Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
206
WALKING TOUR 6
THE MISSION DISTRICT
Start: Mission
Dolores
Finish:
Mission Cultural Center
Time: T
wo hours.
Best Time:
Daylight hours.
Worst Time:
Late afternoon, evening.
Combining California history, Latino and Bohemian culture, eye-popping artwork, and
tasty treats, this tour provides a fun glimpse into one of San Francisco's most unique and
colorful neighborhoods.
girl, and, atop them all, a baby. Light radi-
ates from the center of the tr ee, water and
sky glisten, and animals graze peacefully in
this modern-day E den. The o ver-the-top
imagery is typical of the murals in the aea,
and makes gr eat fodder for conv ersation
with all but the youngest art-appreciators.
Now continue on 19th Street until you reach Valencia
Street. Turn right and you'll see:
4 826 Valencia Writing Project
Author Dave Eggers created this place to
help childr en ages 6 to 18 with writing
and the literar y arts through tutoring and
workshops. The w elcoming space also
hosts multiple school field trips per w eek.
Continue walking south:
5 Valencia Street
This Bohemian str eet is a bastion of
Take the J-Church streetcar to Church and 16th St.,
and walk one block east, or the 22-Fillmore bus to
Dolores and 16th sts., where you'll see:
1 Mission Dolores
This diminutive adobe chapel built in the
18th century using indigenous and S pan-
ish methods has sur vived many ear th-
quakes and is the oldest building in S an
Francisco! Inside, note the ceiling painted
in v egetable dy e with N ative American
tribal patterns. Although a fe w of the
wooden tombstones in the graveyard, dat-
ing from 1830, ar e no longer legible, y ou
can still r ead sev eral names of the early
pioneers. It's quite moving. (See p. 180 for
more on Mission Dolores.)
Next, walk south on Dolores Street to 18th Street On
the corner is:
2 Mission Dolores Park
Also described on p . 184, this lo vely park
was established in 1905 and ser ved, one
year later, as a refugee camp for more than
1,600 families left homeless b y the 1906
earthquake and fir es. Let y our kids r un
around—provided they don't run after any
off-leash dogs—while y ou sav or the city
views from the park's upper reaches.
Walk back down the grassy hill to 19th Street and
head east. Cross Guerrero and you'll soon reach:
3 Mission Playground
Striking ar twork decorates the municipal
pool here. “ The New World Tree,” a col-
laboration of thr ee Latino ar tists, depicts
branches holding a man, woman, boy, and
7
trendy restaurants and funky shopping; it's
where the city's starving artists live and its
emerging chefs cook. Walk slo wly and
window-shop until y ou r each y our next
destination.
6 24th Street
This leafy street lined with Mexican baker-
ies and other distinctly Latino stor es is a
focal point for the neighborhood 's Latino
residents. As y ou walk east y ou'll see an
eye-catching mural at the northeast corner
of Mission and 24th str eets. Continue on
24th Street and y ou'll see another one at
the corner with S outh Van N ess S treet,
titled Carnaval, which depicts the Mission
festival that occurs yearly in May.
 
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