Over the past several years, we have uncovered many impressive histories connected with Glen Park. One not yet discussed is the Glen Park connection to the glamor and glitz of Hollywood that began during the earliest days of Tinseltown. This is the last of 5 posts (see Part 1 , The Glen Park Glenodeon; Part 2, […]
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(HI)STORIES OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS – Hollywood – The Glen Park Connection, Part 4 – Gregg Palmer, Glen Park’s Hollywood Cowboy
Over the past several years, we have uncovered many impressive histories connected with Glen Park. One not yet discussed is the Glen Park connection to the glamor and glitz of Hollywood that began during the earliest days of Tinseltown. This post is Part 4 of 5 (see Part 1, The Glen Park Glenodeon, Part 2, […]
(HI)STORIES OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS – Hollywood – The Glen Park Connection, Part 3 – Glen Park Aeronaut on the Big Screen
Over the past several years, we have uncovered many impressive histories connected with Glen Park. One not yet discussed is the Glen Park connection to the glamor and glitz of Hollywood that began during the earliest days of Tinseltown. This post is Part 3 of 5 (see Part 1, The Glen Park Glenodeon, and Part […]
In case you missed it: The Vella family Halloween pumpkins
Here are the 2021 Vella Family Pumpkins at 354 Sussex on Youtube. Please share and enjoy! https://youtu.be/b4DMxNVuQdA
(HI)STORIES OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS – Hollywood – The Glen Park Connection, Part 2 – Bob Lippert, King of the B’s
Over the past several years, we have uncovered many impressive histories connected with Glen Park. One not yet discussed is the Glen Park connection to the glamor and glitz of Hollywood that began during the earliest days of Tinseltown. This post is Part 2 of 5. ……. In Part 1 of this series, we saw […]
A concert at Glen Park BART? Yes indeed
We all know BART has tracks, lots of them — but on Thursday, October 28, a balmy early evening, pre-Halloween hoopla, there were sound tracks emanating from the Glen Park station plaza: the music of 510JAZZ (that’s “five-one-oh jazz”), an East Bay band. In a spot on the northwest corner of the plaza which seemed […]
(HI)STORIES OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS – Hollywood –The Glen Park Connection, Part 1 – The Glen Park Glenodeon
Over the past several years, we have uncovered many impressive histories connected with Glen Park. One not yet discussed is the Glen Park connection to the glamor and glitz of Hollywood that began during the earliest days of Tinseltown. This post is Part 1. … “Moving pictures” were all the rage during the opening […]
Hooray for $50K! Glen Park Merchants group scores major grant
(Note: See slideshow at end of post.) It takes a village to keep a village thriving and vibrant. And that village must have people willing and able to do the hard work to keep it that way and to move ever forward. A big step was taken in that direction recently when the Glen Park […]
Bees, honey and mentoring in Diamond Heights
A few minutes before noon on August 28, Fernando Aguilar closed the door of his pickup and walked to the O’Shaughnessy Blvd gate of his alma mater. He unlocked it, got back in and drove to his beehive on the campus of the former of McAteer High School. Aguilar, Class of 1976, tends a hive […]
A sign of the times: The Glen Park News ends print run, shifts to all-digital
For more than 42 years, print editions of our neighborhood newspaper have landed on doorsteps and been put out at businesses, giving neighbors the ultimate in local news. In 1979 the Glen Park Perspective featured articles about the redesign of the corner of O’Shaughnessy, Bosworth, Congo and Elk and the naming of Dorothy Erskine Park. […]
Remembering Bruce Bonacker, who helped make the Glen Park BART station a national treasure
BART started service in San Francisco, from Market Street to Daly City, on November 5, 1973. I played hooky from work that afternoon, and rode from Powell Street to Glen Park and back, with a friend visiting from out of town. I had heard that the Glen Park station was an architectural standout. We got […]
GP Loses A Great: Janice Mirikitani, 1941-2021
The city lost a great leader July 29: Glen Park’s very own Janice Mirikitani, co-founder of Glide Memorial Church and the city’s poet laureate from 2000 to 2002. Mirikatani and her husband the Rev. Cecil Williams built Glide Memorial Church into the soul of San Francisco. There’s a wonderful tribute video here, and you can […]
DIGGING THE DIRT – Gardening the Soil in a Season of Drought
In early June, Pam Peirce and I sat under a cherry tree in my wildly blooming garden and discussed life and plants. Pam*, noted author and columnist, is now preparing the fourth edition of Golden Gate Gardening, writing gardening columns for the Chronicle, and embarking on a biography of one of her interesting Indiana relatives. […]
(Hi)stories of Our Neighborhoods
The intersection of Diamond and Chenery Streets today is in the very heart of Glen Park. While it may seem no different than most intersections throughout San Francisco, if we peel back the years, we can discover its fascinating history. Before European, Russian, and possibly Asian explorers landed at San Francisco Bay, the prehistory of […]
Glen Park was so fascinating these intrepid walkers came back for a second look. Follow along on their rambles.
