Corbett Heights Neighbors

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Joey Accordino

Leslie Koelsch

CHN Newsletter Committee
June 1, 2026

PO Box 14493
San Francisco CA 94114
US

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May Neighborhood News

2026-05-01T09:00:27-04:00

May Neighborhood News

Vol. VIII, No. 5.

Join Our Neighbors for a Congressional Forum, May 6

With Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's retirement, the June 2, 2026 election is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape who represents us in District 8.

We are co-sponsors of a forum with the four leading candidates vying for San Francisco’s U.S. House seat, featuring Saikat Chakrabarti, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, Marie Hurabiell, and State Senator Scott Wiener.

Eleven neighborhood groups across District 8 are hosting the forum to address issues that matter to neighbors and households across the Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park, Duboce Triangle, and Cole Valley.

District 8 Neighbors Congressional Forum

7 pm, Wednesday, May 6 (doors open at 6:30 pm)

Randall Museum Theater

199 Museum Way

San Francisco, CA 94114

Open to the public with first-come seating

RSVP for updates

San Francisco Standard reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez will moderate the forum, which will feature questions submitted by the neighborhood groups. With mail-in ballots arriving the same week, the forum is the perfect time to make your final choice for the June 2 primary in this once-in-a-generation race.

Calling all volunteers! Help make the forum a success by signing up to volunteer.

Slope Park Get-Together a Success

On Friday, April 17th, Corbett Heights Neighbors hosted a successful neighborhood gathering with dozens of attendees. Special guests included Park Station Police Captain Angela Wilhelm and District 8 Supervisor Candidate Manny Yekutiel. The event commemorated the 120th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake, and the refugee camp that existed at that location. Photos of the 1906 camp were distributed to attendees, and guests enjoyed refreshments. Thanks to all who attended, and we look forward to having you at our next park get-together! We would also like to thank Mollie Stone’s for providing refreshments.

SF Park Police Captain Wilhelm and Officer Sung

Earth Day 2026

Muralist, Betsie Miller-Kusz, has painted a portion of our Market Street mural, The Voice of the Earth, the Chart of the Land, on the AT&T box at the SLOPE to reflect her work on Market Street. The first Earth Day was celebrated April 22, 1970. It is an annual global event held to demonstrate support for environmental protection and raise awareness about the importance of safeguarding the planet.

Betsie with Work in Progress

Completed Project

Let There Be Light!

We have installed a motion detector solar light at the Slope, hoping this will illuminate and inhibit those who are intent on destructive acts, such as burning one of the planters. We still await some word from DPW about the repair. The light was installed and the drip system repaired by John Koelsch.

Bark Spreaders at Ord, April 18, 2026

Thanks to a big group of neighborhood volunteers, Ord/Corbett Park has a beautiful new layer of bark and mulch. Enjoy!

Mark, Casey, Greg, Stan, Bill, Joey, Maryann, Tommy, John (Leslie taking the photo)

An Imposing Victorian (Clara/Ord & 17^th) and A Modest Cottage (Clara/Ord & Corbett)

Location: William McGee Subdivision

West of Horner’s Addition (1853-4), is the McKee Subdivision of 1864, which predates the first development in Corbett Heights (Park Lane Tract lots were first sold in 1885). The McKee Subdivision consisted of ten (10) acres of Rancho San Miguel, a two block area, bound by the north by the Rancho San Miguel boundary line (now Ord Court?), on the east by Douglass, the south by 18^th Street, and the west by properties facing Clara Avenue. William McGee (1828-1876) came to California from West Virginia with his father, Redrick McGee, an Indian Agent, in 1850-1851 to negotiate treaties with California Indians. William McGee was an investor in mining stock and later, real estate. In 1863 he married Clara French. He purchased land from Pioche & Robinson, and filed the McKee Subdivision with the county recorder. Its central street, Clara, was named after his wife, and Hattie Street was named after his daughter. The McKee Subdivision had forty numbered lots; it was a suburban subdivision “intended primarily for tradespeople who depended on proximity to the city to sell goods and services, but who also benefitted from cheap land where there was ample room for crops, animals, and equipment. Such lots were rarely platted in urban settings.” (Michael Corbett, Corbett Heights: San Francisco, An Historic Context Statement, 2017, p. 33).

The Victorian house at Clara (Ord) and 17^th Street (lot 30 of the McKee Subdivision) is now 104-106-108 Ord and 4301-4303-4305 17^th Street; the other property, the modest cottage, was at the northwest corner of Corbett and Clara, known after 1909 at 110 Ord Street.

Early Owners

The Cottage

The owner of the modest cottage, as seen in the 1880 and 1910 photographs at the corner of Corbett and Clara, was Peter Cassin (1825-1912), an 1843 immigrant from Ireland, living with his wife, Sarah Ryan Cassin 1830-1905), a son and two daughters. Peter appears in the San Francisco directories as early as 1875 living at Clara and 17^th, later described as the northwest corner of Clara and Corbett Road, then 110 Clara. A Real Estate Transaction notice in The San Francisco Call Bulletin of April 25, 1874 refers to a deed and the lot 56 feet by 137 ½ feet on the west line of Clara Avenue, 448 feet north of 18^th, which was as sold for $500. The Recorder (February 18, 1911, p. 15) refers to a deed dated May 19, 1884 (Liber 1116 in Deeds, page 341—original not available) that transferred title from Peter Cassin and his wife, Sarah Cassin, to their son, Cornelius Cassin. Cornelius, at this time, would have been 22 years old.

To support the fact that the Cassins lived at Clara and Corbett as early as 1875 are two newspapers mentions: In 1894 when residents were in dispute with Behrend Joost over the erection of a fence on Corbett between Clara and Hattie, Peter Cassin, is reported as being “decidedly indignant at the action of Joost” having lived on Clara for twenty (20) years (The San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 1894, p. 2). Another item that supports the early residency is the unfortunate incident when one the daughters, aged 10, found a neatly tied up paper box at the intersection of Clara and 17^th in 1877, which she carried home to her mother. Upon opening the box, they discovered that it contained a dead infant (The San Francisco Chronicle, March 16, 1877, p. 3). The cottage can be seen in the photographs of 1880 and 1910, to the left of to the three-story Victorian.

Peter Cassin was a shoe and bootmaker who died at the age of 87 in 1912. Two daughters Ellen (Nellie)(1863-1951) and Sarah M.(1867-1949), seamstresses, owners of the property since 1911, continued to live at the house at 110 Ord after the death of their parents. In 1930 they moved around the corner, purchasing 104 Corbett Avenue (1930 Federal census). On February 18, 1911, Sarah (aged 44) and Ellen (Nettie) (aged 48) filed a Summons to Establish Title for the property (lot 30, McKee Subdivision). The most likely reason for Ellen and Sarah for filing a Summons was that the brother, Cornelius, the owner of the house, was an “inmate” at Agnews State Hospital at the time. He most certainly did not respond to the Summons. In 1904, Cornelius (1862-1943) escaped from Agnews, having walked a distance of forty-five miles to return home to Clara Avenue (The San Francisco Chronicle, August 11, 1904, p. 11). He died at Napa State Hospital. The entire family, however, is buried together at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Colma. See a portion of a 1928 panorama photograph below showing the south side of 104-106-108 Ord Street and the now demolished 104 Corbett. The house on Corbett was replaced with the current building in 1961. The Cassins had a presence in the neighborhood for 77 years.

The Imposing Victorian

The three story Victorian at 104-106-108 Ord Street across from the park was most likely was built in the mid-1880s on the same lot first owned by the Cassins. At least half of it—the other half was built in 1908.

Joseph “John” Esse is recorded as residing at the house at Clara and 17^th at early as April 10, 1885 (San Francisco Water Tap Records). Joseph Esse was a wheelwright and builder, born in Alsace-Loraine, France in 1837. He died at 49 years of age; a funeral was held at the Clara Avenue house on October 28, 1886. His wife, Matilda Helbach (1847-1906), a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, remarried (Walter de Langton, a master mariner) and remained at the house with her six children. In 1895, they were still residing on Clara, as The San Francisco Chronicle of November 1895, reported that an issue arose with a loan association attempting to foreclose on the property. The mortgage at the time was $5000. When her first husband died, she mortgaged the property, which was in her name. During foreclosure, she was informed she had no right to mortgage the property as she only had a half interest (her children, the other half). The youngest child was born at the Clara property in 1886 just a couple of months before Joseph’s death and the oldest of the six children was twenty years old in1886. Subsequently, she took out Letters of Administration, and the property was set aside for the minor children and a homestead. The children then claimed the loan association could not foreclose. Matilda Esse’s attorney at the time was a brilliant recent law graduate, Louis Titus (1872-1946). Because of his assistance, the family remained at 106 Clara until 1899 when they moved to 4595 18^th Street at Clover. However, in 1899 Louis Titus purchased the property from Matilda Esse de Langton and subsequently sold it to the River Brothers on July 1, 1899 (San Francisco Chronicle, p. 11).

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Rivers Brothers sold to George Austin the three flats at 104-106-108 Clara on December 31, 1899 for $4750; the was deed recorded on March 9, 1900 (San Francisco Register of Deeds for the Year 1900, Book 1859, p. 121) between grantor, the Rivers Brothers (Thomas W. (1856-1933) and his wife, Katherine A. Rivers and Christopher C., and his wife, Lily A. Rivers) and George Austin, grantee. The Rivers Brothers ran a grocery and liquor store in Hayes Valley. In 1896, Thomas W. entered the race for San Francisco Supervisor, becoming a supervisor-elect. In 1900, after Thomas W. served as a San Francisco Supervisor, the Rivers Brothers were no longer the grocery business, but they had established a real estate and insurance business with an address on Montgomery Street. Thomas eventually moved to a residence in Piedmont, Alameda County (1930).

In November 1900, Mary A. Staples (b. 1837), a clairvoyant, and wife of George F. Staples, deceased, mother-in law of George Austin who purchased the property from the River Brothers, died at 108 Clara (The San Francisco Examiner, Nov. 25, 1900, p.6). She had three children: Lyman D., Mrs. J. M. Frederick, and Alice or Mrs. George Austin.

Count Peter William Poulson (1831-1894), divorced from his wife, became interested in Alice Staples. Count Poulson appeared before his devotees as Count Peter Poulsen of Castle Peterhof, founder and high priest of the Brotherhood of the Black Cross, a band of religious devotees who had united to uplift their spiritual condition. He decided that he had been commanded by voices from the unseen world to wed Alice. “And in due time there was a spirit wedding.” Alice moved into the castle with Count Poulson who died in 1894, leaving her the castle and other properties. Count and Countess Alice Poulson-Fagerstjerna had a daughter, Deborah Fagerstjerna. The castle was rambling structure that stood at 150 yards east of Fruitvale Avenue, Oakland, opposite East 27^th Street. Alice Staples Poulson remarried, and became the wife of George Austin, then residing at 108 Clara. On November 30, 1901 (The San Francisco Call Bulletin, Nov. 30, 1901, p. 11) reported that the Castle Peterhof, with “it’s strange memories of mysticism and magic, is no more,” having burned to the ground.

George Austin, a candy dealer and musician, owner and resident of 108 Clara Avenue from 1900 to 1905, sold the lot described as the west line of Clara, 478 feet of 18^th Street, measuring 26 feet north by 136 feet west to George Tooker (The San Francisco Chronicle of November 1, 1905). Nine days, later, George Tooker sold 108 Clara Avenue to a E. H. Musin (The San Francisco Call, November 10, 1905). The description of this property is 478 feet north while the Cassin property is 448 feet north of 18^th Street, a difference of 30 feet. In 1901, the lot is 26 feet wide; with the addition of the 16 feet on the right, the lot was increased to 42 feet, which occurred between 1901 and 1908. (See the 1901 and 1909 Horner’s Subdivision maps.)

