RE Connect

We lived in San Francisco until 1994, with my three children all graduating from high school there. Two attended Urban School and the youngest graduated from Sacred Heart Cathedral. The City was truly our home.

I'm back in the City, now, to attend part of the Real Estate Connect conference, arriving too late for most of the Rebar Camp (those attending Rebar are fortunate, though, since I know so little about what they're talking about). I decided to take a walk down Market Street and back from, roughly Powell.

It's amazing how the City has changed, yet in some ways, it hasn't. It seemed to me that there are fewer really poor street people than before, but those who are there are more desparate-looking than ever. Also, I don't recall so many attempts at street scams, but then, maye I look like a non-resident now. When we lived here, we could spot outlanders/tourists in a heartbeat.

In some ways, it's still the same. From, say, the intersection at Taylor heading west towards Castro, Market St. is as scuzzy as ever. It seems as though no interesting commercial stuff has ever been able to get legs there. Off Market, in that part of the Tenderloin around Taylor and Eddy, it's positively Third World. I think the same people who were there when we lived here are still leaning against the walls there.

On the other hand, Market St. towards the Embarcadero is much livelier. I didn't see the Peet's that used to be there, but I don't recall exactly where it was anyway.

One fixture is still there. Blondie's on Powell still has some of the best street pizza ever.