of the techies that you guys collectively despise, can afford even $2-$4k replicas of anything.
They have basic sustanence furniture.
You are the elitist here, not the techies nor their lifestyles.
You just don’t want anyone who doesn’t look like you, here.
That’s all.
Oh they can afford it alright. They just don’t care enought to buy it. Their “sustanece furniture” is more a refelection of their asthetic tates then income.
Some reasons people buy condos in the Mission:
* Best weather in the city
* Close to BART and freeways
* Great restaurants/bars
* Many other young and successful people live here
”* Many other young and successful people live here”
I’m glad you included this
It’s not that complicated and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Including a desire to live within a neighborhood of ”young, successful” types within your list of Wants should involve at least a little bit a shame.
nah
You’re right. Shame on today’s youth for going to college. How dare they surround themselves with “young, successful types” while seeking an education.
Conform! Quick, conform! Let’s make everything around us look the same.
I guess you’d prefer to live around old, unsuccessful types?
Yup.
Dan: look at you with your common sense. Don’t you know who you’re dealing with here?
M: you’ve got issues. Move on, man.
Woah, holy vitriol, dude. Look, I’m an artist, the type of person who can’t afford to live in a neighborhood like the Mission these days. But you don’t see me spouting nonsensical NIMBY rants about “tech people” moving in and destroying things.
Neighborhoods change, always have, always will. Japantown was Jewish before it was Japantown. Then the Japanese moved in and “ruined” it. Then they got deported to concentration camps in Arizona during WW2 and black people from the south moved in and “ruined” it, thereby creating the Fillmore. Then urban planners widened Geary into a highway and actually ruined it (no sarcasm quotes necessary). It’s still called Japantown but the neighborhood is nothing like it used to be. Neighborhoods will always change, and nobody has more claim to them than anyone else.
What’s great about SF is that there are a wide range of people who live here, with different tastes and interests and world views. Your “I’m stuck in 1997” view of the Mission is neither constructive nor original nor meaningful. The Mission has changed. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to go there.
The reason your point doesn’t really hold up is that all of these groups were working class. This isn’t about race, it’s about capitalism, and yeah, it does fucking suck that we live in a society where if you have money you can have whatever you want, and everyone else has to part like the Red Sea.
Capitalism is not tite and it hurts people, and it hurts culture. And that’s what’s going on in the Mission. And if you disagree, well, you’re either ignorant, or you’re one of those assholes that it helps.
Nice looking! I like them!
“Organize against it”? What’s objectionable about it? That it’s not the Elbo Room anymore? And what would the legal basis to require it to be maintained in amber? It’s funny, years ago, a key Mission policy mandate was reducing the number of liquor outlets (something I disagree with, but still). Now we’re gonna fight to maintain one?
Ahh, No, grizzled, Certainly people spoke about to keep the bars open in the neighborhood before. Like the protest in the late 1990’s about the Dovre Club, just a block away.
No-Last-Call-Just-Yet-Dovre-Club
Ha no shit, totally forgot about that. Never liked that bar, but thanks for the news article.
You know, I was pissed about that, too. The old Dovre was a great room. The new one? Less so. But it wouldn’t have occurred to me to do more than say, “that sucks” and move on. I certainly wasn’t interested in trying to force the landlord to continue to rent to a particular business - in perpetuity.
Thank you mission d bags for destroying a great music venue. You should all move to whatever burbs you came from and want to recreate here. I hope theres more gang activity on valencia to scare you fools out of the hood.
IKR, like the gays displaced the IRISH in the Castro district, the gays displaced the African-Americans in the Haight & lower Haight, also the Latinos displaced the Irish & Italians in the Mission and Outer Mission, and the Asians displaced the Irish in the Sunset & Richmond districts. No one should displace anyone, ever, right?!
Spoken as a true native huh? Would be a differn’t story if you were one of those displaced.
You seem to be confused with the difference between willingly moving and being displaced. Not surprising given your other posts. You come across as very simple.
Let’s be honest, who here still goes to this bar? Its location makes it look almost anachronistic at this point. Yes zeitgeist is on valencia, but it’s location is north enoigh such that rich elderly and rich young people don’t flock past its doors on their way to a tasting menu or fine cocktail adventure.
Elbo room can move, and I’ll follow it. Why not in the Excelsior? Bayview? Hell the sunset needs a bar like this. Or Temescal.