In August 1905, the house (only half as wide as it is now) was offered for sale at $6,000, described as 3 large, imposing, well-built flats of 6, 6, and 7 rooms and bath, thoroughly modern, lot 25 x 137.6; rented very low at $55 per month and to apply at 108 Clara near 17^th Street (The San Francisco Examiner, April 27, 1905, p. 17.). (Note that the lot at this time is only 25 feet wide. In September 1905, the flats were still on the market: “$6000, absolutely must be sold…building alone cost $7000” (The San Francisco Examiner, Sept. 24, 1905, p. 17).

A permit was applied for by Mary Bates of 435 Douglass Street on December 1, 1906 on the 16 foot wide side lot, to build a single family dwelling measuring 16 feet by 36 feet and 25 feet high (96 feet from Clara). (The 16’ wide lot resulted from cutting through the Clara block to extend 17^th Street, leaving 16 feet of lot 31. See McKee map). She withdrew her application on April 11, 1907. On August 28, 1907, she applied for another permit. In this permit she proposed to build a two story dwelling for two families, measuring 16 feet by 136 feet with a height of 30 feet. She was required to provide an elevation drawing as the cost would exceed $1000. This was not built, and most likely she sold the lot.

The next early owner and resident was Ephraim Chaim (E. H.) Musin (1866-1927), an 1888 immigrant from Kiev, Russia. The family moved to San Francisco from Chicago in 1904 and E. H. Musin purchased the house on November 10, 1905. He was a tailor, jeweler, and pawnbroker, the few trades allowed a Jew in Russia; in America, he also bought real estate and became a wealthy man. He was married three times; the first wife died young (one daughter) and the second wife died in 1918 of the flu. They had four daughters and a son.

On August 1, 1908, E. H. Musin applied for a permit (Lattig Construction Company) to add an addition to the house at Clara Avenue and 17^th Street at the cost of $3900. The permit is described as addition to a 3-story frame building (2 flats and store)(The Recorder, Aug. 4, 1908, p. 8.) The permit shows a sketch on the 16 feet side lot, extending 84 feet with a height of 43 feet. This permit was approved with some modifications and requirements. The address of the store was 100 Ord Street. After the addition, the street numbers 104, 106, and 108 (as well as 4301-4303-4305 17^th Street) appear. A recently discovered photograph taken of the Musin family on the stairs of the house was taken in 1910. This photograph shows the grocery store. The wooden staircase and railings were eventually replaced for what is seen today.

The 1919 Sanborn Fire Map below shows the addition (double bay window design and store). This may explain why the bay windows on the 17^th Street side (north side) appear to be later in design than those on the south side, an 1880s design. The façade also tells the same story—look at the 1970s photograph below. It is not entirely symmetrical as would be expected at this time; the two windows above the entrance are not on center and the right side has a window that does not appear on the left. The architect and contractor, N. W. Mohr, matched the 1880 façade window trim in 1908.

1885 Left Side; 1908 Right Side

On June 25, 1912, E. H. Musin filed a Summons to Establish Title. On April 20, 1920, E. H. Musin applied for a permit to alter the present grocery store at 100 Ord to a three room and bath apartment and a garage in the basement with a separate entrance on Ord (this became 104 Ord) at the cost of $750. This was to make three stories of living space on the right side of the building. On December 15, 1921, E. H. Musin reapplied for a permit to rearrange storerooms for a two room apartment and a garage at Ord and 17^th with N. W. Mohr, architect, and W. F. Lovell, contractor at the cost of $1450. (The Recorder, Dec., 13, 1921, p. 6.) The main difference between these two permits was that there were to be two rooms instead of three and 120 yards of earth were to be removed for the garage. The grocery store shown in the 1908 and 1910 photographs was short lived. E. H. Musin married a third time in 1920.

In 1928, he died as a result of a gunshot to his head, a suicide. He was at the time living at 365 Arguello Street, having last lived on Ord in 1923. The newspapers noted that he was despondent over the death of his wife, eight years earlier. Yet, descendants report (ancestry.com) that he had contracted syphilis from his third wife, Ida. The property on Clara was left to his three surviving daughters, a son, and an orphaned granddaughter (1/5 each). He left some funds for his sister in Russia. His wife, Ida, was only to receive one-half of his home at 365 Arguello, provided that she cooperate with his children in assisting with collecting proceeds of his life insurance policies. E. H. Musin lived on Ord from 1905 to 1923 before moving to Arguello. The appraised value of all of his property at his death (1928) was $32,375 ($600,000 in today’s dollars). The house on Ord was appraised at $10,000. It was eventually was ordered to be sold to settle the estate in 1940.

In 1940, descendants who inherited the building from E. H. Musin, applied for permits to repair posts, piers and stairways. In 1946, the Clara and 17^th Street house was still owned by Musin descendants. In 1953, lot 1 was owned by Robert and Anna Bruckman. The Bruckmans lived at 106 Ord from 1948-1949 to 1959 (San Francisco Directories). Robert Bruckman was engaged in fine book binding; the name of his business was Anabob Crafts. In 1953, lot 2, owned by the Cassin sisters (both deceased by 1951), is subdivided, creating a lot where 100 Corbett was built; 104 Corbett was demolished for the present day 104 Corbett. The current owners’ grandmother purchased the building on June 12, 1959, probably from the Bruckmans.

Not to be missed

The Streets of San Francisco, Season 4, Episode 5, 1975 . This episode features the house, including some interior shots, the neighborhood and even the Ord/Corbett Park from the street and the interior of 4301 17^th Street. If you don’t want to watch the entire episode, the house is shown starting around 8 minutes; followed by several neighborhood photos at approximately 27 minutes.

Other filming locations: A teacher is shot at George Washington High School (“Manual High School”); the interior of the Columbarium; the retired teacher kidnaps students at 200 Clayton and at the Eddy and Divisadero; “Thomas Paine Academy” where the kidnapped students are held is an abandoned orphanage, Homewood Terrace, a 13-acre facility operated by the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum, which opened in 1921 and closed in 1965, located on Ocean Avenue between Ingleside Terrace and Westwood Park (El Rey Theater is in the background). (The orphanage was demolished soon after the filming and became a condominium project); a meeting with a witness at the corner of Scott and Ellis; the teacher pulls into a parking lot near 1900 Ellis; old St. Patrick’s Church at 1822 Eddy Street (now Macang Monastery); a woman questioned at 1207 Scott Street. There are numerous views of Fillmore District Victorian houses that were demolished in the early 1970s for redevelopment.

The American Dream

The Cassins and the Musins, families of differing backgrounds, came to America to escape a difficult life—for one, it was the potato famine of 1845-1852 and, for another, it was persecution for religious beliefs in 19^th century Russia. They worked hard and fared well to achieve the American Dream.

…that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. […]It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth of position. James Thuslow Adams, 1931

Architectural Rating

The building at 104-106-108 Ord Street has an A rating as a Historic Resource by the San Francisco Planning Department. It is recognized the 1976 San Francisco Architectural Survey with the following ratings on a scale of -2 to +5; relationship with surrounding building (3); importance as contribution to a cluster/streetscape (3); façade proportions (3); richness/excellence of detailing/decoration (3); unique visual feature of interest (3); example of a rate or unusual style or design (3); overall architectural quality (3); façade condition (3); paint/material color (3); and appropriateness of improvements (1).

The Planning Department deemed the house as being constructed in 1885, but did not make note of the two part construction identified here. The field note mentions decorative iron rails (replacement for wood structure shown in 1910 and therefore, not original) and “dark color paint give this building an assertive dignity.” It is also mentioned in the Here Today appendix of 1968.

Maps

The first map below shows Clara Avenue as described above—the McKee Subdivision surveyed in 1867. See lot 30 (9^th lot from 18^th Street).

Surveyed for William McKee Subdivision, by John La Croze, 1864
(#30 is 9 from the left of the numbered lots)

The next map is the 1905 Sanborn Fire map. Note that the parcel does not extend to the sidewalk on the right or north side and appears to have one bay window. The left half of the building is earlier than the right side!

Sanborn Fire Map, 1905 Vol. 6, p. 684
This is before the 104-106-108 expanded.
The 16’ strip has permit codes in pencil indicating potential development.

The next two maps are the Horner’s Additions, block 203, 1901 and 1909. Note the change in ownership.

Horner’s Addition 1901
Note Block 203. Daniel Mahoney owns the 16’ that later came part of 104-106-108 Ord.
Austin is shown owning the house in 1901; Sarah and Ellen Cassin own 110 Ord.
B. Joost’s property is now Corbett Avenue.
Marten Joost’s property is now part of the Ord/Corbett park.

Horner’s Addition, 1909
Musin now owns the 16’ Mahoney lot and 104-106-108 Ord. (House enlarged in 1908.)
The narrow strip of 3’ owned by Mahoney eventually is owned by Cassin.

The 1919 Sanborn Fire map shows the completed construction of 1908. The map is marked “S” for store. It is now twice as wide. The building is now six flats, with the completion of the 1908 addition by Musin.

Sanborn Fire Map, Vol. 4., p. 678, 1919

The final two maps are the 1946 and 1953 Block Maps.

1946 Block Map: Note lots 1 and 2
Lot 1 Belonged to Musin Descendants
Lots 2 and 3 Belonged to Ellen (Nellie) and Sarah Cassin (now living at 104 Corbett)
The frontage between 17^th and Corbett totals 72’.

1953 Subdivision of Lot 2 to create a new lot (100 Corbett)
Ellen Cassin d. 1951
Lot 1 owned by Robert and Anna Bruckman, 1953

Photographs

The first photograph shows the completion of the addition and grocery store circa 1910. The Musin family is on the stairs—Ephraim H. Musin (1866-1927) and his second wife, Sarah Rose Stein (1869-1918) and their five children: Milcah 1891-1975 (daughter of f E. H. and his first wife), Bertha (1894-1919); Leah (1895-1985), Bernice (1897-1997), and Morris (1898-1964). The cottage of the Cassin family is on the left.

Musin Family on Stairs, 100-104-106-108 Clara, 1910
110 Clara, Cassin Residence, 1910
Credit: Alex Clever

A family photograph of the E. H. Musin, wife, and children, circa 1904, a year or so before they moved to Clara Avenue.

E. H. Musin Family 1904

Other owners of 104-106-108 Ord: Matilda Helbach Esse de Langton, Louis Titus, Thomas W. Rivers, George Austin, and Countess Poulson.

Matilda Helbach Esse de Langton

Louis Titus

Thomas W. Rivers

George Austin

Count and Countess Poulson

The earliest photograph of the house is circa 1880. This is the only photograph showing the house before its addition of 1908. See the annotated photograph. (See the March and April 2024 Neighborhood News that features 80 and 82 Ord and the Saturn Stairway.)

OpenSFHistory wnp33.00787

The next early photograph of the house is from 1908 (circa 1910). In this photo, the right side of the building is complete and the store at 100 Ord is under construction.

OpenSFHistory, 1908
Expansion of House Completed; Store under construction

A 1910 photograph looking down 17^th Street shows the completed store and addition on the right side.

Dpwbook 1 dpw 147

This photograph shows a portion of a large panorama photograph, 1928. The Ord Street house (bay window on the side, light color paint) and the cottage at 104 Corbett (home of Ellen and Sarah Musin from 1930 to 1951). 108-110 Corbett extant, but unrecognizable.

1928-1930
104 Corbett (demolished and replaced)
104-6-8 Ord from the south side
108-110 Corbett extant, but unrecognizable

San Francisco Planning, 1976

Pet of the Month

Meet Mylo posing at the Corona Heights Park. Keep those pet photos coming….

