The idea for this blog has been marinating in my brain and for a long time, even since before the 2008 bust saw many of Cow Hollow's chicest boutiques decamping and leaving papered-over windows in their wake, like a downmarket ghost town replica of what had been one of San Francisco's toniest areas.
The neighborhood rebounded with the general economic recovery -- though many of us still can't afford to patronize local shops without the help of a sale or a visiting relative's largesse -- and still boasts the same breathtaking vistas and easy Golden Gate access it's always had. But it has lost a bit of its snob appeal as prices and popularity have soared throughout the rest of the city, particularly in the Mission, our not-so-long-ago, not-so-bitter rival in the quaint intra-SF battle known as "Mission vs. Marina." (I once dated a guy -- just once -- who even made a movie about the supposed feud; the upshot was that Marina denizens had no ill will toward the Mish, but Mission folks hated the Marina.)
But these days, the Mission feels like it IS the new Marina. It's where people go to eat and drink too much and well without any particular place in mind, and it's where young people want to live. Much of the news about SF -- its people, coffee, facial hair, restaurants, bars and displaced artistic and middle classes -- focuses on what's going on in the southern part of town, those areas with the easiest access to Silicon Valley. That may be where the city's income inequality boasts its starkest divide, but there are other stories to tell.
While not strictly limiting ourselves to Cow Hollow and adjacent areas, this blog will take a slightly different approach. We'll take a longer view, perhaps with a dash of extra consideration of our city's nature and inherent specialness/wackiness, and whether those traits can remain or evolve in an era of $4,000 1-bedroom apartments and apps that replace nearly every kind of random human interaction.
Chronicling the goings-on, both fanciful and quotidian, of a livable 'hood possibly in some sort of relative decline could be an important exercise. Or, it might not. At the very least, I hope it will be fun.
Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon -- and often.
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