Read other letters about this article

• Thursday, November 17, 2005 08:34 AM

  Look at the long history...

  My great-grandmother, who grew up in a fairly affluent San Francisco family often frequented The Mission, because 60 years ago SF's Mission more closely resembled what we would now consider a 'yuppie' enclave. It had movie theaters, nightclubs and small shops. This is immediately clear if you walk down Mission Blvd. and notice that not only does the sidewalk have tiles in it -- do they really tile the sidewalk of a slum? -- but the older buildings have a lot of the types of architectural details that are usually reserved for higher income neighborhoods.

  What happened is that there was a mass exodus of upper income families to the suburbs in the 1950's -- ie my great-grandmother moved to Burlingame -- turning thriving neighborhoods like The Mission into slums.

  When affluent neo-bohemians started moving back in during the 80's they were most likely just moving back to a place their great-grandparents had lived in.

  Obviously other neighborhoods have different stories -- Lower East Side was always a slum, for example -- but it irks me how often people like O'Heir fail to realize that in the case of The Misssion, the years when it was neglected were more the anomaly than the current state of affairs.

  —konky2000 Read konky2000's other letters
  Permalink
  Flag
  Click "Submit Flag" if you feel this post is inappropriate. Explain why below if you wish.

  Cancel