Blooming Now

Vireya Rhododendron—R. Cara Mia. (Rhododendron armitii) features trusses of cream to ivory colored trumpet shaped flowers rimmed with a clear pink edge.

Richie’s Picks: THE DREAM & THE HOPE: THE HISTORIC RISE OF KETANJI BROWN JACKSON TO THE NATION’S HIGHEST COURT by Garen Thomas and Lori Rozsa, HarperCollins/Harper, January 2026, 336p., ISBN: 978-0-06-331144-2

“And there were bloody footprints

Where mercy should have stood

And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets

Alex Pretti and Renée Good”

– Bruce Springsteen (2026)

“When President Joe Biden nominated Judge Jackson to be on the US Supreme Court, her friends and family and most people in the legal world were thrilled but not surprised.

The president said he wanted somebody truly special for the important job.

‘Somebody extremely qualified, with a brilliant legal mind, with the utmost character and integrity, which are equally as important,’ Biden said. ‘Someone with extraordinary character, who will bring to the Supreme Court an independent mind, uncompromising integrity, and with a strong moral compass and the courage to stand up for what she thinks is right.’”

From cover to cover, THE DREAM & THE HOPE: THE HISTORIC RISE OF KETANJI BROWN JACKSON TO THE NATION’S HIGHEST COURT demonstrates over and over and over again why President Biden’s elevation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court was a no-brainer: Ketanji exceeded Biden’s desired qualifications in every aspect of her resume and her life.

Justice Jackson, who was a precocious reader at age two, and was citing history to adults by age four, was the daughter of a teacher mother and a teacher-turned-attorney father. She fell in love with the law, thanks to her dad, and actually imagined, as an adolescent, one day fulfilling her fantasy of “becoming the first Black, female Supreme Court to appear on a Broadway stage.”

From grade school to high school, to college and law school, Ketanji kept her eyes on the prize, working overtime to consistently be the best student, the best student leader, and the best person she could be. This engaging biography walks us through the challenges and successes from her childhood in Florida onward to the Supreme Court.

“Ketanji developed a very useful habit during her debate competition years. Every time she walked into a new classroom throughout her storied speech and debate career, she’d enter with her customary resolute step, exuding confidence and a big smile with her head held high and her back straight. She was just over five feet tall, but she seemed taller to her friends because of the way she carried herself.

Ketanji knew that a confident posture helped to convince the judges watching from the front row that she knew what she was talking about. She was always prepared, well-rested, and ready to win.

But she knew she had another obstacle to overcome that had nothing to do with her confidence, or with how brilliant her public speaking was, or how sharp and on point her speeches and comebacks or rejoinders were. She was Black, and the judges and competitors were almost always white. Therefore, she walked with purpose to the chalkboard at the front of the room, and with a smile, briefly turned her back to the judges and wrote on the board:

K-e-t-a-n-j-i

She’d put the chalk down and then turn back to face the judges, still smiling. She’d spell her name out loud, and then pronounce it, clear as a bell.

‘She would always just articulate it really clearly,’ said Stephen, who was also on the team, and had watched her introduce herself like that dozens of times. ‘It was a simple, “Hello, my name is Ketanji Brown, K-e-t-a-n-j-i.”’ He noted that she was dark-complexioned ‘Black young woman, a teenager. And she had an unusual name. And so she had to immediately convey to the person who’s going to be literally judging her who she is right off the bat.’”

“Ketanji recalled many years later, ‘Whether it was running for class president, or becoming a champion orator, or even applying to Harvard after my public high school guidance counselor “helpfully” suggested that I not set my sights so high, I recall distinctly not being fazed by the slings and arrows of implicit, or even explicit bias, and making the conscious decision to push forward nonetheless.’

We repeatedly see Ketanji’s compassionate side, and how her time spent as a public defender–a rare experience amongst Supreme Court justices–has enriched her ability to really grasp what people who come before the Court–or any court–might be dealing with.

But THE DREAM & THE HOPE is far more than a biography. This is a serious must-have for Black History Month. It is packed with fascinating details about American Black history, including discussions of pivotal decisions made by the Founders and by the US Supreme Court that have positively and negatively impacted the paths trod by Ketanji Brown Jackson and generations of other Americans of color who have fought for the same rights accorded, so routinely and consistently, to white men. In this age of Trump’s anti-DEI crusade, there is an excellent discussion of affirmative action.

At a time when a lot is wrong in America, having Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Supreme Court is one of the things that, as an American, I am so proud of. This book is guaranteed to inspire some kids, somewhere in America, to work hard, to become lawyers or jurists, and work to change our representative democracy so that we make America everything it can be.

Richie Partington, MLIS

Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com

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Joey Accordino

Leslie Koelsch

CHN Newsletter Committee
May 1, 2026

PO Box 14493
San Francisco CA 94114
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Friday: Neighborhood Park Gathering!

2026-04-15T09:00:14-04:00

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April Neighborhood News

2026-04-01T09:00:27-04:00

April Neighborhood News

Vol. VIII, No. 4.

Neighborhood Gathering:

Join Us at The Slope on April 17^th at 6 PM—The Site of the Earthquake Refugee Camp of Corbett Heights

At Corbett and Mars. There will be refreshments, photo-gifts, and more….

120 Years Ago—April 1906 Corbett Heights Earthquake Refugee Camp at the Slope

The photograph below appears to be taken from the vantage point of Caselli and 18^th. Near the top of the photo, you will see 328 and 303 Corbett (extant); on Mars, 56, 52, and 46 (extant) are visible. Above these properties are some houses on Uranus. On the very far right edge, is the back of what most likely is 56-58 Danvers. And, between 303 and 328, is what eventually became the Slope Community Garden. Market Street now runs right the middle of this photograph. Gardner’s gum (Gardner’s Pepsin Chewing Gum) painted on the side on a shed was a 1904 patent medicine of the era.

If you recognize anyone, let us know!

OpenSFHistory / wnp37.00189

The second photograph taken in 1912 shows a close up of houses on Mars (52, 56, and 64) in the 1906 photograph—46, 52, and 56 are visible in an 1895 photograph (see January newsletter); 64 was built between 1906 and 1912. See the Sanborn Fire Map below to put the streets and houses in perspective.

Credit: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
1912 (portion of larger photo—3 of the oldest houses on Mars (extant, but with alteration)

After the Earthquake - Food Line at 17^th and Collingwood

The photograph below shows the food line at 17^th and Collingwood after the 1906 earthquake. This beautiful building was demolished for the Market Street extension. The second photo shows the building in 1910 and the building opposite it, which was moved and still exists at 3955 17^th Street. The drugstore was owned by Frederick Wulzen. Later Wulzen’s drugstore relocated to 500 Castro. The owner lived at 4021 17^th Street above the store.

Credit: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

Where Was This? Hint: It Was Within the CHN boundaries

As the photograph indicates it was taken at 18^th and Danvers, but it’s still a challenge to understand where this was because it all was demolished with the Market Street extension. Fred. G. Horner, the grocer and saloon keeper, was at 2 Falcon Street. As you may know Falcon was expunged with the Market Street extension. Market Street extension at Danvers went through this intersection. 328 Corbett can be seen at the top left on the hill. Across from 328 Corbett is 349 Corbett (pyramid roof) under construction. The grocery store was very close to 56-58 Danvers, which remains as built. Next to 56-58 is 60-62, at the northwest corner of Market and Danvers Horner’s store sat partially on that property. The photo is dated 1909. The tracks, of course, are on 18^th Street. See the 1905 Sanborn fire map below, page 686, for this area. Page 684 shows the three buildings on the right of this photograph. Merritt/Ord Park would be on the right across the street from the market. The tracks under construction are part of the 18^th Street San Francisco and San Mateo Railway. Originally it went to Douglass Street, but it was extended to Merritt in 1909.

18^th/Danvers/Falcon
1909

Intersection (circled) of 18^th/Danvers/Falcon from another angle, 1910-1920
Before Market Street Extension

Same circled intersection after the Market Street Extension.
Note the building that lost a portion on 18^thStreet at Danvers, south of Market, now a triangular building, late 1930s-1940s.

Join Our Neighbors for a Congressional Forum, May 6

We are co-sponsors of a forum with three of the leading candidates vying for San Francisco’s U.S. House seat, featuring Saikat Chakrabart, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, and State Senator Scott Wiener. There are as of this date 10 candidates. To participate, candidates must meet at least one of the following criteria by April 15: (1) raised $75,000 or more in contributions from individual donors as reported to the FEC, excluding personal loans or self-funding; OR (2) registered at 5% or higher in a credible, independent public poll of the race.

District 8 Neighbors Congressional Forum

7 pm, Wednesday, May 6 (doors open at 6:30 pm)

Randall Museum Theater

199 Museum Way

San Francisco, CA 94114

Open to the public with first-come seating

RSVP for updates

Calling all volunteers! Help make the forum a success by signing up to volunteer.

Forum co-sponsors:

Buena Vista Neighborhood Association
Cole Valley Improvement Association
Corbett Heights Neighbors
Diamond Heights Community Association
Dolores Heights Improvement Club
Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association
Duncan Newburg Association
Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association
Glen Park Association
Mount Olympus Neighbors Association
Upper Noe Neighbors

Another Fire

One of the three planter boxes was set on fire at the Slope Community Park. We have filed a police report and requested a repair by the Department of Public Works. In addition to the damage to the planter box, three mature plants were lost, and the drip system needed to be repaired. This happened March 11 and was reported by a CHN member on an early walk. The fire department responded at 5:20 AM.

Corbett/Ord Triangle Park Gets a Tree Trim

The Strawberry Tree was overtaken by the overhanging pine limb and the ever expanding yucca. See before and after photographs.

Pet Pics

Meet Misty and Olive (Ollie). No, it’s two cats, not one with two heads. Don’t forget to send us your pet pics.

Blooming Now in the Neighborhood

Blooming now in the neighborhood is Grandmother’s Hat rose. It’s pink, with lilac undertones, a darker center, aging to light pink with a strong, rose fragrance, 24-40 petals, blooms through the season, tall, arching, bushy, heat tolerant, to a height 6’ to 12’.

In Memory of Al Kovalick—Five Year Anniversary

The Randall Museum

The Randall Museum requests your assistance in raising funds for the Nature Exploration Area. Any amount helps!

Richie’s Picks: WHITE LIES: HOW THE SOUTH LOST THE CIVIL WAR, THEN REWROTE THE HISTORY by Ann Bausum, Macmillan/Roaring Brook, August 2025, 368p., ISBN: 978-1-250-81657-3

“White ones and red ones

And some you can't disguise

Twisted truth and half the news

Can't hide it in your eyes

Lies lies lies yeah”

– Thompson Twins (1983)

“LIE #3: The Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery; it was all about states’ rights.”

“Lies have multiple purposes, and one of them is to create power. The people who have benefited from past lies will be the first to criticize efforts that undercut them. Not surprisingly, they will lie to do it. That’s the problem with lies. Once you start telling them, it’s hard to stop. Threaten liars with the facts, and they’ll reflexively double down with more falsehoods. It’s not surprising today during an era where issues of race, class, and privilege are such a focus of national debate that the matter of truth is too. Lies swirl around us, corrupting our understanding of current events in the same ways that they have distorted our appreciation of the past.

Until we break this cycle, until accuracy replaces misinformation, we will struggle.”

– from the Introduction: The Lost History

Employing dozens of these lies as propaganda, and armed with four potent weapons: voter suppression, Jim Crow segregation, lynching, and the erection of Confederate-related statues in public places, yesteryear’s enslavers and subsequent generations of their White supremist supporters–both in the South and North–have been responsible for 160 years of countless Black Americans being cheated, mistreated, maimed, killed, and/or otherwise discriminated against because of their skin color. The biggest pile of propaganda bs, known as the Lost Cause, developed as a fantasy alternative to the real history of what slavery actually involved, and the real truth about the Southern states rebelling from the United States.

