Tag Archives: renovations

UPDATE: Last Minute Appeal Rejected-Dolores Park Renovation Back On

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Dolores Park From the Air

Birds eye view of the historic Dolores Park

We’ve been following the progress around Dolores Park renovations and most recently posted that after more than fifty meetings over multiple years between the City and the greater community one lone citizen-at the last minute-appealed the renovation plans for Dolores Park that have been in the pipeline for nearly two decades.

The Mission Dolores Improvement Project Plan has moved another step closer to breaking ground. The environmental review document, a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) was accepted and the project appeal was unanimously rejected by the SF Planning Commission.

The appeal came from a local doctor and Dolores Park neighbor who was trying to hold up the process over concerns that the off-leash dog area being situated next to the playground where they believed children needed more open play space to stave off the scourges of childhood obesity.

This is great news and now hopefully we will see ground breaking by October for the final phases that are planned for one of the most popular open green spaces in the City and the largest one in the Castro.

The community is on pins and needles waiting for improved and added bathrooms, new turf providing more lush lawns and of course greater designated space for dogs-San Francisco’s other children-to run and play.

Dolores Park Renovation Framework Plan

Dolores Park Renovation Framework Plan

Via-Dolores Park Works

 

The Randall Museum-Hidden Castro Treasure Set To Get Make Over

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The Randall Museum opened at this location in what was then a remote section of the City in 1951

The Randall Museum opened at this location in what was then a remote section of the City in 1951,

If you grew up in the City or the Castro chances are you know about the Randall Museum. It is a lesser known San Francisco education, interactive, museum focused on local nature and science straddling the border between the Castro and Corona Heights neighborhoods.

San Francisco school kids have been enjoying free tours of the museum for sixty years. Randall is dedicated to a variety of SF specific exhibits and workshops including crowd favorites that highlight indigeionous species of flora, fauna and wildlife.

This week the Board of Supervisors announced the aging, small hall is going to be revamped in part with a 5.5 million dollar state grant.

The educational facility, named after Josephine Randall, SF’s first Superintendent of Recreation, who in 1937 envisioned San Francisco should lead the nation in creating a string of museums earmarked to help City children learn about the environment and grow from the experience.

Plans on display for the soon to be remodeled Randall Museum.

Plans on display for the soon to be remodeled Randall Museum.

The much-needed monies to accomplish the reconstruction will be used to double exhibit space, modernizing the building allowing it to better meet the needs of the City’s ever-growing diverse population.

It’s also the Museum’s goal to keep costs down that are passed on to citizens so more can enjoy it compared to other high ticket priced, educational orientated, well known and popular institutions like the City’s Exploratorium or CA. Academy of Sciences.

“The importance of creating additional programming space at the Randall cannot be overstated,” Supervisor Scott Wiener said in a statement. The museum, which is operated by the Recreation and Park Department, was awarded the grant in 2011 and its now ready to apply it to good use.

The area the kids love the most, interactive, hands on time with local wildlife, will be expanded and given a more natural look. Both a geological and zoological exhibit will be added to the museum. Additionally classrooms will renovated and science labs constructed.

All of this will help facilitate better understanding of San Francisco and all its natural inhabitants by the 100,000 plus visitors the Randall Museum hosts each year.

The grant is the largest that the City has received from the CA Dept. of Parks and Recreation under the 2006, voter approved, Prop. 84, which allocated $5.4 billion to foster environmental awareness programs through out the state.

Randall Museum LogoThe City is struggling to maintain all it’s facilities with an every shrinking budget and this grant couldn’t come at a better time for the Randall Museum where little has changed since it first opened its doors at this location in 1951.

The museum is always looking for new donors and supporters. You can pitch in here.

All work is expected to be completed in time for the new, 2015, school year.

BearBucks getting renovations. Re-opening August 24th.

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NEW BEAR BUCKS IS OPEN. STOP HAVING A HEART ATTACK OVER IT.

It looks like Castro’s most popular Starbucks location at 18th and Castro (affectionately called “BearBucks” or “StarBears”) is currently undergoing renovations. Speaking with a buddy of mine who works there, they are set to reopen 11 days from now on the 24th.

UPDATE: It looks as though the construction is going on for longer than we were informed. We’ll try and find out the re-opening date for you.

Interestingly, as you can see from one of the photos, they have taken down the signage to reveal that the Starbucks location was also previously a coffee shop. Pasoum? Pascu…? Trying several combinations of Google searches to try and find out more details proved fruitless. Does anybody remember this coffee shop before Starbucks took over?

UPDATE: @CastroBearista who works at the location currently, told us it used to be called Pasqua Coffee. According to Wikipedia, Pasqua Coffee was a San Francisco-based retail coffee chain that was named The Pedestrian Café when it opened in 1983. It started as a single store and grew to almost 60 locations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City before it was acquired by Starbucks Coffee in 1999.