This Week in Noe Valley: New SFMTA Head Lives Here, Aster Closed, Seafood Love for La Ciccia

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• New head of SFMTA is a longtime Noe Valley resident [StreetsBlogSF]
• More on new SFMTA head Jeffrey Tumlin’s plan to fix Muni and BART [SF Chronicle]
• FUF is offering live holiday trees again [@SFUrbanForester]
• Nov Noe Valley Voice: Among the previously unreported stories - the Whole Foods “pick a number device” is broken at the meat counter [NVV]
• The stories behind vintage SF firehouses (Noe Valley has several) [SFGate]
• La Ciccia makes chef’s top seafood in SF lists [Bloomberg]
• Michelin-starred Aster is officially closed – For Lease sign in the window :( [Yelp]
• It’s a jungle out there [juliegeb]
• Beautiful, steep [carosain]
• Beautiful night [@bats123]

[Photo: Fog via ninadietzel]

Halloween House on Noe St

You can't see it in the photo, but this Noe St house that screams LOOK AT ME with its generator-inflated blow-up decorations also proudly displayed a "Don't Close Noe Street" sign during the plaza kerfuffle. Linger if you dare...

[NVSF: Photos: Halloween 2009]
[Photo: bats1234]

Photo: Finally, A Clear Night In Noe Valley

bats1234 on Flickr

Noe Valley: Still a Little Village

With all the activity in the last few weeks/days, it's easy to forget the (happy) sleepiness of Noe at night. Some recent shots from bats1234.



Click through for the photos as bats1234 intended them to be seen.

[Flickr: bats1234]

Photo: Hot Noe Valley Nights

"It's the view of upper 29th street, taken from Billy Goat Hill. It was clear as a bell and there was an unusually warm breeze coming over the hill."

[Flickr: bats1234: My Hood II]

Photo: Hot Noe Valley Nights

It's a great night for a iced venti double-decaf-nonfat-frappa-mochachino at the Starbuck's on 24th St. Too bad there's no FroYo at the other end of the block.

Thanks for the photo, Bats.

[Flickr: bats1234]
[NVSF: bats1234]
[NVSF: Tuttimelon: What Gives?]

Photos: St. Paul's Church

The oldest (and largest) church in Noe Valley is St Paul Church at 29th and Church Streets. Commissioned in 1876, construction on the Gothic stone structure began in 1897 and was dedicated in 1911. Construction was aided by parishioners:

Father Michael D. Connolly, then pastor, is said to have had every able person in the parish, including himself, at work on the project. Reports say many were called and chosen, including Saturday morning religious education students who, according to the parish centennial history, "tended to end up at the Thirtieth and Castro Streets quarry hauling rocks down to the church."

After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, the San Francisco archdiocese deemed the building too costly to upgrade and decided to sell the property. Once again, parishioners got the job done - they raised the money themselves. St. Paul's Church closed for seismic retrofitting for much of 2000, but managed to reopen in time for Christmas Eve Mass.

St. Paul's Church was also the set for 1992's Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg.

Thanks, once again, to bats1234 for the great photo (and inspiration for the brief history).

[Flikr: bats1234]
[Source: St. Paul's Church]
[Source: Bill Yenne: San Francisco's Noe Valley]

Photos: Noe Valley At Night

Once again, Flickr user bats1234 sends a great shot of Noe Valley. This time, it's of Upper Noe and Fairmont Heights. "With all these warm days and mild nights, I can actually go out back for more than a quick glance at the hills." Also: "My first shot (a 47 second exposure) using a decently tall, heavy, and stable tripod. With luck, there will be fewer shaky night shots and subsequent cursing. And more peering into neighbor's windows." Close your blinds, Noe Valley -- no one wants to see that!

And thanks, bats, for the photo.

Noe Valley: Christmas 2008

Noe Valley, SF reader and Flikr user bats1234 sent us these awesome photos taken Christmas night. "It's cold out there and nobody was out and about except me and my tripod." Thanks, bats!!





[Flikr: bats1234]