“[T]he Lost Cause was so captivating, so enticing, so flattering, so face-saving, in short, so convenient. The lies were easier to swallow than the facts.

For example, it was far easier to whitewash the nature of slavery than it was to admit that southern Whites had benefited for generations by exploiting Blacks in an immoral and violent act of enslavement. It was far easier for southern Whites to suggest that Confederate soldiers had been heroes defending the U.S. Constitution instead of rebels supporting the financial interests of enslavers. And it was far easier for southern Whites to blame the federal government for the defeat of the Confederacy than it was to hold the South’s generals accountable.”

“LIE #8: White people are naturally superior to Black people.”

Unbelievably, the legions of lies exposed in this incredible expose were still being formally fed to impressionable young students when we Boomers were kids–and even beyond then!

“What had started as misleading statements intended to spare the South’s ruling class from blame for the region’s demise had accomplished far more than originally expected. The lies of the Lost Cause had been absorbed so thoroughly that they had not only taken hold with White southerners but were influencing Americans as a whole. These falsehoods had helped fuel vigilante violence, derail Reconstruction, and strengthen White supremacy to the South. The Lost Cause had infused public art, inspired works of literature, and perpetuated the celebration of the Confederacy. Furthermore, historians were accepting its lies at face value and beginning to present falsehoods as historical facts.”

As we see from the extensive backmatter, nonfiction author Ann Bausum did a wealth of research in order to expose the lies and (still) ongoing campaign of White supremacy in America. The story details so many vivid examples of the related statues, literature, the demonization of Reconstruction, and all of the lies-lies-lies, yeah! The informational literacy lessons inherent in this nonfiction tale make it a volume that should unquestionably find its way into middle- and high school collections.

“[The] word–truth–would become inseparably linked to the Lost Cause effort. It appears over and over in the historical record, and for a good reason. As historian David W. Blight observed in his study of the postwar period, Race and Reunion, ‘in the sheer repetition of the word “truth” they claimed credibility and sought justification.’ Lies could replace the facts, these southern Whites reasoned, if they insisted loudly enough and long enough that they were the truth.

And, over time, that’s exactly what happened.”

And because that’s exactly what happened, countless millions of Black Americans have been screwed out of their rightful enjoyment of the American Dream…and far worse.

After WWII, Germany quickly ridded itself of tributes to Hitler and Nazi-ism. But 160+ years after the traitorous Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court House; there are still lots of statues and plaques in public places that celebrate the joys of slavery and the Confederacy. This makes this extraordinary expose of the White Supremacists’ perverted rewriting of U.S. history the most consequential piece of nonfiction for young people I’ve read so far this year.

And God bless the teacher-librarian who scores a class set of this one, and helps incorporate it into the curriculum.

Richie Partington, MLIS

Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com

Did You Pay Your Dues? Here’s the link: Donate

Thank you for your support!

You can contact us at:

Joey Accordino

Leslie Koelsch

CHN Newsletter Committee
April 1, 2026

PO Box 14493
San Francisco CA 94114
US

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March Neighborhood News

2026-03-01T09:00:11-05:00

March Neighborhood News

Vol. VIII, No. 3.

Save the Date—Congressional Candidates Forum

A congressional candidates forum is being sponsored by ten local neighborhood organizations, including CHN. Save Wednesday May 6. The doors open at the Randall Museum at 6:30 and the forum is 7:00PM to 8:15PM. Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, a reporter of The Standard, will be the moderator.

CHN will also sponsor a similar forum for San Francisco Supervisor District 8 with other neighborhood organizations. The date is to be determined.

Save Another Date—April 17^th at the Slope!

We are set for a special event commemorating the Great Earthquake on Friday, April 17 from 6 to 8 PM. Please meet at the Slope Community Garden at Corbett & Mars. We will have “photogifts” of Corbett Heights’s own earthquake camp and bread line. (First 25 get the photos). Our guest speaker will tell us about the earthquake and its effects in Corbett Heights. You will receive a reminder in the April 1 newsletter.

Results of the Annual January Survey

Three hundred and five (305) questionnaires were sent twice via the newsletter. Two hundred and forty-five (245) or 80.3% of the newsletter survey were opened the email and 11% responded. Of those who responded 63% have attended more than one general membership meeting; 76% attended because of general interest in the neighborhood, followed by 62% having a specific interest in a speaker, and 57% wanting to engage with neighbors. Fifty percent (50%) have not attended due to either location, parking, and time and date issues. An overwhelming number of responders said they would attend neighborhood social events: 83% to be held at Ord and Corbett; 11% at the Slope, and 6% at Merritt and Danvers parks. Seventy-eight percent would attend if the meetings were virtual versus 22% if in person. CHN will consider these results when planning events.

Sam Smith Headlines Castro Theatre Reopening

The Castro Theatre officially opened to the public on February 6, 2026, with a fundraiser and film screening of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The venue will host a mix of live music, film screenings, and community events. The sold-out program with Sam Smith was attended by one our board members who reports here.

After a two year closure and $41 million renovation by Another Planet Entertainment (APE), the Castro Theatre has reopened in style. Five-time Grammy Winner Sam Smith is in the middle of a twenty-night residency through March 14th, performing some of his #1 singles, including "Stay With Me."

The opening act is Isabel Dumaa, a singer/songwriter and Cole Valley native. Both Smith and Dumaa expressed pride in performing at the Castro Theatre. Smith professed, "The Castro is one of the first places ever in my life that when I came here I felt I had come home....getting to be here in this theatre on this street in this tremendous occasion for the Castro is one of the greatest honors of my life."

While Smith has clearly been the main draw for the sold-out crowds, the Castro Theatre is his co-star. APE's renovation, at times controversial, restored some of the theatre's historic elements, and installed removable seating to cater to concerts like Smith's. The result is a beautiful, intimate, and historic experience, with the potential to inject new life into the Castro.

General Manager of the Castro

Garrett Blanchard is the designated community liaison for the theatre – located at 429 Castro St. San Francisco, CA, 94114. Should you have any questions, he can be reached at 415-864-0815.

Before the Castro Theatre at 429 Castro

Before the new Castro Theatre, the old Castro Theatre operated at 485 Castro (now Cliff’s Hardware at 479 Castro). Its opening night was December 21, 1910.

Credit: OpenSFHistory, wnp67.0033

The "New" Castro Theatre

The new Castro Theatre opened on June 22, 1922 and seated 2,000. The cost to build the theatre was $300,000. Timothy L. Pflueger, was the architect. The interior decoration was done by Faggioni Studios. The orchestral organ, a Robert Morton.

San Francisco Examiner, May 28, 1922, p. 10.

The First Movie at the Castro Theatre of 1922

“Across the Continent,” a silent film featuring Jimmy Dent, son of an automobile manufacturer, who defies his father by purchasing a low priced car from a rival firm of his father’s. He drives cross country to defy his father and prove the reliability of a low priced car. It was the opening film at the Castro Theatre on June 22, 1922. The film is lost and there are no surviving copies.

What Building(s) did the new Castro Theatre Replace?

There was a large apartment building on the site of the new Castro Theatre. The Sanborn Fire Map below shows a couple of apartment buildings and a garage at 429 Castro; the old Castro Theatre “Moving Pictures” is at the Cliff’s Hardware location.

Cities Within a City and The Castro Opens 1922

Between August to November, 1924, Anita Day Hubbard (1889-1965) published columns in the San Francisco Bulletin. Twenty-two pages about Eureka Valley can be found on pages 88-109 here. The article highlights the new (i.e., 1922) Castro Theatre.

There is such an air of well-established maturity in the Eureka Valley that it is hard to realize that the territory, like all of western San Francisco, only yesterday as devoted to the pursuits of agriculture—cow ranches, vegetable gardens and brickyards (p.88).

San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 1922

What Are These People Celebrating? And Why Are They So Happy?

The answer is at the end of newsletter.

Credit: SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY. AAB-3269

Pet Pics

Send a photo of your pet to info@corbettneighbors for upcoming newsletters. Don’t forget to give us your pet’s name.

Richie’s Picks: FEW BLUE SKIES by Carolina Ixt

HarperCollins/Quill Tree, February 2026, 384p., ISBN: 978-0-06-328791-4

Richie Partington, a Corbett Avenue resident, taught children’s library services classes in the San Jose State MLIS program. Richie has served on numerous American Library Association award and selection committees, including the Caldecott Medal committee. Richie generously and willingly agreed to let us print this latest review.

“Just go out for a breath of air

And you’ll be ready for Medicare

The city streets are really quite a thrill

If the hoods don’t get you, the monoxide will.”

– Tom Lehrer, “Pollution” (1965)

“[W]hat I have grown to learn through my own time in academia, in reading, and in research is that the racism in urban planning, the process of developing a city’s infrastructure, is never coincidental. The location of city dumps, the location of highways, and the location of warehouses are always strategically planned.”

— Author’s Note

(This book was inspired by the author’s learning that an Inland Empire community approved construction of a warehouse next to the local high school.)

Issues of social, economic, and environmental justice permeate FEW BLUE SKIES, a contemporary tale for tweens and teens that is set in southern California’s Inland Empire. Two teens who have known each other forever–and share a sweet, innocent past together–team up on a research project tied to a lucrative scholarship contest. The topic of their research is personal for both of them. It relates to their dads’ respective respiratory illnesses that certainly seem to stem from working in the community’s pollution-belching warehouse operations. It’s a story that illustrates injustices stemming from the siting of health-threatening industries in low income communities. It also shows how a prosperous corporation can readily work the system to the detriment of the people and community involved.

“Where most people had family photos pinned to the fridge, my ma had newspaper clippings of homes for rent back in her hometown. They all looked the same: jaws of gates, stucco walls, terra-cotta tiles, an hour from here, away from all the warehouses, away from all the smog.

I could imagine her at work, sitting in a corner booth, poring over them in her break–a pair of scissors in her hand as she cut fantasy from paper.

‘How can we stay here?’ my ma asks, watching as my papa crosses into the kitchen. I hand him his water and he ushers us to all sit at the kitchen table. My ma sets her elbows against the surface, presses her fingers tight against her temples. ‘She’s putting them everywhere.’

She tilts her head toward the living room, where the news is still on, where the mayor is still smiling. The volume is low, and I want so badly to get up and turn it off. To not know.

But not knowing feels worse than knowing.

I glimpse at the mayor who has divided the city, the community, my family, in half. She began her term twelve years ago and has yet to be voted out, funneling her quiet Selva donations to bolster her reelection campaigns every cycle.

But what my ma is saying isn’t true. The mayor wasn’t putting them everywhere.

On the north side, where Mayor Warner lived, there were no warehouses. There were parks, there were gardens, there were trees.

But on the south side, where most of the Latino and Black residents lived, we have warehouses.”

In FEW BLUE SKIES, the smog that is connected to the logistics industry and all those warehouses has created a life-and-death situation for Paloma’s and Julio’s dads, along with others living and working on the south side of town. Together, the two teens employ disciplined science research techniques in order to develop empirical proof of the harm being done, as they seek to win the scholarship contest that could provide the funds Julio needs in order to attend UC Davis.

The story also does a stellar job of delving into the web of relationships between the two teens, their friends, parents, and community members.

Filled with first love, political corruption, heartbreaking tragedy, a look at how online shopping is causing big changes in our world, some jaw-dropping surprises, and some heartbreaking choices, FEW BLUE SKIES is a powerful, relevant, and thoroughly-engaging read that will leave readers pondering how they might act and react in similar circumstances.