The real crime here is how absurdly low density these fucking housing projects are. We need all the housing we can get. Do people not realize that if we only build low slung projects than all of our recreational places will be replaced? This should be 10 stories. Bu oh well, I’m sure there’s another interesting business that can be replaced with a few units of housing.
Agree, also they’re talking about getting 3rd street up to par, which will of course displace people out there in the Bayview. BTW, the Bayview has GREAT weather too.
To me, the great dark horse street that absolutely no one yet knows about is Leland Ave. from Bayshore. It might be too close to a school, but it’s transit accessible, and a great great walkable location for a nightlife district. Not that the residents would be particularly happy. But seriously, take a stroll through there sometime
Or San Bruno south of Silver
The problem isn’t the bar closing, it’s the truly Godawful shit architecture that’s going to go in it’s place. Have you seen that monstrosity on Mission St? I don’t want to live in a city that looks like that, that has zero respect for the past or the buildings that were monuments to it.
Hideous crappily built condos that no one can afford to live in are the problem, not losing Elbo Room.
So why not include a music club in the new plans? With a transitional third floor (how about non-profit offices?) to buffer the noise, then residences above? Oh, that’s right. Money. Make no mistake, folks, the owners’ tiny-tears story of needing a place to retire without stairs isn’t the real reason–they stand to make millions off of this. And the Elbo Room is great not because of them, it’s great because of the bookers/employees who’ve been bringing in a great mix of acts–the employees the building owners sold to and are now going to screw over. And they’re screwing over music and culture. This is worth fighting or we could lose more music venues to condos. Appeal! Appeal!
Are you saying that the property owners are secretly planning to make more money from it? Fucking Outrageous!!!
Disclosure: Elbo Room used to have rockabilly shows I’d attend, but hasn’t been an interesting music venue to me in over a decade, so I’m not especially invested in it. But is there some music venue armageddon going on, or is this just one venue closing? The Chapel is a terrific new addition to the neighborhood. Viracoche has apparently just gone legit. We’ve got Brick & Mortar, Make Out Room, Amnesia. I think we’re OK. Geez, where was the outrage when the Tip Top closed however many years ago …
Speedy’s Wig City was a good time. Too bad the rockabilly scene ate itself here.Elbo is not my favorite venue but they do have a handful of shows a month that are pretty amazing - Ice Age last week and Death in June is coming up. It also still supports a lot of smaller acts that can’t play in a lot of the venues listed above.
There was a ton of outrage when the Tip Top closed (I saw a Zen Guerrilla show there that blew my mind) and the Transmission and the Paradise and the Trocadero and the Purple Onion. There just weren’t blogs covering, it was just the Guardian… oh wait, now that’s gone too.
The problem is that it’s not the only venue of it’s kind to be facing death. Botton of the Hill is pretty worried about their future too.
Hey, Grizzled Mission! Yes, it’s true , Elbo Room doesn’t have much rockabilly shows nowdays, and you have a right to not be especially invested in it… Elbo is unique because it has a second floor that offers variety of different events. Even if you don’t care about it, WHY are you supporting the idea of demolishing old/current/cultural San Francisco??? This situation here is one of the examples of what’s happennig in the city and it’s very upsetting. I’m not a native but lived here for over 15 years and have always appreciated the small to medium size music events. I love Saturday Night Soul Party, 120 Minutes, Bodyshock, etc., You might not realize but the variety of events is pretty wide and a lot of awesome experimental bands/acts come through. Aaaaand - Elbo Room has a dance floor.Most of the venues you mentioned are great but are not ideal for dancing for different reasons( layout, number of people who don’t dance, type of enertainment, etc.). Except for the Make Out Room, which by the way, is getting affected by current state of affairs as well. Honestly, I am just one of those who care about preservation of culture here. Peace.
So I read one of the other local rags about this and the “meeting” about it with “locals” at the Mission PD. Unbelievable how the locals screamed at the owner & called her names. BTW, she & her husband, she’s lived in SF since 1969 btw, want to put in condos for the elderly. They will have 9 units.
There is a ridiculous law on the books in SF that if you provide 10 units you have to put in those welfare…er, “low income” housing on units which is such unbelievable bs. Nanny-state bs.
I’m pretty sure that Denis and Susan Ring (the owners of the property) first opened the Elbo Room, I know they owned it for years.
I’ve been to these meeting too – in disguise of course. Usually wearing second-hand clothing.
