Illustration by Alyssa Guerrero The sun shone, the sky blazed blue, and the newly unfurled leaves of the London plane trees were a young, fuzz-laden green. But it was eerily quiet along Hyde Street. The cable cars were out of commission. Pedestrians walked along warily. Even Lombard Street was not its usual self: no traffic […]
The thump of bass hit my chest as I drew closer. I smelled something cooking on a grill and saw a dozen people grouped around a car with paintwork so intricate, it was more art installation than mere vehicle. Further on through the crowd, a procession of cars with sound systems blaring bounced toward me […]
I had the incredible opportunity to meet and interview Lyle Tuttle a few weeks before he passed away. The culmination of our conversation is the article below. Tuttle was warm, generous, witty, and full of life in all of our interactions. I cherish the memory of our afternoon together. I head north and inland, beyond […]
Searching for work gets personal as our narrator confronts the seamy side of surveillance and private investigation. Illustration by Tom Fritsche. The story you are about to read, while drawing inspiration from the author’s experiences, is, for legal reasons, entirely fictional. It was the summer of 2012—a few San Franciscos ago—when, a year after my […]
Alcatraz’s gardens, first cultivated by military wives in the mid-1800s and later tended by inmates in the 1900s, are preserved by a cadre of dedicated volunteers. (Oil Painting by Christina Kent.) When Matt Lederman first started volunteer-gardening on Alcatraz, he was met with mild incredulity by friends. “They were like, ‘You volunteer where?’” he says […]
Volunteers at the Esperanza Place development in Walnut Creek work to build affordable housing. Photograph by Jaime Borschuk. That’s my window. The thought fills Michael Norris with pride as he considers the new home on Las Juntas Way he’ll be moving into this coming winter. After nearly seventeen years of renting a one-bedroom apartment above […]
Home Magazine Issue 8 of The San Franciscan $15.00 Issue 8 of The San Franciscan (Print) Magazine Details: Includes work from 27 talented creatives based in and around the Bay Area Features fiction, poetry, art, photography, nonfiction, profiles, personal essays, interviews, and even a locally-themed crossword Perfect-bind book with matte cover Limited edition print Out […]
On weekdays I studied for school and on weekends I studied fellow students. . . . Most of this study took place at my brother’s apartment on 3rd Ave and Geary, a moldy, dilapidated place with fading wood floors that whined crankily at the sheer audacity of a footstep. (Illustration by Armando Chavira.) I think […]
It was as if the trees were coming alive—stretching their limbs, cracking their knuckles—while their fellow San Franciscans looked on in wonder. Illustration by Robin Galante. San Francisco’s hottest day on record was Friday, September 1, 2017. The most bewildering thing about that day—in a city where one must always pack a parka when going […]
Photograph by Jack Bober https://thesanfranciscanmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Sleeping-Giants-1102-REV2.mp3 Audio: Author Elizabeth Stix reads. by Elizabeth Stix Elaine Panopolis was woefully inadequate. This was documented fact. In college, a professor had written it in red capital letters across the top of her final paper: WOEFULLY INADEQUATE. In the coloring of years it had amplified and now Elaine took it […]
Home Magazine Issue 1 of The San Franciscan [Sold Out] $8.00 Issue 1 of The San Franciscan (Print) [SOLD OUT] Magazine Details: Includes work from more than 25 talented creatives based in the Bay Area Features fiction, poetry, art, cartoons, profiles, personal essays, and even a data visualization piece Perfect-bind book with matte cover Limited […]
On the fringes of San Francisco, abutting the ocean, Lake Merced and its surrounding neighborhoods have played host to peoples, industries, and secrets of all kinds. Long ago, the area was a seasonal village for the Yelamu group of the Ohlone people, the indigenous inhabitants of the Bay Area. For thousands of years, the Yelamu […]
“I love film because it is unforgiving, and it teaches you a lesson every time you get those negatives back,” says photographer Onome Uyovbievbo. Photograph by Adam Pardee. Editor’s note: In September 2021, photojournalist Adam Pardee spoke to photographers Carlo Velasquez, Onome Uyovbievbo, and JP Calma about the draw of film photography and their efforts […]
Photograph by Noah Rowlett “I just think I have the makeup of an artist, it’s something that I kind of obsess over, and it makes me happy.” Afton’s love of music started early. “I always thought I had great music taste, and I prided myself on that,” she said with a playful smile. “I loved […]