Richie Partington, MLIS

Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com

Answer to the Why, Who, and Where of the Above Photograph

Jack Morrison, Supervisor, is lifting the shovel at the groundbreaking for the new neighborhood parking lot, the Eureka Valley Parking Plaza, at 455 Castro, between 17^th and 18^th Street on March 14, 1964. (The parking lot was approved by the Board of Supervisors later, however, after some opposition from the Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 665, who regarded the parking lot as “extravagant and socialistic.”) Members of other San Francisco neighborhoods appear in the background and they will soon get parking areas for their own districts. The Eureka Valley Parking Plaza replaced flats at 455-7-9 Castro and is the drive-in for its 22 parking spaces; now it’s 18 spots and 1 parking spot for disabled. Parking was $10 a hour.

Did You Pay Your Dues? Here’s the link: Donate

Thank you for your support!

You can contact us at:

Joey Accordino

Leslie Koelsch

CHN Newsletter Committee
March 1, 2026

PO Box 14493
San Francisco CA 94114
US

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February Neighborhood News

2026-02-01T09:00:10-05:00

February Neighborhood News

Vol. VIII, No. 2.

Community Partner Network

The Community Partner Network was comprised of fellow neighborhood group members whose organizations were harmed by the actions of the San Francisco Parks Alliance. Here are the principal members with Board of Supervisors Board President Rafael Mandelman as they are recognized at the Board of Supervisors meeting of January 7, 2026. We are most grateful for their work in obtaining our lost funds. Their work is now complete. The group moves forward as the San Francisco Public Space Collective.

Launching the SF Public Space Collective

The SF Public Space Collective (SFPSC) is an organization dedicated to San Francisco’s public spaces, which are stewarded by dedicated community groups. Their efforts are diverse—from large parks and playgrounds, to small parklets and stairways, to cross-town trails for hikers—most of the groups are powered by volunteers who want to support their neighborhoods.

The SFPSC now has an interim steering committee with a draft governance structure, mission and vision statements and is building its own 501(c)(3). The work is premised on community based decision making, knowledge sharing, accountable governance, and transparent accounting—an outgrowth of the San Francisco Parks Alliance experience. If you want to learn more, reach out to Ildiko Polony (second from the right in the above photograph) at ildiko@sfpublicspace.org.

Fire at Ord & Corbett Park

At the first of the year, a fire was set to clothing, possibly left for those less fortunate. Please refrain from leaving clothing and food at the park as there are other avenues to donate. There is a risk to leaving discarded objects as you can see from the photograph below. CHN repaired the charred portion of the bench, repainted both benches and replaced gravel—many volunteer hours and $200 in materials.

Thanks to Casey Rando for the cleanup, Ted Teipel for the bench repair, and Leslie Koelsch and Joey Accordino for painting.

A Historical Deep Dive on Block 2655

(Corner of Clayton and 17^th and 17^th and Uranus only)

OpenSFHistory wnp36.01298
Note: the Upper Terrace Grocery Store at Uranus Terrace is visible

OpenSFHistory wnp36.02560
Note the Terrace Grocery Store at Uranus Terrace.
Note the Haight Street Cable Railroad passed 1200 Clayton Street, completed in 1883, and connected the east end of Golden Gate Park to downtown San Francisco.

OpenSFHistory wnp27.7712
Overview, showing 1200 Clayton, open north side of 17^th Street, c. 1920

OpenSFHistory wnp30.0323
1200 Clayton; 1230 Clayton, Ashbury Water Tank (extant), 1258 Clayton (extant with garage added at lower window)
1920 Packard

OpenSFHistory wnp15.619
1200 and 1230 Clayton at Carmel
Jul 26, 1923
View northeast to Kissel promotional auto covered in painted text (with 'High Gear' painted on radiator), at Carmel and Clayton. Engine Company No. 40 firehouse and Mt. Olympus in background. Firemen posing with kids. In May 1923, as a promotion, Kissel arranged for one of its Model 55 cars to be driven from Merced to Yosemite Valley with its transmission locked in high gear. In the car were Carl Borgen, driver, L.D. Whitehurst, San Francisco sales manager, and Charles H. Holdson, pilot. This photo is from a similar test in late July, 1923 when the same car climbed Twin Peaks in low gear, driven by Borgen with Phil Sheridan, automotive editor of The Call as a passenger. Whitehurst walked beside the car during the test.

1222 Clayton, 1972
1955 Ford at gas pump; 1956 Buick, 2 1954-5 Plymouths; 1950 Mercury awaits service.

1222 Clayton, 1972
1964 Cadillac, 1972 Ford Ranchero

1222 Clayton, 1972
1954 Ford, 1955 Chrysler, 1956 Ford

1230 Clayton, 1972
1950 Chevrolet, 1955-6 Plymouth

4421 17^th Street, 1959. This is a huge lot, 2655-042, which includes the apartments at 1222 Clayton.
1957 DeSoto; 1951-53 Chevrolet Pickup Truck; 1940s International Truck

Meet Your Turn of the 20th Century Neighbors—A Winchester Mystery House in Corbett Heights?

The story below begins with the development of the buildings you see in the above photographs of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. To read about the earlier history and development of Corbett Heights, we refer to you the 2017 Corbett Heights Neighbors Context Statement.

1200 Clayton and Its Construction

A Georgian style house shown in the photographs above (1916, 1920, 1921, and 1923) stood at the corner of 17^th and Clayton (1200 Clayton Street—the address was 1200 Ashbury prior to 1909). The San Francisco Chronicle of February 1, 1906, two months before the earthquake and fire in April, reported that Emma M. Stoddart, owner, was to build a two story residence with A. W. Evans as contractor at the cost of $4,250.

On December 22, 1909, Emma Stoddart applied for another permit to construct a three story, five family building at the cost of $8,500. Since Emma and her husband, Dr. Archibald Chalmers Stoddard, are listed in the 1907 city directories as residing at 1200 Ashbury in 1907, most likely a house was built in 1906, but redesigned, enlarged or built anew in 1909. The permit of 1909 below fits the description—three story, five family building—in the photographs. The 1909 building was designed by the prominent architectural firm of Rainey and Phillips and was to be 28 feet wide and 100 feet deep and 37 feet high (approximately 8400 square feet). It covered five to six of the eleven lots on the 17^th Street side. A few permits followed in later years to enlarge the residence by adding rooms, baths, and stairs (1920), a garage (1925), storage rooms (1928), and a porch (1930).

(Original image reversed.) Corner/1200 Ashbury (1200 Clayton) at 17^th Street
1909 Permit

Emma Meroney Lee Stoddart

Emma Meroney Lee Stoddart (1852-1938) was the wife of Scottish immigrant Dr. Archibald Chalmers Stoddart (1847-1910). Dr. Stoddart was the head of the Liebig Chemical Company at 974 Market Street, which was known for treating certain ailments. The Stoddarts resided at the property at 1200 Clayton Street until their deaths (Dr. A. C. Stoddard, 1910; Emma M. Stoddart Schneider, 1938.)

Mostly likely Emma Meroney Lee met her second husband, Archibald Chalmers Stoddard, through her first husband, Dr. Benjamin Brooks Lee, who worked for Dr. Stoddart’s dispensary at Geary and Mason. Dr. Lee and Emma married in South Carolina in 1883 and soon after left for San Francisco. Emma filed for divorce in 1887. Dr. Lee was an 1880 graduate of the Medical College of the State of South Carolina. He was frequently in trouble with the law and his alias was “Tug” Allen. In 1896, he was found to have been trying to redeem stolen bonds. He practiced medicine without a California license eventually receiving one in 1900, which was revoked in 1908 for attempting to sell prohibited medicine out of state through the mail. He was convicted of manslaughter in 1908 for striking a detective in the eye with the tip of his umbrella, causing the detective’s subsequent death. He was sentenced to five years at San Quentin. And much more…and now back to 1200 Clayton.

San Quentin Prison Registers, 1897-1910

Dr. Archibald Chalmers Stoddart

Dr. Stoddart immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1868 at the age of 21. The Ontario, Canada Census Index of 1871 lists his profession as chemist/druggist. (His family was known for a large drug store business in Buffalo, NY, which claimed that they created the ice cream treat, the Ice Cream Sundae.) He was found to be practicing medicine without a license early in career in San Francisco, but seemed to be successful in his appeals, which were won on technicalities. He claimed he was a graduate in classics from the University of Toronto and in surgery from the Royal College or Surgeons, Edinburgh, Scotland. Another case against him was brought by fellow members of the Eclectic Medical Association, San Francisco, who tried unsuccessfully to remove his license due unprofessional behavior. (One of those members of the association was the infamous Dr. J. Malcom Bowers whose trial for murder can be read here.)

We did not find any record of the degrees from the University of Toronto or the Royal College of Surgeons (a brother did have those credentials), but he was a graduate of Bennett Medical College, Chicago, Illinois receiving his diploma in 1875 and a certificate in 1876 (California, U.S. Occupational Licenses, Registers, and Directories, 1876-1969). Bennett Medical College of Eclectic Medicine and Surgery was chartered in Illinois in 1868 and opened with two rooms and nineteen students. The college operated under the principals of eclectic medicine, which emphasized individual judgment in medical matters. Its intent was to produce practitioners rather than purely scientific doctors. By 1875, one had to complete two courses of six-month lectures and pass an exam. In 1910, the college was criticized for having nominal entrance requirements, poor facilities, and inadequate clinical training. In response to subsequent pressure by the American Medical Association, the college became part of Loyola University in 1910.

Regardless, Dr. Stoddart was known to have mesmerized his audiences in numerous public speaking engagements. He was quite successful evidently and accumulated much wealth (purportedly by not paying creditors) through his practice and purchases of real estate in San Francisco and other cities throughout the country.

Purportedly, cure and pay later—it really didn’t work that way; most were persuaded to pay up front.

On October 25, 1905, before Emma began construction of the house on Clayton, an indenture was made between the Anglo California Bank, Ltd., San Francisco and Emma M. in consideration of ten dollars ($10) in gold coin granting forever the property described as lots eight (8), nine (9), ten (10), eleven (11), twelve (12), and fifteen (15) in Block F on the map entitled Park Lane Tract no. 4., a map recorded March 27, 1890.

(Adolph Sutro transferred to W B. Storey, Jr., Superintendent of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway Company, Lots 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, 19, 23, and 29 (San Francisco Examiner, April 17, 1890); many of the lots resold, several to Emma M. Stoddart.)

On the left, a Portion of the Park Lane Tract Map, February 1886 showing the lots identified in the transaction between Anglo California Bank and Emma M, 1905.Park Lane was Ashbury Street and then Clayton Street ; Minerva became 18^th Street, then Deming.
On the right is the Sanborn Map for Block 2655 of 1905 showing four houses. Nothing is built yet at 1200 Clayton or the lots on the south side of 17^th Street.

Pre 1909 Map Showing Lots Owned by Emma M. Stoddart
Ashbury Street changed to Clayton in 1909
Eighteenth changed to Deming

1913-1915 1200 Clayton
Several lots on 17^th Street, Block 2655, now merged
1200 Clayton built in 1906 now occupies a few of the lots

Two Wives and Creditors Claim the Property

After Dr. Stoddart’s death in 1910, lawsuits and counter suits followed for many years. Two wives, both named Emma, and numerous creditors fought over the assets. The first wife, Emma Alice Cruttenden (Emma A.) married Dr. Stoddart in 1870 in Ontario, Canada. Emma A. claimed he abandoned her in 1896 . He then married Emma Meroney Lee (Emma M.), wife number two, in 1896 in Mountain Home, Idaho. Emma M.’s father was William A. Meroney who had a mercantile business and ran the Meroney Hotel in Orangeburg, South Carolina; later, he was the postmaster and sheriff in Mocksville, North Carolina.

