As I mentioned in my Foreign Policy Association post, I spent some time wandering The Mission during the week. It's a strange area, a limbo of sorts (you can decide which way is heaven and which is hell), because, of course, it's gentrifying. And it has that cooler-than-thou hipster/fringe/wannabe fringe vibe (hey, I dig the coffee and the stores too, it's OK) and then the I-live-here-and-you-a-holes-are-upping-the-rent vibe. It's just how it goes. I don't know how to fix gentrification. It's one of those urban social evils that isn't always evil. But that always ends up hurting a chunk of the community. I just want to acknowledge that.
Anyway. I took some pictures. There's a lot of awesome street art on Valencia and around as well as more formal (though no less awesome) murals.
A mural commemorating the Arab Spring.
On a building being renovated on Valencia, a nod to SF Giants pitcher Brian Wilson, the wildest beard in the MLB. Feel free to disagree (please note: I am still a Dodgers fan).
A panorama (not great, sorry) of the Women's Building mural on 18th St. Seriously boss.
And finally, a sweet street art installation. The sign reads "What do you love?" Below, people have put luggage tags on the fence listing things that they, presumably, love. A nice spot on Valencia to stop, take a breath, and appreciate the community.
Please note that the photo of Bigfoot at the top is not from The Mission. It's actually Polk St.
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