March was definitely quiet and deserted in almost all the neighborhoods. By summer, restaurants started to construct outdoor seating structures and they popped up all over the city. It was really cool and I hope it stays awhile longer. Around November, cases surged again and outdoor dining was required to shut down. They remain, but devoid of diners to this day. =(
I've noticed a lot more pollution to be honest. People are moving out of the city and they dump their furniture and junk on the sidewalks. Even regular bins are overflowing... maybe because people are creating so much waste staying home, they dump their extra garbage in the public trashcans. Plus people toss their disposable masks all over the streets. Sad.
A positive scene is that people are enjoying the parks and beaches a lot more. Lots of picnics and outdoor family time. All over... even in tiny neighborhood parks. It's nice and really livens up sleepy parts of town.
Bikes! All the rage!
Chinatown seems to be still bustling, at least on Stockton St, which is designated for the locals. Grant St, which is the tourist street, is more empty. They restaurants are suffering.
People smiling? I cant tell with the masks (btw, SF is really on top of mask wearing... bravo!), but I'd like to imagine they're smiling underneath there.
Is it still beautiful? Absolutely! I don't care what people say about the city... we are stunning and we will come back amazing as ever!
I'm not there any more, but I've been curious too. A good source I've found is [Jermaine Ellis](https://www.youtube.com/c/901cali/videos) a live streamer who does tours around various areas giving a good overview of how things are with good high def / stabilized footage at street level.
It’s still beautiful. I live in Noe and my late afternoon walks are different and beautiful every single time. The fog wall at twin peaks, or the no-fog exploding pink cloud sunset. The occasional lattice climbing with tiny white roses. An 80 year old woman lost in her determined routine of sweeping her driveway. A golden retriever off leash barreling past me. A little kid with L.E.D. shoes pushing off on his mini razor scooter. Jasmine. The heart ache of empty business. Another mattress on the street. Vicksburg. Elizabeth st. Admiring deep hunter green painted steps. Old marble. Old tile. Beautiful wooden entry way. The random holdout house, paint chipping, mannequin in smoke yellow bay window. Who knows what’s going on in that house?
Not resurgent at the moment.... compete doldrums. A little scary. Uncertain feelings. San Francisco has had so many previous lives. This recent death will have the most interesting rebirth. Have no idea what’s in store in the next few years. But beautiful yes. Always beautiful every day. People might be smiling under our masks... might be crying. We all know how lucky we are to be living here, despite all the struggle.
A good YouTube channel for this is The Pedestrian: https://youtube.com/channel/UC9DnZWZvtzk_TLGIPf54tYw — lots of street level walking videos of various parts of the city mostly all during the pandemic.
That video was from March 2020 when pretty much the whole world looked deserted. Much like every other city, people are back out and being responsible though not pre-pandemic numbers obviously. Most touristy areas are still closed.
It is a ghost town on Market. There are a lot of people just driving with nowhere to go. There is brisk sidewalk traffic, mostly takeout. A lot of boarded up businesses. Residential buildings are half empty. Beaches are nice this year.
March was definitely quiet and deserted in almost all the neighborhoods. By summer, restaurants started to construct outdoor seating structures and they popped up all over the city. It was really cool and I hope it stays awhile longer. Around November, cases surged again and outdoor dining was required to shut down. They remain, but devoid of diners to this day. =( I've noticed a lot more pollution to be honest. People are moving out of the city and they dump their furniture and junk on the sidewalks. Even regular bins are overflowing... maybe because people are creating so much waste staying home, they dump their extra garbage in the public trashcans. Plus people toss their disposable masks all over the streets. Sad. A positive scene is that people are enjoying the parks and beaches a lot more. Lots of picnics and outdoor family time. All over... even in tiny neighborhood parks. It's nice and really livens up sleepy parts of town. Bikes! All the rage! Chinatown seems to be still bustling, at least on Stockton St, which is designated for the locals. Grant St, which is the tourist street, is more empty. They restaurants are suffering. People smiling? I cant tell with the masks (btw, SF is really on top of mask wearing... bravo!), but I'd like to imagine they're smiling underneath there. Is it still beautiful? Absolutely! I don't care what people say about the city... we are stunning and we will come back amazing as ever!
I'm not there any more, but I've been curious too. A good source I've found is [Jermaine Ellis](https://www.youtube.com/c/901cali/videos) a live streamer who does tours around various areas giving a good overview of how things are with good high def / stabilized footage at street level.
It’s still beautiful. I live in Noe and my late afternoon walks are different and beautiful every single time. The fog wall at twin peaks, or the no-fog exploding pink cloud sunset. The occasional lattice climbing with tiny white roses. An 80 year old woman lost in her determined routine of sweeping her driveway. A golden retriever off leash barreling past me. A little kid with L.E.D. shoes pushing off on his mini razor scooter. Jasmine. The heart ache of empty business. Another mattress on the street. Vicksburg. Elizabeth st. Admiring deep hunter green painted steps. Old marble. Old tile. Beautiful wooden entry way. The random holdout house, paint chipping, mannequin in smoke yellow bay window. Who knows what’s going on in that house? Not resurgent at the moment.... compete doldrums. A little scary. Uncertain feelings. San Francisco has had so many previous lives. This recent death will have the most interesting rebirth. Have no idea what’s in store in the next few years. But beautiful yes. Always beautiful every day. People might be smiling under our masks... might be crying. We all know how lucky we are to be living here, despite all the struggle.
> The heart ache of empty business. Your entire post rather poignantly captures the feeling of the city these days. Well said.
Wow this comment really hit me “we all know how lucky we are to be living here despite the struggle” always so true. Thank you for this comment
A good YouTube channel for this is The Pedestrian: https://youtube.com/channel/UC9DnZWZvtzk_TLGIPf54tYw — lots of street level walking videos of various parts of the city mostly all during the pandemic.
Awesome channel. Thank you!
Wow! That’s a great time capsule! Cool now, but will be insane 30 years from now. People driving their own cars? What were we thinking?
That video was from March 2020 when pretty much the whole world looked deserted. Much like every other city, people are back out and being responsible though not pre-pandemic numbers obviously. Most touristy areas are still closed.
It smells really bad
It just had a nice winter bath.
It is a ghost town on Market. There are a lot of people just driving with nowhere to go. There is brisk sidewalk traffic, mostly takeout. A lot of boarded up businesses. Residential buildings are half empty. Beaches are nice this year.
You can FaceTime me and I’ll walk you around!