Emma A., the first wife, said she and Dr. Stoddart never divorced, that he died intestate and that he evidently committed bigamy by marrying wife number two, Emma M. She claimed that since she was never divorced from Dr. Stoddart, she had a right to his estate, and that Dr. Stoddart hid a great deal of property from his creditors and conveyed much of it to his second wife. Emma A. held that the doctor’s estate was valued at $150,000 to $250,000 ($5.1 to $8.5 million in today’s dollars).

The second wife, Emma M. held that Dr. Stoddart was legally divorced from his first wife in Salt Lake City in 1894 (an alternate claim by her sister was that they divorced in Boise, Idaho in 1894) and legally married to her, and that a will was written in 1900 leaving her all his property.

Dr. Stoddart’s Will

Wife number two never filed the will of 1900 after her husband’s death as she believed it was not worthwhile to go through a lot of expense when there no estate. Emma M. claimed in 1910 at trial that the doctor had nothing at all at the time of his death and that the property she now has was her separate property.

The will was dated September 30, 1910, but not probated until January 13, 1925 (San Francisco Superior Court, No. 10359, Register Vol. 21, p. 359) with Emma M. as executrix. Emma M. swore in court on January 12, 1925 that the value of her husband’s effects did not total more than $100.00.

First Wife Files Suit

Emma A., the first wife, filed suit on October 10, 1910 to set aside the deeds Stoddart conveyed to Emma M., in trust for himself, with the sole aim of preventing his creditors from seizing the realty. The transfers she claimed were therefore fraudulent, and not made in good faith. Emma A. states that that they should be annulled. The realty in question consisted of lots at Uranus and 17^th Street and Clayton and 17^th Streets (as well as several others within the city). On September 30, 1910, Emma A., was appointed executrix of her husband’s estate (possibly because the second wife could not find proof of divorce) in order to enable her to investigate the matter with a view of having the assignment to Emma M. set aside. Emma A. told the court that Dr Stoddart had attempted to be adjudged bankrupt in 1901 but the discovery of his property holdings prevented it. The estate is said to have had $40,000 in debts. Emma A. gave a deed to their home at the southeast corner of Geary and Gough Streets to her husband in 1883 for the purpose of avoiding probate proceedings if she should die first; she said he would not record it until her death. However, the 1900 will gave the Geary and Gough property to the second wife should the first wife not survive. In 1901 the first wife filed a lawsuit regarding the property at Geary and Gough Streets and in 1905, she was awarded a judgement for full ownership during her lifetime. After her death, the Geary and Gough property was to revert to the benefit of creditors. The property was no longer in her name in 1916 and her marital status is listed as “single.”

Divorce or Bigamy

While the second wife stated Dr. Stoddart divorced in first wife in Salt Lake City, no record evidently was found at the time. Emma A., the first wife, maintained in court that she was never served divorce papers. We found that Dr. Stoddard filed for divorce in Box Elder County, Utah on July 1, 1876, twenty years before the first wife claimed desertion. He testified that the couple had not lived together four months prior to the divorce filing July 1, 1876 and that his wife was living in Beloit, Wisconsin. (Beloit is 100 miles from Chicago where he had completed his degree at Bennett College.) The court mailed the required notice to her in Beloit. We do not know if it was received, but believe the divorce could have been granted by default with a default certificate being issued as it was allowed at the time under Utah law.

As reported in the San Francisco Call Bulletin of February 10, 1911, Emma A., the first wife took the witness stand and made claim to the Dr. Stoddart’s estate on the grounds that she had never been divorced and she was his rightful widow. She also testified that Dr. Stoddard and she lived together until 1895 when he left her and married the second wife in 1896. Emma A. was given a week to convince the court of her claims. The court would then consider setting aside the Utah divorce degree of 1876 if Emma A. could provide sufficient proof to the judge that she lived with Stoddart from the time of their marriage until 1895 in spite of a purported divorce. If so, he would declare the Utah divorce void and the first wife would be able to secure that portion of her husband’s estate, which was left to the second wife. Prior to his death, Stoddart deeded to his second wife, about $200,000 worth of property, constituting the bulk of his estate. (We were unable to find a report whether the proof the judge required was provided.)

Trustee’s Sale of 1920 and Emma M.’s Third Husband

In 1920, there was a Notice of Trustee’s sale (The Recorder, February 26, 1920, p. 8). Emma Meroney Lee Stoddart Schneider, the second wife, now married to a George Ewald Schneider (1882-1923), an immigrant from Metz, Alsace-Lorraine, her third husband, who worked as a salesman, a mechanical inventor, and brew master, was to surrender several properties to debtors (Ralph McLeran and Carl J. Peterson), which included 1200 Clayton Street. On March 25, 1920, 1200 Clayton (along with several other properties) were to be sold at the Humboldt Bank building at 780 Market Street. The Schneiders were in default of payment of principal and interest due for a deed of trust on the properties entered into in 1916 with McLeran and Peterson. (Perhaps her husband’s many inventions were not successful.) Yet, she and her husband, George Schneider, remained living at 1200 Clayton until their deaths. Emma and George Schneider were likely the successful bidders on the properties. The property was in the name of Emma M. Stoddard from when it was built in 1909 until her death in 1938. The estate of Emma M. Stoddart Schneider sold 1200 Clayton to Charles H. Baldwin, architect, on June 5, 1939.

U. S. Patent Office. Garbage-Incinerator Patented October 22, 1918

Rest in Peace

When Dr. Stoddart’s body was brought to the city and embalmed after his death in 1910, Emma M. kept the remains in the mansion at 1200 Clayton for more than a month. She was the only occupant of 1200 Clayton at this time. Relatives urged her to have the interment take place, but she “wanted to keep him with her as long as possible.” The Internment did finally occur. His second wife, Emma M. (d. 1938) and Emma’s third husband, George E. Schneider (d. 1923) and a few of her relatives are all buried in Section F, lot 364 at Cypress Lawn along with Dr. Stoddart. Only Dr. Stoddart has a headstone. Evidently, Emma M. still wanted to keep Dr. Stoddart with her as long as possible. The first wife, Emma A. returned to her hometown in Ontario, Canada where she met and married Dr. Stoddart in 1870 and died there in 1937.

The Georgian Apartments and Demolition

After Dr. Stoddart’s death in 1910, the residence eventually became the Georgian Apartments (perhaps as Emma no longer had income due to her husband’s early death). Emma advertised in The San Francisco Examiner in 1916 for male help with plumbing, carpentry, and painting in exchange for free store rooms or an apartment. It appears that the building at 1200 Clayton expanded considerably as shown in the photographs from 1916 to 1923 in order to accommodate numerous residents (twenty-five rooms). The 1920 Federal census records seventeen (17) residents; the 1930 Federal census lists her as head of the household and the value of her property at $60,000 with thirty-seven (37) individuals, some of whom were relatives of Emma M. In 1938, the Schneiders were owners with a mortgage of $18,622.53 owed to Crocker National Bank. The 1940 census, after Emma’s death two years prior, recorded forty (40) tenants, which included her long time apartment manager. The building was sold in June 1939 to Charles Hobart Baldwin. The building no longer appears in the 1950 Sanborn fire maps and was demolished before 1950. Shell Oil applied for a permit to build a gas station in October 1950. Emma M.’s assets at probate of April 19, 1938 were $48,285 (about $1.1 million dollars today) and her debts were $21,565. Emma M. left some specific properties to relatives (e.g., the Olive and Polk Street property to her brother’s widow and son; the Bush and Fillmore property to a nephew). The balance of her estate, including 1200 Clayton, was left to nephews, nieces, sisters-in-law, and grandnephews.

The San Francisco Examiner, August 3, 1916

Conclusion

Given that Emma M. was paying creditors with judgments against her and selling property in San Francisco, and in many other states as well, years after Dr. Stoddard’s death, suggests that she successfully inherited the bulk of the estate. A properly prepared last will and testament would ordinarily control the disposition of the estate even under circumstances where there could be a question about the spouse, as appears to be the case here. In addition to the transfer of the Clayton Street property for a nominal sum, we found several others transfers of this type, including a transfer from Dr. Stoddart to Emma M. Lee before their marriage in 1896. The trail of property transfers, litigation, creditors, judgments, etc., is endless.

We are unclear how California community property laws (est. 1850) and the transfer of property in an effort to avoid creditors if that is the case, would have applied here. (California did not have a specific Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UTFA) during this period. The modern UTFA was proposed much later (1918) and adopted by California in 1929, but the core concept of voiding transfers to cheat creditors existed under general statutes and common law making transfers to hinder or delay creditors voidable.) If the reader can provide some clarification, please let us know by emailing us at info@corbettneighbors.com.

The Baldwin Years

Following the Stoddart ownership, the entire south side of 17^th Street between Uranus Terrace and Clayton, consisting of eleven lots (340 feet frontage on 17^th Street) was next owned by Charles Hobart Baldwin (1897-1943). At the time of Charles H. Baldwin’s death, he was residing at the Fairmont Hotel. The lots were purchased by Baldwin in 1939 after Emma’s death (1938) for $20,250. In 1939 he applied for a permit to do some repairs to 1200 Clayton.

Charles H. Baldwin was in charge of his mother’s interests in Virginia City, Nevada, which were inherited from the Hobart family. (Walter Scott Hobart organized the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company, which played a significant role in supplying lumber and cordwood to the Comstock mines during the late 19th century.) After his death in 1943, the records of 1945 show that the lots became the property of his mother, Virginia A. H. Baldwin (1873-1958).

Virginia A. Hobart and Charles Adolphe Baldwin married in 1896. Charles Adolphe Baldwin was born in 1861 in San Francisco and died at his gilded age mansion, the Claremont, in Colorado Springs in 1934. They couple lived six months a year in Colorado and six months a year at the Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco. In 1949, Virginia Baldwin, Charles’ widow, married Georgian Prince Zourab Tchkotoua (1897-1991), twenty years her junior. The Tchkotouas lived at 2104 Broadway.

In 1958, Mille Robbins, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, told more tales of Prince and Princess Tchkotoua and her son. Charles H. Baldwin married in 1935 and moved to Nevada and was divorced a year later. “From there on, though, the history of young Charles becomes almost complete shrouded. A few acquaintances with lengthy memories will tell you that his career was anything but successful and that he died in this city under unsavory circumstances….Prince Tchkotoua, an expatriated Georgian of the Russian variety, had come to San Francisco in the late ‘30s and managed to make a not overly prosperous living as a painter and wine salesman. Tall, suave and courtly with plenty of leisure, be became a popular extra man for older unattached women.” (Millie Robbins, San Francisco Chronicle, August 26, 1958, page 28.)

Art Hoppe writing in 1959, wrote about the sale at auction of Virginia’s jewels at the Lakeshore Auction Gallery, Oakland, May 4, 1959. One of the items for sale was a prep school gold scholarship metal made by Tiffany’s in 1916 and awarded to Charles H. Baldwin for excellence in Greek. Regarding his disappearance, Hoppe writes, “He then disappeared from polite society and died mysteriously one day—some say in a Skid Row hotel—while still a young man.” (Art Hoppe, San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 1959, p. 3).

Charles’s death certificate, however, indicates the place of death as the Fairmont Hotel and according to the funeral home records he died in room 391 (not a Skid Row hotel). The cause of death is listed as Lobar Pneumonia of three days duration by Dr. Kennan of the Clift Hotel—no hospitalization or autopsy. Princess Tchkotoua’s relatives and a couple of servants inherited her estate; a great-niece, Mary Ann Hobart Gibbons of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, inherited the bulk of her estate.

1940s and 1950s Demolition and Development

In the 1946 San Francisco Block Book, the lots in question of Block 2655, now number thirteen—Lots 1 (corner of Uranus), 33-41 (facing 17^th)), 30-31 (facing Clayton), and 32 (corner of Clayton and 17^th) continued to be the property of Virginia A. H. Baldwin. Evidently, the property was sold sometime between 1946 when Virginia is listed as owner and 1958 (her death) when there is an application to change the zoning. The 1948 application to change these lots from a residential district to commercial one was disapproved; two years later, 1950, the commercial district (R-3 in in 1960; RM-1 in 1980) was approved allowing the Shell gas station (lots 31, 32, 33, and 34). In 1952 the thirteen lots were merged into two. Roy Nichols’s gas station was built in 1953 and remained in service until 1985.

