Quesada Gardens Initiative
In 2006, San Francisco Beautiful recognized Quesada Gardens Initiative with a Beautification Award. This block of Quesada in the Bayview is a postcard San Francisco street. On a hillside, its two narrow traffic lanes are separated by a sloping median. It should have been idyllic except for its proximity to 3rd Street in the heart of […]
Octavia Boulevard
In 2006, San Francisco Beautiful recognized Octavia Boulevard with a Beautification Award. Octavia Boulevard is a wide and leafy open expanse where cars people and plants coexist. Physically, the arrangement of traffic lanes, parking lanes, medians and parks is unprecedented in San Francisco. It resembles the best boulevards in Europe, but they are rare even there. It […]
Greening Our Street Medians
In 2006, San Francisco Beautiful recognized Greening Our Street Medians with a Beautification Award. Mayor Gavin Newsom’s vision of greening San Francisco has resulted in highly visible median plantings completed by City staff and volunteers. Under Mayor Newsom’s administration, Van Ness Avenue’s medians have been embellished with hanging flower baskets and Lombard Street’s medians have also been […]
Candlestick Point Beautification Project
In 2006, San Francisco Beautiful recognized the Candlestick Point Beautification Project with a Beautification Award. Beyond the vast stadium parking lot are views of the bay and downtown San Francisco. This hidden area of the City features fine weather, steep slopes, and unique houses. A few years ago, it was also host to criminal elements and its […]
16th Avenue Tiled Steps
In 2006, San Francisco Beautiful recognized the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps with a Beautification Award. For more than 40 years, San Francisco Beautiful has been honoring San Franciscans who make special contributions to the unique character and beauty of our City with the Annual Beautification Awards.
Sylvester House Restoration
In 2005, San Francisco Beautiful recognized Sylvester House Restoration with a Beautification Award. In 1978, Linda Blacketer found the abandoned and dilapidated Sylvester House (built in 1865) in the Bayview. Her goal was to restore the house to its original condition — not just to modernize its interior behind a classical façade. It took many years of […]
Shotwell Greenway
In 2005, San Francisco Beautiful recognized Shotwell Greenway with a Beautification Award. Plant SF’s Jane Martin and her neighbors on Shotwell Street were concerned about illicit activities occurring at all hours in and between the cars parked on the street and sidewalks. Jane created a pilot project for “greening” the sidewalks with cut-out areas, rocks and low […]
Randall Museum
In 2005, San Francisco Beautiful recognized the Randall Museum with a Beautification Award. The Friends of the Josephine Randall Junior Museum organized an informational exhibit to promote sustainable energy devices. Included are two large wind power generators made of thin steel rods and solid transparent panels. Both provide enough energy to run the museum’s interactive exhibits. […]
Chinese Historical Society of America Museum and Learning Center
In 2005, San Francisco Beautiful recognized the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum and Learning Center with a Beautification Award. The Chinatown Historical Museum is located in the historic YWCA on Clay Street in Chinatown. Many know that Julia Morgan designed the building, but few know that the original building was funded by private donations from Chinese […]
The Villas Parkmerced
In 2004, San Francisco Beautiful recognized The Villas Parkmerced with a Beautification Award. Parkmerced comprises 144 acres in the southwest quadrant of San Francisco near Lake Merced. Conceived by Metropolitan Life after World War II in the form of a new town offering quality housing the completed development epitomized modern urban living. Over the years, the development […]