Stalking the wild manzanita

Soon after the February issue of the New Fillmore hit the streets, with its report on the discovery and delivery of a manzanita plant in the Presidio thought to be extinct, the phone rang. “There’s another one,” the caller said. “I’ll show you.”

Urban forest gets local friends

Friends of the Urban Forest will mark a major milestone in the neighborhood on Saturday, February 20: For the 1000th time, a team of volunteers will plant trees on city streets. Environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill will address the volunteers when they gather at 9 a.m. at Rosa Parks Elementary School at 1501 O’Farrell Street, [...]

Extinct manzanita saved in the Presidio

A rare Franciscan manzanita long thought to be extinct was transplanted to a protected location in the Presidio this week after it was discovered along the Doyle Drive rebuilding project by a biologist who happened to be driving by. “It’s an incredible find, like Christmas morning when you’re five,” says Mark Frey, an ecologist with [...]

The end of a design era

By Thomas Reynolds In the springtime came the annual invitation to stop by the corner of Alta Plaza Park and tour the elegant home of interior designer John Wheatman. Hundreds of current and former clients walked through on May 3, a cool, grey Sunday afternoon, to admire the treasures Wheatman has acquired and the good [...]

The story of a magical plant

Story and photograph by Jean Collier Hurley This is a story about kindness, determination, beauty — and an unusual bougainvillea plant. Over the years, the front yard of the little house at 1923 Webster Street had become a junkyard, its wooden fence a dilapidated eyesore. The kindly owner, who had raised her family there, was [...]

A foreclosure sets year’s highest price

Traditionally the housing market falls off significantly in the summer months, then picks up again from Labor Day through the beginning of the holiday season. This summer, however, the market is showing unusual signs of strength, due to three factors: increased inventory, a stabilizing economy and continued low interest rates. Ironically, the highest priced home [...]

Local home sales down 65%

The number of sales in March 2009 increased slightly, from nine to 10 properties. However, we are still well below the number of sales recorded during the same time last year, when 31 properties closed. This is more than a 65 percent decrease in volume. The change can largely be attributed to buyers’ fears about [...]

It’s slow, but picking up

February 2009 was another slow period for home sales in the neighborhood. With the economy looking gloomier every day and the stock market reaching record lows, it would appear, at least at first glance, that our housing market is moving in a similar direction. However, the most recent activity in the local market suggests this [...]

In Japantown, new condos meet old customs

By Donna Gillespie While wandering through the haze of sizzling teriyaki burgers and listening to the pounding of Taiko drums at the Nihonmachi Street Fair last month, you might have been asked to sign a petition supporting the event, or seen people wearing stickers that said “Save Our Festivals.” It was a response to a [...]

A condo with a $5 million view

One rarely sees homes in our neighborhood selling for less than $1 million, but it happened in June 2008 at 49 Service Street, a short block near Steiner and Lombard. A one bedroom single family home closed at $675,000, setting the bar for the lowest priced single family home sold in the area this year. [...]