The first thing to note is that the attendees are mostly what I refer to as “professional whiners”. People who literally LIVE for neighborhood conflict. Much like your elected officials (and Uptown + MM + ML), they live on controversy and division as it assures attendance/votes or clicks/ads.
As such, you get a bunch of full time morons and their posse’s there to a) create a click-baiting/narrative-fitting argument for b) narrative-loving / making-a-living-off-of “journalists” their to cover it. Uptown Almanac has jumped the shark and its sad – grow up.
You morons no longer represent the Mission. You represent a bunch of self-entitled punk asses who (much like Fox News) thrives on FUD and FUD only. You’re the problem, not the people trying to legitimately live here and CO-HABITATE… as opposed to just “chillin here cuz the bar scene is cool and my fixie fixin dude is nearby”. The “indigenous” folks who are and more importantly *have* raised great families that make the good Mission what it is. Also, cyring when a BAR closes as opposed to caring about PEOPLE GETTING FUCKING MURDERED NEXT TO PLAYGROUNDS AND SCHOOLS is fucking shallow.
Care about the real/full-integrated issues. In short: dear liberal arts degree/transient/bar-hopping/self-entitled fuckers: go away – we’ve got this. We actually want to live here. Like, really. And with everyone else.
For years, San Francisco has endured an endless stream of morons and shitheads. Today, the higher housing prices make it harder for the losers to live here. They settle for Oakland, Portland, or LA.
“Settle” for Oakland, Portland, or LA? People move their willingly. You massive numpty. I could easily afford SF. But I moved away by choice. Why? One used to be able to avoid the Marina. Now the Mission is the Marina. Well, for ugly people that is. Enjoy your Tacolicious and your little slice of suburbia, Steven! I can assure you that those who moved don’t miss it in the slightest as there’s no longer any there there.
And we’re very happy that you left “willingly”. LOL.
“We’re”? Stop pretending you have any friends, Steven. “LOL”
Seriously you’re awful. If you truly think whether or not someone is a loser is determined by how much money they make then IDK what to say except that I feel incredibly sorry for you.
Shit like this is why people hate the rich.
I loved everything you said, except for the Fox News thing. I mean why just single out Fox News watchers? ALL news is biased bs, the MSNBC crowd IS the Mission crowd although I’m sure they don’t watch television for the most part. I mean who DOES these days? All news is bs.If you’ve ever read Rich Lieberman’s 415media gossip blog you’d see that even the Ted Baxter of the SFBA is getting his $400k salary cut back to $200k a year or something like that. No one wants to get news like that anymore. I certainly haven’t since before the internet age, everyone is just now catching up. We’re all unplugged and uncorded these days.
That street level commercial special will be nice for an Olive Garden or a Red Lobster; to give the new residents that back home feel. Wait! what ami I saying?!? Starbucks! Nothing fortifies you for the workday like a pumpkin spice no-fat soy carob
En-Chu, welcome to SF. I’m sure this is soooooo different than Denver.
Also, don’t swallow.
I thought that was a lovely bit of sarcasm.
These new building look great! I can’t wait to see them put in instead of that ugly old music place. Just think how beautiful they will look every night when each window is lit up with laptop screens.
laptop screens… the laptops are in the cafe below with the artisianal coffee and toast. these spaces will be filled with forieners/entreprenuers taking online courses… slumming it while on leave from whatever 1% land they come from. Dont worry there will be more ‘elbow room’ after the coming layoffs when AI replaces programming. my app predicts this for you…
Elbo Room used to be the place no one who lived in the Mission wanted to go to. It was full of the B&T Walnut Creek crowd and dudes from the Upper Haight. Now it’s considered a gem of the old Mission.
The “young, sucessful” people are bovine conformist zeros out of Sinclair Lewis’s ‘Babbitt.’
Wow, I’m surprised you were able to take time out of your busy schedule of “contributing” to the Mission’s culture by drinking yourself into a near-coma at Bender’s every night just to post that burn. Totally badass. Can I have your autograph?
Max, my friend, you are absolutely right. Why not have the tech crowd taxed so that the bars and taqueria’s that form the fabric of the mission can remain as the historical landmarks that they are supposed to be?
How about this? A dime for every Google bus person goes to maintaining city culture? Several pennies for the local watering holes, several pennies for the bars?
It may not seem like much (especially to rich techies) but pennies do add up! Lord knows, the yuppies have been nickel and diming me for years!
Is there a show at the Tool and Die t0night?