The Mission District , also commonly called "The Mission" , is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, USA, named after the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis. The area occupies land previously divided into ranchos owned by Spanish-Mexican families such as the Valencianos, Guerreros, Dolores, Bernals, Noes and De Haros.
The neighborhood is ethnically and economically diverse, with a population that is half Latino, a third White, and 11 percent Asian.
The Mission District is part of San Francisco's supervisorial districts 5, 9 and 10.
Geography
The principal thoroughfare of the Mission District of San Francisco is Mission Street. Its borders are U.S. Route 101 to the east which forms the boundary between the eastern portion of the district, known as "Inner Mission" and its eastern neighbor, Potrero Hill, while Dolores Street separates the neighborhoods from Eureka Valley (also known as "The Castro") and Noe Valley to the west. The part of the neighborhood from Valencia Street to Dolores Street, north of 20th, is known as Mission Dolores. Cesar Chavez Street (formerly Army Street) is the southern border which lies next to Bernal Heights, while to the north the neighborhood is separated from South of Market roughly by Duboce Avenue and the elevated highway of the Central Freeway which runs above 13th Street. Also along Mission Street, further south-central are the Excelsior and Crocker-Amazon neighborhoods, sometimes referred to as the "Outer Mission" (not to be confused with the actual Outer Mission neighborhood).
Climate
The microclimates of San Francisco create a system by which each neighborhood can have radically different weather at any given time. The Mission's geographical location insulates it from the fog and wind from the west. As a result, the Mission has a tendency to be warmer and sunnier than the rest of the city. This climatic phenomenon becomes apparent to visitors who walk downhill from 24 th Street in the west from Noe Valley (where clouds from Twin Peaks in the west tend to accumulate on foggy days) towards Mission Street in the east, partly because Noe Valley is on higher ground whereas the Inner Mission is at a lower elevation.
History
The Yelamu Indians inhabited the region what is now known as the Mission District for over 2,000 years. Spanish missionaries arrived in the area during the late 18th century. They found these people living in two villages on Mission Creek. It was here that a Spanish priest named Father Francisco Palóu founded Mission San Francisco de Asis on June 29 , 1776 . This period marked the beginning of the end of the Yelamu culture. The Mission was moved from the shore of Laguna Dolores to its current location in 1783. Franciscan friars are reported to have used Ohlone slave labor to complete the Mission in 1791. The Indian population at Mission Dolores dropped from 400 to 50 between 1833 and 1841. Mexican and Spanish ranches continued in the area until 1849 after the Mexican Cession of 1848. It is the historical name for the region of the present day southwestern United States that was ceded to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican-American War, thus accounting for the Spanish-language derived names of San Francisco and other West Coast areas. Mexican_Cession.png
During European settlement of the City in the 19th and 20th century, large numbers of Irish and German immigrant workers moved into the area. Development and settlement intensified after the 1906 earthquake, as many displaced businesses and residents moved into the area, making Mission Street a major commercial thoroughfare. In 1926, the Polish Community of San Francisco converted a church on 22nd Street and Shotwell Street and opened its doors as the Polish Club of San Francisco, referred to today as the "Dom Polski", or Polish Home. The Irish American community made their mark during this time, with notable people like etymologist Peter Tamony calling the Mission home. During the 1940-1960s, large numbers of Mexicans moved into the area as whites moved out, giving the Mission the Latin character it is known for today. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Mexican population was joined by large numbers of immigrants and refugees fleeing civil wars from Central and South America.
Despite rising rent and housing prices, many Mexican and Central American immigrants continue to move into the Mission district. The neighborhood has high crime areas. 13 of the city's 98 homicides in 2007 occurred in the Mission District.
Culture of the Inner Mission
The Inner Mission was viewed as a Latino neighborhood through much of the 1960s and 1970s. However, the Mission today is both the nexus of the Chicano and Latino community and a neighborhood of artists and hipsters. While Mexican, Peruvian, Salvadorian, and other Latin American restaurants are pervasive throughout the neighborhood, residences are not evenly distributed. Most of the neighborhood's Latino/a residents live on the eastern side. A fusion of the conceivably disparate cultures is evidenced by the many colorful Latin American themed murals throughout the neighborhood.
Numerous Latino/a artistic and cultural institutions are based in the Mission. The Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts, established by Latino artists and activists, is an art space. The local bilingual newspaper, El Tecolote, was founded in 1970. The Mission's Galería de la Raza, founded by local artists active in el Movimiento (the Chicano civil rights moment), is a nationally recognized arts organization. Late May, the city's annual Carnaval festival and parade marches down Mission Street. Meant to mimic the festival in Rio de Janeiro, it is held in late May instead of the traditional late February to take advantage of better weather.
Beginning in the 1980s many Central American banks and companies set up branches, offices, and regional headquarters on Mission Street.
Due to the existing cultural attractions, relatively less expensive housing and commercial space, and the high density of restaurants and drinking establishments, the Mission is a magnet for young people. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the Valencia Street corridor had a lively punk night life with several clubs including The Deaf Club and Valencia Tool & Die and the former fire station on 16th Street, called the Compound, sported what was commonly referred to as "the punk mall" an establishment that catered to punk style and culture. On South Van Ness Target Video and Damage Magazine were located in a three story warehouse. An independent arts community also arose and since the 1990s, the area has been home to the Mission School art movement. Many studios, galleries, performance spaces, and public art projects are located in the Mission, including the Clarion Alley Mural Project, Project Artaud, Southern Exposure, Art Explosion Studios, Artist Xchange, Theatre Rhinoceros, Artists' Television Access, and the oldest, alternative, not-for profit art space in the city of San Francisco, Intersection for the Arts. The Roxie Theater, the oldest continuously operating movie theater in San Francisco, is host to repertory and independent films as well as local film festivals. The neighborhood was dubbed "the New Bohemia" by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1995 (see link below). The cultural shift, often referred to as gentrification, led to tension and the founding of the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition by local Supervisor Chris Daly.
Artists
Some well-known artists associated with the Mission District include:
- Ricardo Gouveia (a.k.a. "Rigo 23", painter, sculptor, and muralist)
- Chris Johanson (painter and street artist)
- Xiani Yngojo-Wang (painter, sculptor, and visionary)
- Margaret Kilgallen (painter, printmaker, and graffiti artist)
- Barry McGee (a.k.a. "Twist", painter and graffiti artist)
- Ruby Neri (painter, sculptor, and graffiti artist)
- Michael V. Rios (painter, designer, and muralist)
- Xavier Viramontes (printmaker)
- Scott Williams
- Craig Baldwin (filmmaker, archivist, curator)
- Dori Seda (cartoonist, painter)
- Laurie Toby Edison (photographer)
Music
The Mission is rich in musical groups and performances. Mariachi bands play in restaurants on 24th Street, and many musical traditions are represented each Memorial Day weekend during the Mission's Carnaval celebration. Classical music is heard in the concert hall of the Community Music Center on Capp Street.
Carlos Santana spent his teenage years in the Mission, graduating from Mission High School in 1965. He has often returned to the neighborhood, including for a live concert with his band Santana that was recorded in 1969, and for the KQED documentary "The Mission" filmed in 1994.
The locally-inspired song "Mission in the Rain" by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia appeared on Garcia's solo album "Reflections", and was played by the Grateful Dead five times in concert in 1976.
Elbo Room, a bar/live music venue on Valencia Street, is home to Dub Mission, a weekl
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