Glen Park warranted a second look. On May 21, eight women from the First Friday Walkers assembled at Café XO on Church Street. “We used to say ‘No repeat tours,’ but that we might repeat a walk one of these days,” long-time FFW Chris Greene told the Glen Park News. Back in 2017 they had […]
Storyteller and activist bridges two communities
(Photos by Bonnee Waldstein except where noted.) “At 23, I was like, how do you get into the film business and make a living? So I asked a documentary filmmaker friend. She said, if you don’t have a trust fund, go get another job and you can make films if you want to.” Sophie Constantinou, […]
The best-selling Glen Park author you’ve probably never heard of
Glen Park’s Chandra Ghosh Ippen is a best-selling author whose books parents hope their child will never need to read. But if they do, they’ll be a huge help. Take Once I Was Very Very Scared, which has sold over 50,000 copies and been downloaded over 100,000 times. In it, animals share with each other […]
A local filmmaker has been watching the owlets in Glen Canyon—and they’re adorable
February 18 – brand new owlets have a meal from Open Studio Productions on Vimeo. Many people hear the great horned owls in Glen Canyon Park. Mark Lipman sees them—and is kind enough to let others in on the view. On March 23 Lipman sat on the eastern slope of Glen Canyon Park filming a […]
Diamond Heights stairway walk
When the planners designed Diamond Heights back in the 1950s and 1960s, they went for a suburban feel, with winding, curvilinear streets and plenty of parking. They also included stairways to connect hill dwellers with shopping and parks. The stairways received names. Some, like the streets they connected, were named after semiprecious stones. Others, in […]
This is Ohlone Land
Among the many charming features of Glen Park are the unpaved lanes that welcome the wanderer from the city concrete–it’s instant nature, although with reminders of civilization: backyards, fences, garages, tire tracks. Walking through, one can see how the people living just beyond have lovingly tended (or neglected) these borderlands. One does not expect to […]
Gold-medal pickleball player stumbled onto the popular game at Glen Park Rec
“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country,” Paul Johnson told the Glen Park News on March 19. Johnson, who has resided on Detroit Street for three years, emigrated to United States seven years ago from Pershore, England, a small town near Bristol. He founded and operates Lemonaid Health, an online health provider that […]
Neighbors still say Hi in Village of Glen Park
If you think this headline was written today, think again. Think about over twenty years ago, May 26, 2000, when this was the headline in SF Gate, followed by a rundown of the people and places that make our neighborhood cozy and warm. After you read the SF Gate story, look at the “footnotes” that […]
Madison Hatfield: The artist behind the Glen Park Strong signs
One in an occasional series on people who live or work in Glen Park. “I needed a broom,” Madison Hatfield told the Glen Park News while sipping a latte at Higher Grounds on March 6. Hatfield, 22, arrived in the Bay Area in 2016 and began scouting San Francisco neighborhoods for a job when she began […]
Welcome, new Ingleside Station captain
As we transition into March, we find ourselves in a state of change here at Ingleside Station as well. As many of our readers are aware, district station captains are rotated throughout different assignments in our department, with both newly-promoted and tenured captains being transferred to new assignments. With that said, please join us in […]
Zoanne touched many lives in many different ways
Jeff DeMark, a longtime friend of Zoanne, wrote this poem in tribute to her. Gum Tree Girls For Zoe Nordstrom Walking through Glen Park Canyon Cold December afternoon Eucalyptus trees towering Swaying and dancing Tended paths meander through bushes And a fairy altar in the rocks: “An old gnome home” Couples and families strolling […]
Mrs. Abby Fisher, Freed Woman of Color, Cookbook Author, & Culinary Entrepreneur: What We Now Know.”
