San Francisco Bay Area Photo Blog

31 July 2020

The Mission District of San Francisco as seen during the coronavirus pandemic: July 2020

Click on an image to view the full-size photograph.

This mural was meticulously assembled by Precita Eyes Muralists in late 2019; it is titled "Alto Al Fuego En La Mision."

The Women's Building.

How the Woman's Building came to be: San Francisco Landmark #178

The New Mission Theater was constructed in 1916.

This large hulking brick building was the old San Francisco Armory. It was constructed between 1912-1914 as an armory and arsenal for the U.S. Military. It has a unique history.

This was the location of three different buildings that were San Francisco firehouses. The first firehouse was built here in 1854. In 1868 a new firehouse was constructed to accommodate a horse-drawn steam engine. The second firehouse was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire. This building was built in 1908 as the third firehouse. In 1968 the fire department relocated to a larger building. The building was then sold by the City of San Francisco and has since been the home to several different businesses. Today it is occupied by an alcohol bar.

El Capitan Theatre opened on 29 June 1928, and the theatre closed on 15 December 1957. The theatre auditorium was demolished in 1964. The facade of the building, which includes shops and a hotel, still stands. Now, motorists can drive through what was once the entrance to a 2,600-seat theatre. Today, the site of the theatre auditorium is a parking lot. The El Capitan Theatre is San Francisco Landmark #214.

This is the entrance to San Francisco's Mission Community Swimming Pool. It was constructed in 1916 and is the only City-operated outdoor pool in San Francisco.

Saint Charles Borromeo School is located on 18th Street. This Italianate building was built as a church in 1887. In 1916 the building was converted to a Catholic grade school after a larger church was built nearby. Saint Charles Borromeo School is San Francisco Landmark #139.

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"A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” Dorothea Lange

"Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important." Henri Carter-Bresson

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." Ansel Adams

"The important thing is not the camera but the eye." Alfred Eisenstaedt

The first volume of the San Francisco Bay Area Photo Blog contains galleries of photographs that were posted on the Internet between 2002 and 2011. Click Here to view those photos.

Either a Sony camera or an Olympus camera was used to take these photographs.

Question or comment? I may be reached at neil@mishalov.com

06 July 2020

Photographs of Berkeley & Albany taken during an early stage of the coronavirus pandemic: March 2020.

When the coronavirus pandemic struck the San Francisco Bay Area in late February 2020, all public activities stopped or slowed down. Here are some photographs of the new reality.

Click on an image to view the full-size photograph.

The Berkeley Central Library opened in 1934.

A line of people is queuing to enter the Berkeley Bowl West grocery store. The wait time was about 25 minutes.

Here is a view inside the Trader Joe's grocery store located in El Cerrito Plaza.

This Safeway market is located on Solano Avenue, Albany.

Trader Joe's, El Cerrito.

A view from San Pablo Avenue, Albany, looking north.

This is the main entryway to the underground Downtown Berkeley BART station.

Here is a view of the UC Theater. It is a 1,466-seat theater that opened on 30 June 1917.

This is San Pablo Avenue, which is also known as California State Route 123. This view, looking south, was taken from Albany.

Monterey Market is a produce store located in Berkeley. The market was opened in 1961 by Tom and Mary Fujimoto.

The Albany Cinema was built in the 1920s as a dance hall. It was converted to a movie theater in 1935.

This apartment building, located on Shattuck Avenue in downtown Berkeley, was constructed in the 1920s.

Here is a scene of downtown Berkeley as seen from University Avenue. The view is looking east.

The Albany Bulb is a former landfill site. Its creation began in 1939 when the Santa Fe Railway had Fleming Point dynamited. A horse racing track was then constructed on the east side of Fleming Point. The debris from Fleming Point was used as landfill during the creation of the Albany Bulb.

The Albany horse racing track is known as Golden Gate Fields. The Albany Bulb is just to the right of the track and out of this view.

The University of California, Berkeley Campus. The Campanile, also known as Sather Tower, overlooks the scene.

South Hall is the oldest building on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. This four-story building was completed in 1873.

This view is looking west; Albany Hill is ahead.

The Cheese Board Collective is located on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.

Here is a Fox Tail Agave attenuata plant located on Scenic Avenue in Berkeley.

This is a view looking southeast from Solano Avenue in Albany.

Here is a view looking south from The Alameda roadway in Berkeley.

A view looking west from Solano Avenue in Albany.

This portion of Solano Avenue is located in Berkeley, and the view is looking east.

This is the Albany Post Office, which is also located on Solano Avenue.