San Francisco Potrero Hill Showplace Square.

Description

A whimsical pictorial view of the Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, and Mission Bay neighborhoods of San Francisco, produced in 1988 by City Graphics. It serves as an important reminder of the drastic changes, as well as some continuities, in the area over the past several decades.

The view is oriented towards the north, with San Francisco Bay at right and the U.S.-101 highway at left. Interstate-280 also appears towards the right, giving the viewer some recognizable landmarks for orientation. However, liberties have been taken with geography and perspective, which are ‘twisted,’ perhaps to fit in more businesses. A text box above the title introduces the neighborhood and its history, including its growth in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Several of the businesses present here still exist, including but not limited to the Bottom of the Hill, Goat Hill Pizza, the Bay View Boat Club, and the Anchor Brewing Co., San Francisco’s oldest brewery (recently closed, perhaps forever). Others were local institutions at the time but have since closed, such as the Pickle Family Circus.

The area near the Mission Creek Channel (the greenspace at top-center) has undergone tremendous change since this view was published. At that time, it was a mostly industrial area, but has since been redeveloped, with luxury condominiums and high-end restaurants adjacent to the newly-built Chase Center (home of the Golden State Warriors), UCSF Mission Bay medical campus, and the Kaiser Permanente Mission Bay Medical Offices. Another notable addition is the San Francisco Muni’s T Third Street light rail line, which began operations in 2007 and was recently extended to Union Square and Chinatown via the Central Subway project.

This view was designed and illustrated by Rob Zell-Breier and published by City Graphics in 1988.