As part of Black History Month, don’t miss this virtual presentation at the SF Public Library this coming Wednesday, February 24, when Director Evelyn Rose presents, “Mrs. Abby Fisher, Freed Woman of Color, Cookbook Author, & Culinary Entrepreneur: What We Now Know.”. Rediscovered at auction in 1984 and authored by Mrs. Abby Fisher, “What Mrs. […]
Zoanne Nordstrom, 12/21/1933 – 2/15/2021
ZOANNE NORDSTROM, 12/21/1933 – 2/15/2021 Glen Park has just lost one of its all-time champions. Zoanne Nordstrom, of Surrey Street for over sixty years, passed away Monday morning, February 15, at age 87, of the Covid-19 virus. Anyone out and about in the neighborhood would run into Zoanne, whether in earlier days when she was […]
Zoanne Nordstrom, neighborhood icon, has passed away
Zoanne Nordstrom spoke in favor of the Rec Center renovation. She was one of the Gumtree Ladies in the 1970s who stopped the City from building a freeway through Glen Canyon. Glen Park News, 1/14/2013. Photo by Michael Waldstein. Zoanne Nordstrom, known to all in Glen Park for her warmth, humor, good deeds and activism, […]
District 8 Liaison gives update on Leo Hainzl murder case
For details on the murder of Glen Park resident Leo Hainzl last Memorial Day morning, see: Glen Park Mourns Lost Neighborhood Fixture Follow up on murder of Leo Hainzl The Glen Park Association has received a further update on this case from Assistant District Attorney Brian Bringardner. In addition to being a prosecutor, Bringardner has […]
Eco SF Farm — Flora and fauna in a peaceful place nearby
This YouTube video was created by Serge Preobrazhensky, a student at CCSF. He filmed it at the farm located at the grounds of Academy High/Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. Glen Park Association member, Glen Park News reporter, and frequent visitor to the Eco SF Farm, Murray Schneider, has forwarded the video from Serge. Think […]
Glen Park through the eyes of a 60-year resident – cardboard sledding where the freeway now stands
As we near the one-year anniversary of pandemic quarantines, lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, many of us have come to know what lies out our own front doors better. We’ve gone for walks close to home, hoofed it to stores we might once have driven to and generally focused on local neighborhoods. But however deeply we […]
Scary times: COVID stops Halloween this year, but we’ll be back in 2021!
Note: Several readers have asked for a downloadable version of the lovely poster created by GPA webmaster and designer Mary Szczepanik. You can click the link below to get a printable copy. GPA Halloween 2020 PDF Halloween has always been a joyous time in Glen Park. Chenery and many side streets are awash in trick-or-treaters. […]
Fire skies over Glen Park – September 9, 2020
Smoke from distant wildfires layered on top of fog produced reddish-orange skies over San Francisco on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, giving the day a surreal feel that was compared online to variously Mars, the movie Blade Runner and the Apocalypse. Even at midday the city remained darkened. Many street lights stayed on all day and […]
Mask up, Glen Park! Local seamstresses make it easy
“We’re in a major health emergency and neighbors looked around and asked, ‘how can I get involved, how can I help my community?’” Joan Lasselle told the Glen Park News on August 13. Lasselle, who has lived on Laidley Street since 1987, is a charter member of It Takes a Village, a nonprofit that credits […]
Geoffrey Gallegos: Glen Park’s 7 o’clock trumpet serenader
If you’ve stopped in Glen Park at 7 pm and heard the haunting strains of a trumpet and wondered where they came from, it’s Geoffrey Gallegos playing on his front steps over on Congo Street. He’s been playing almost every night since early April to honor essential workers — teachers, grocery clerks, public transit […]
Local gym ready to open — but when will it?