Block 2655 After Lot Merging (1958) https://sfplanninggis.org/1938/ Aerial View (1938-2024)

1950s and the Bel Rae Apartments

The Bel Rae Terrace apartments at 1222 Clayton and 4521 17^th Streets on lot 42 were first advertised for rent starting at $135 a month in September 1958. The units were described as “romantic, delightful, and thrilling” with thirty apartments, thirty parking spaces and a penthouse with a 33 foot living room. Close to 10,000 yards of rock, with cuts made up to 20 feet, had to be moved from the site to prepare for construction of the building, which is in three sections. It was designed by John Baumann (1920-1916). Ray Finegan was the builder of this $500,000 apartment house.

Roy’s Shell Gas Station and the 1985 Condominiums

Thirteen lots (condominiums) at 1200 Clayton replaced Roy’s Shell gas station in 1985. The condos originally were offered at $124,000 to $137,000. These condominiums are on lot 31 (1958), but now each unit has its own lot number.

1230 Clayton

The house at 1230 Clayton, circa 1890, was advertised for sale in 1951 and remained on the market for over four years; in 1956, the house was rented for $100 a month and most likely demolished between 1957 and 1959. The current building was built in 1959.

San Francisco Examiner, May 22, 1955

Before And After

Note: The grandson of a former owner of the New Terrace Market at 17^th and Uranus claimed the apartment building at 4521 17^th Street was built by his family, the Ryans. It was reported as such in the story of market in the Neighborhood Newsletter (June 2024). It was not correct. The Ryans owned the land and probably built the apartment building at Mars and 17^th, not Uranus and 17^th.

Richie’s Picks Will Return Next Month

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You can contact us at:

Joey Accordino

Leslie Koelsch

CHN Newsletter Committee
February 1, 2026

PO Box 14493
San Francisco CA 94114
US

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CHN: Your Opinion Matters

2026-01-23T13:29:00-05:00

Annual January Survey

This year’s (2026) survey asks your opinion about our General Membership meetings.

For almost twenty-five years, CHN has held quarterly General Membership meetings. Our speakers have included Brooke Jenkins, Rafael Mandelman, representatives of San Francisco Planning and the Neighborhood Coalition, representatives of Stop Crime, candidate panels for public office positions, reporters such as Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Mike Ege, and many more. These meetings are an opportunity to meet your neighbors, hear from speakers, and ask questions.

We would like to know how you regard these meetings.

You can access the one-minute survey here. If you cannot access Google Forms, let us know by contacting us at info@corbettneighbors.com, and we will send you the survey via email. Thank you for responding.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors of Corbett Heights Neighbors

Joseph Accordino

Maryann Dresner

Stephanie Henerlau

Leslie Koelsch

Mark Ryser

P.S. Have you been looking for a new way to engage with CHN? If you are interested in learning about board service, committee work, special projects, park maintenance, or writing an article for the newsletter, please email info@corbettneighbors.com. We would love to answer your questions. All talents and backgrounds welcome.

PO Box 14493
San Francisco CA 94114
US

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January Neighborhood News

2026-01-01T09:00:15-05:00

January Neighborhood News

Vol. VIII, No. 1.

Holiday Lights Abound

Many thanks to Andy Zivik (andyziviclighting@gmail.com) and Mike Beller for the use of his electricity for the second annual tree lighting at Merritt/Danvers Park. Four trees this year!

We appreciate all the neighbors who took the time to decorate their homes in honor of the season!

Mystery at Ord/Corbett Park!

A mysterious candlelit gathering took place at 6pm at Ord/Corbett Park on Saturday, December 20th and lasted until the wee hours of the morning. When approached, the group said that they were inducting people into the "Cult of the Infinite Circle" and began walking on the infinity symbol on the ground.

Though the group was loathe to share more information, our CHN investigative team learned that the gathering was part of the "5th Annual Midwinter Magic" event with a distributed map showing the infinity symbol spanning from Juri Commons in the Mission to "Naga" the Golden Gate Park dragon. There were various activities along the way, including live music and food. The center of the infinity symbol was Ord/Corbett Park, and the dress code was all red or white.

This group was also responsible for the white marks seen on neighborhood sidewalks, which was their path around the city.

For any tips on future neighborhood mysteries, please call the CHN hotline: 1-800-NOT-REAL

Annual January Survey

This year’s survey asks your opinion about our General Membership meetings.

For almost twenty-five years, CHN has held quarterly General Membership meetings. During Covid, our meetings were virtual. Our speakers have included Rafael Mandelman, Terry Asten Bennett, representatives of San Francisco Planning and the Neighborhood Coalition, representatives of Stop Crime, candidate panels for public office positions, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriquez, Mike Ege, and many more. These meetings are an opportunity to meet your neighbors, hear from speakers, and ask questions. We would like to know how you regard these meetings.

Sweetgum Corner (17^th and Mars Street)

On April 7, 1922, improvements to the corner of Mars and 17^th Street were approved in accordance with the Street Improvement Ordinance of 1918. Some of the expense was to be the responsibility of the property owners, payable in ten installments. The area that was to be improved is described as:

The improvement of Mars street, between the southerly curb line of Seventeenth street and a line at right angles with the westerly line of Mars

Street at a point 150.68 feet northerly from Corbett avenue, by grading to official line and grade, by the construction of two brick manhole covers with cast iron frames and galvanized wrought iron steps; by the construction of one brick catchbasin, with cast iron frame, grating and traps and 10-inch vitrified, salt-glazed, ironstone pipe culvert; by the construction of a reinforced concrete retaining wall, including stairway and railing appertaining thereto; by the construction of artificial stone sidewalks; by the construction of 14-foot central strip of vertical fiber brick pavement from a line at right angles to the easterly line at Mars street at a point 52.78 feet southerly from the second angle southerly from Seventeenth street to the existing pavement at the southerly termination of this improvement; by the reconstruction of basal block concrete pavement at the intersection of Seventeenth and Mars streets, and by the construction of an asphaltic concrete pavement on the remainder of the roadway thereof (San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 1922, page 19).

The contract for the work was awarded to Clarence B. Eaton on June 21, 1924.

Here are several photographs of Mars Street. The first shows Mars from Kite Hill, circa 1895. There are no houses at Mars at 17^th.

OpenSFHistory/wnp27.6091

The next photo, circa 1921, shows an empty lot at the corner before any street improvements. Number 4 Mars remains intact as built; 11 Mars has not yet moved to this location from Falcon Street (now the Slope); 33-37 is greatly altered; and 41-43 remains with some alteration.

OpenSFHistory.org wnp36.02476

Another 1921 photograph taken from 17^th looking south on Mars. Houses 11 and 32 not present; 52 had yet to be greatly altered.

OpenSFHistory.org wnp36.02481

The 1925 photograph below shows a house and half built structure at what most likely would be 2 Mars. The Belle-V Apartments now at the site was built in 1961 by the same family (Ryan) that built the large apartment building at the southwest corner of Uranus and 17^th and who also owned the grocery store at 4499 17^th Street.

OpenSFHistory.org wnp.36.032287

Another photograph after the street improvements, circa 1926. Note the garage structure at 2 (?) Mars or 4465 17^th.

OpenSFHistory.org wnp36.03378

San Francisco Examiner, May 5, 1961

NW Corner, Mars at 300 Corbett, circa 1940-50

Original sign seen in the photograph above.
Gift of the Horstmeyer family of 11 Mars to Leslie Koelsch

The Park Lane Tract map below shows the division of the lots in 1885. The 1905 Sanborn map shows 6 houses on the west side and 3 structures on the east side on 2 lots . (Note: the lot numbers on Mars have changed.) It appears that large triangular lot on the southeast at Corbett was subsequently subdivided (one lot to three).

Park Lane Tract 1885

Sanborn Map 1905

Why is it called Sweetgum Corner? The botanical name of the trees planted there is Liquidambars styraciflua, native to the eastern United States from southwestern Connecticut to Florida. Five trees were planted by CHN in the early 2000s. Neighbors on Mars have long taken an interest and cared for the corner. On December 7, 2025, a dozen neighbors and CHN Board Members met to discuss plans for upkeep and future plantings. The top priority of the group was to trim the five Sweetgum trees and the Coast Live Oak. Updates to follow.


	Sweetgum Corner 2007 (Telephone Poles Removed 2008)

Shiloh’s Way

At the other end of Mars, adjacent to 75 Mars, we have Shiloh’s Way. The owner of 75 Mars tells us about the stairway.

In 2013, we purchased the long-neglected parcel at 75 Mars Street with the intention of creating not only a home, but a meaningful improvement to the fabric of our neighborhood. As part of the entitlement and design process for what is now our house, we recognized an opportunity to restore a long-imagined pedestrian connection between Corbett Avenue and Mars Street. What had once been an inaccessible, overgrown hillside could instead become a graceful public staircase—an everyday amenity that would knit together our hillside community and offer a safe, beautiful passageway for neighbors. That vision ultimately became Shiloh’s Way, named in honor of our beloved dog Shiloh.

Shiloh’s Way was designed with care and quickly became a favorite route for dog-walkers, parents, commuters, and anyone who appreciates a quiet, tree-lined shortcut. The staircase provides a continuous walking path that the neighborhood had long desired, transforming an unused slope into something shared, welcoming, and genuinely useful. Over time, it has even grown into a small local landmark; the path is now a popular spot on Google Maps, drawing people who enjoy its charm, plantings, and unexpected sense of discovery.

To ensure the staircase remains a pleasant and safe experience for everyone, we installed and continue to personally maintain the lighting, landscaping, and overall upkeep. The goal has always been to offer a small public good that enhances daily life for those who live here. Seeing so many neighbors embrace Shiloh’s Way over the years has been deeply rewarding, and we’re grateful that this simple project has contributed something lasting, beautiful, and beneficial to our community.

Jonathan Deason, Esq. and David Michaels

Eagle Spotted on Corbett Avenue

Credit: Janice Low, November 23, 2025

CHN Financial Accounts

On December 17, 2025 CHN received 82.11% of our lost San Francisco Parks Alliance misappropriated funds. We are most appreciative and many thanks to all who made this happen. You may wonder why we continue to ask for donations and dues renewals.

Our expenses are mainly for our gardener whom we pay $740 a month to maintain three of our largest parks. That’s $8,890 a year. Without your donations and dues, it is not sustainable. As of this date, we have 93 paying dues members, down from 149 at our peak. Many (25) of you received refunds that we were able to secure from SFPA, and many (30) have not reviewed memberships. Our mail list is over 300 and over 80% read the monthly newsletter. If you are one of the 150+ who have never been a member, please consider joining. In February, the membership list will be updated to include only paid memberships. Please let us know if you wish to continue to receive the Neighborhood News. We appreciate your consideration!

Richie’s Picks: DEAR ACORN (LOVE, OAK): LETTER POEMS TO FRIENDS by Joyce Sidman and Melissa Sweet, ill., HarperCollins/Clarion, September 2025, 40p., ISBN: 978-0-35-833476-7

“Happiness runs in a circular motion

Thought is like a little boat upon the sea

Everybody is a part of everything anyway

You can have everything if you let yourself be”

– Donovan, ‘Happiness Runs’ (1969)

“DEAR RIVER,

I’ve jittered and danced

in your silvery arms,

tumbled asleep

to your burbling song,

chattered and rolled as you scoured me smooth

and dropped me to rest

in a small, still pool.