In a pandemic, when it comes to working out in a gym to stay fit or practicing yoga in a studio, we’re on our own. Glen Park has been lucky to have had several options close by. For example, there’s Synced Pilates on Chenery Street; Sunrise Health and Fitness, also on Chenery Street; and Sol […]
Documentary film nourishes heart and soul
Here in Glen Park, artists and creative types of all kinds have found welcoming arms and an environment that nurtures their spirit. One of them is Anne Flatté, 51, a documentary filmmaker and, for the past fifteen years, a resident of Chenery Street with her husband and two sons. Describing herself as “not really a […]
Hams, Quads, Glutes get a workout in Glen Park
If you need a reason to be grateful to live in Glen Park during a pandemic, just think of all the opportunities you have to get in shape, or keep in shape, at absolutely no cost. Just put your mask on, go out your front door and walk up a hill, or climb one of […]
With COVID, cones are a no-no, but Mitchell’s Ice Cream is still dishing the good stuff
Photos by Linda Mitchell Many things have changed about the legendary Mitchell’s Ice Cream in its years at 688 San Jose Avenue, but never the quality. In 1860 Edward and Margaret Mitchell ran a dairy on 29th and grazed their cows on Red Rock Hill just above what’s now Glen Canyon Park. In 1953 their […]
A man and his dog, lifelong residents of Glen Park
With an average life span of 83.7 years and the most centenarians per capita on the planet, Okinawans are touted and envied for their longevity. Not only for humans, but maybe even dogs, as evidenced by 18-year old, aptly named Okie. She’s the equivalent of 88 human years, according to WebMD. That would undoubtedly make […]
A Long Time to Kneel: Neighborhood Vigil for George Floyd
On June 8, two weeks after the murder of George Floyd, we met at the park, and at 5:30 we all knelt for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. It’s a long time to kneel. It’s not a natural, comfortable thing to do. To kneel for that long you must make a conscious effort. To kneel […]
Glen Park Mourns Lost Neighborhood Fixture
Glen Park is still reeling from the murder of 94-year-old Leo Hainzl, whose friendly face was seen throughout the neighborhood daily. One after another, neighbors recounted stories of Hainzl who, undaunted by age, walked miles every day, repaired his own home, and lent a hand to others. “This was a man who felt like he […]
Two months in: Reminiscing about Glen Park during the lock down
Two months ago, on March 17, San Francisco went on lockdown when the City ordered residents to shelter in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. Long-time Glen Park News writer Murray Schneider spent some time over the past few weeks using the time to revisit sites he’s written about over the past decade. There’s […]
Where’s Glen Park Elementary? That’s easy
Like many San Franciscans, I’ve been taking the *golden opportunity* presented by the pandemic to do some exploring close to home. A good place to start was Bernal Heights park, which is nearby and which I’d surprisingly never visited before. Armed with a map and walking tour directions (details below), my husband and I made […]
Stop and smell the wildflowers of Malta — Malta and O’Shaughnessy, that is
The next time you catch the 44 O’Shaughnessy — which is one of only 16 buses still operating in San Francisco during the coronavirus crisis — at Malta Drive you might want to stop and smell the flowers along the way. Denise Louie — who resides only a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the boulevard that serpentines from […]
Glen Park Responds to COVID Crisis
Dear Readers, This story is from the front page of the Spring 2020 Glen Park News. Due to COVID-19, there will not be a printed edition of the Spring 2020 News. We will be highlighting articles from the paper over the coming weeks, and you can read the full paper online here. -Glen Park News Editors […]
Sunday morning — no, it’s Wednesday afternoon
Photos by Marian Dalere
Saturday night life takes a hit in Glen Park
Photos by Bonnee Waldstein The usual weekend hustle and bustle of folks enjoying a Saturday night in the neighborhood was nowhere to be seen tonight. The village was eerily quiet. The only establishment that seemed to be thriving was Canyon Market, which experienced a surge of shoppers all day and into the evening. The obvious […]
Glen Park: Home to one of the City’s long-term, intimate venues for live jazz
Neighborhoods change. Just look at ours. In a little over a decade Glen Park has witnessed Canyon Market claim the corner of Diamond Street and Wilder Street while it watched Hal and Susan Tauber retire as hardware store owners on Chenery Street and Aaron Esquivel and his crew take it on. We’ve seen Chenery Park […]
For the first time ever, a Summer Tanager appears in Glen Park, attracting flocks of bird watchers
Glen Canyon was aflutter early Wednesday morning, January 22nd. A flock of bird watchers descended on the 70-acre natural area, armed with cameras boasting the latest high-powered lenses. They stood, even sat, beneath the eucalyptus tree that houses Great horned owls each year, trained their cameras on another gum tree rooted on the bank of […]