Now I gleam in the sand

like an awestruck eye,

watch the moon

grow

round

in its river of sky.

Quietly yours,

Pebble”

“TO PEBBLE:

From

high,

craggy

places,

I pour

myself

down

from hillside

to valley, through

forest and town.

I trickle, I gurgle,

I gallop and gush.

I surge toward

the sea in an endless

rush. but tonight, as

the moon drops its

shimmering dew, all I want is

to curl in the shallows with you.

Marsh grass trailing. A night bird’s trill.

just for a moment, I want to be still.

From River”

Beginning with a pair of letter poems exchanged between a mature oak, and an acorn that’s hanging high in its branches, DEAR ACORN (LOVE, OAK) features connected pairs of one relatively small and one relatively large thing. The pair of objects exchange letter poems with one another. These are poems that delight with their varying perspectives. There’s a coat and a button; a floating bubble (that a kid has blown) and the sky; baby sea turtles and the ocean; a schoolhouse and one of the bricks in its facade; and a child and their toes.

Within this format, Joyce Sidman’s poetry coupled with Melissa Sweet’s immediately-recognizable palette and style (consisting of watercolor, collage, vintage papers, and mixed media). means that two of my generation’s much-heralded children’s book creators have gotten together and crafted a stellar collection of illustrated poetry that will put a grin on readers’ faces. Between its wonderfully illustrated and poetic qualities, DEAR ACORN (LOVE, OAK): LETTER POEMS TO FRIENDS is a must-have, and a title to watch when January’s awards time approaches.

It was particularly exciting to discover that the backmatter includes a page of instructions for readers to interact with the book by developing their own similar pair of letter poems. The process begins with choosing a subject, studying it closely, thinking why it’s important, and then drafting a pair of letter poems between your two chosen objects. We are instructed to,

“Start with a complement or two…; ask a question or two…; and end with a wish or two. Then write a reply.”

Having had so much fun consuming Joyce’s and Melissa’s letter poems, I had to give it a try. Here’s my first pair of letter poems:

Dear Red Grape,

Hanging with all your buddies in a bunch,

Like a flock of wrens in my tree,

You all fit in so well, together,

Close, smooth, and merry as can be.

How do you stay so sweet

Without an inch of room to spare?

Do you ever covet some alone time?

Or do you just not really care?

I hope you never abandon

Your agreeable disposition

And end up a sourpuss

Like a lug in my position.

Hugs,

Red Grapefruit

Dear Red Grapefruit,

Try to be patient

My behemoth and sour friend!

Hang out in the sun some more, and–

I assure you–your bitterness will begin to end.

Don’t let your neighbors rub you the wrong way

Your thick skin can serve you well.

Believe me–avoiding songbirds, squirrels, and foxes,

Without the cluster to protect me,

Would be a living hell.

Relief, when they choose a different bunch to munch,

Can be short-lived, and a chore.

For once they discover our neighbors’ sweetness,

they always come back for more.

You’re so majestic and yellow

Like a tiny world, apart.

Be patient and, I betcha, one day,

You’ll ripen into a perfect sweet-tart.

Hugs backatcha,

Red Grape

Richie Partington, MLIS

Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com

Did You Pay Your Dues? Here’s the link: Donate

Thank you for your support!

You can contact us at:

Joey Accordino

Leslie Koelsch

CHN Newsletter Committee
January 1, 2026

PO Box 14493
San Francisco CA 94114
US

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December Neighborhood News

2025-12-01T09:00:28-05:00

December Neighborhood News

Vol. VII, No. 12.

General Membership Meeting

Our fall membership meeting was held on Wednesday, November 12. Our speakers were Calvin Ho, Legislative Assistant to the President of the Board of Supervisors Rafael Mandelman, and Terry Asten Bennett, co-owner of Cliff’s Variety.

Terry spoke at length about the direction of Castro small businesses (she’s optimistic!) and detailed how Mayor Lurie has been a hands-on contributor. Calvin answered questions about zoning, parking, and other issues relevant to our neighborhood.

Financial News

Third Plateau, a social impact and philanthropy consulting firm, helped fund former San Francisco Parks Alliance (SFPA) partners by leading a fundraising effort that raised over $2 million for nonprofits affected by the collapse of the SFPA. Third Plateau, a social impact consulting firm, worked with a coalition of former Parks Alliance community groups, Community Partner Network, to fundraise.

Funds received are to be distributed via through pro rata disbursement. On November 18, 2025, we were notified that CHN would receive 82.11% of our lost funds or $21,943.81. These funds should be distributed in a couple of weeks. We are most grateful.

Community Partner Network—November 2025

Happy Halloween!

The kids of Corbett Heights enjoyed walking the neighborhood and amassing candy from generous neighbors (which was consumed by their parents).

Tree Lighting at Merritt

Last year neighbor Andy Zivic decorated the Cotoneaster at Merritt/Danvers Park. It was a big hit. Andy paid for this out of his pocket. If you want to help him decorate or donate funds for this cause, you can contact him at andyzivic@gmail.com.

Crossword Puzzle #2—Street Names

Interactive mode here: CHN Puzzle #2

CCSF Assessor’s Block Photos 1976

Block 2656—Market Street only (3000-3094, north side, formerly Merritt)

3000 Market (1960s GMC Pickup Truck, 1974 Opal)

3006 Market

3008 Market (1973 Cadillac)

3012 Market (1973 Cadillac)

3014 Market

3020 Market

3022 Market

3026 Market (1967 Ford Mustang, 1968-1970 Opal)

3028 Market (1967 Mustang)

3034 Market

3036 Market (Mid-1960s Pontiac?)

3040 Market (1960s Ford Pickup Truck)

3046 Market (1960-1 Studebaker; 1960-1 VW Microbus)

3052 Market (1960s Opal)

3056 Market

3058 Market (1970 VW Microbus)

3062 and 3066 Market (1961-62 Dodge?)

3066 Market (1965-7 Chevrolet Station Wagon)

3070 Market

3076 Market (1965 Oldsmobile)

3082 Market (1956 Chevy BelAir)

3084 Market (1971-2 VW Microbus; 1956 Chevy BelAir)

3088 Market (1965 and 1962-3 VW Bug)

3090 Market (1965 VW Bug)

3092 Market (1961-2 Opal)

3094 Market

Richie’s Picks: THE UNEXPECTED LIVES OF ORDINARY GIRLS by J. Anderson Coats, Simon & Schuster//Atheneum, September 2025, 272p., ISBN: 978-1-66596861-4

“A smelter is either a factory or machine for smelting, which is the process of extracting metal from its ore by heating it to a very high temperature. Smelters use a reducing agent, like carbon, to separate the desired metal from other impurities in the ore, producing a more pure metal product.”

– Google AI

“You’ve come a long way, Baby.”

– 1968 cigarette ad, aimed at women

Cold Creek, Colorado, 1910

“‘Father. Mother. I have news.’ Stina glances between them. I…I met someone. A young man. ‘

My eyes leap up from the quad. Stina doesn’t have boyfriends. She barely has friends.

‘Things are getting serious.’ Her voice trembles. ‘Father, you can expect him to come on Sunday to ask for my hand in marriage.’ It’s serious enough for talk of marriage–and Stina didn’t say a word to me? Mother pulls in a delighted breath, and both hands fly to her heart, where she presses hard enough to dimple the calico. I haven’t seen her smile so big and genuine since we got a new range. But Stina is the color of a worn-out tablecloth. She looks like she’s about to be sick everywhere, when getting married is one of the happiest things you can do in Bohunk Town. ‘This is sudden.’ Father doesn’t sound upset, just surprised. You’re not…?

“No!’ Stina flinches. ‘No! Nothing like that. We just want to be married before winter sets in.’

Father nods, looking relieved, but I’m not sure Mother would have minded much if Stina were already expecting a baby. Plenty of kids in Bohunk Town are born premature, as Father Ignatz says in that mild, kind way of his, and he pretends not to notice as long as everyone is safely married when the baby comes. ‘This is a blessed, blessed day,’ Mother squeals. ‘I can finally stop worrying about you. It’s Luka Novak, isn’t it? You were so unkind to him when you were younger. He must be delighted that you’ve finally come around.’ ‘No.’ Stina twists her hands tighter in her apron. ‘It’s not Luka. I wasn’t unkind, either. Saying no to someone isn’t unkind.’

‘Oh.’ Mother frowns, clearly stymied. Then Frederick Bund? Vasily Tenner?’ Stina must realize that Mother is going to name every eligible bachelor in Bohunk Town one by one, starting with her favorites, or at least those whose mothers she likes, because my sister pulls in a long, long breath, and then lets it out in a whistle.‘His name is Paul.’

What she means is, there aren’t any boys named Paul who live in Bohunk Town, who attend Mass at Saint Joseph’s, who work at the smelter with the rest of the bohunks. ‘He’s a mine geologist,’ Stina’s voice takes on a pleading edge. ‘He’s been to college. He’s got a degree.’ I sit up straighter. I only heard of Paul two minutes ago, but I like him already. He doubles the number of people I know who’ve been to college, and he’s going to be my new brother-in-law.”

THE UNEXPECTED LIVES OF ORDINARY GIRLS vividly illustrates that while the egregious attitudes and policies of the current administration toward immigrants may be particularly extreme, the contempt and prejudice is by no means unique to our nation’s history. It also illustrates how nightmarish a young woman’s existence and lack of opportunities could be a mere hundred-plus years ago.

Thirteen-year-old Stanislava Razpotnik is the daughter of Slovenian immigrants, and the fourth of six siblings. Her two older brothers, who work along with Father at the smelter, are in their early-twenties Her elder sister Stina is twenty-three. Stina was required to leave school at a young age to care for Stanislava, when Stanislava was a baby. Her workload increased with the now-four-year-old boy Domen and one-year-old Mari.

When the conversation about marriage continues, and their parents learn that Paul not only isn’t Slovenian but isn't even Catholic, Father informs Stina that the marriage will not take place, and that Father will accompany Stina the next day to say goodbye forever to Paul.

But, instead, the next day, Stina and Paul depart town for parts unknown, which means that Mother and Father require Stanislava to immediately quit school and assume the punishing dawn-to-dusk cleaning-cooking-babysitting tasks that Stina has had to take care of since back when she was younger than Stanislava.

And Stanislava, who is a diligent student, and has just recently learned what college is, has been developing big, newfound dreams of becoming a then-rare, educated woman with a career.

The details of Stanislava’s immediate immersion into that grueling dawn-to-dusk routine her elder sister has escaped (while Mother hides out in her bedroom all day) sounds an awful lot like the Middle Ages and not anything most of us can imagine engaging in today.

Stanislava sees the writing on the wall and subsequently pulls her own disappearing act. It will turn out that a public library and some female librarians will become the salvation for this talented young teen on her own.

But it’s not just the women who lead such a hardscrabble life in 1910 Colorado. Stanislava talks of her father and brothers having knuckles the size of walnuts from their long, endless days at the smelter.

The steel that Stanislava’s dad and so many other immigrants helped produce became the bones of the skyscrapers that we marvel at a century later. They wore out their bodies doing the work that built America. Immigrants still do so much of the work that nobody else wants to do. I believe that we should be grateful, not contemptuous of them.

THE UNEXPECTED LIVES OF ORDINARY GIRLS is unquestionably one of the best books for tweens and teens published in 2025. I have no doubts that I will long remember the gritty details of this historical fiction gem long after the rest of 2025 fades in my memory.

And, when, if ever, one must ask, will American women experience a true lack of gender-based disadvantages? They have come so far in my lifetime (Thank you, Title IX!), but there is still so much farther to go.

Richie Partington, MLIS

Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com

Crossword Puzzle Answers:

Serpentine
Minerva
Serpentine Place
Falcon
Clara
Park Lane
Juno
Rose

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