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The Mission District, also commonly called "The Mission", is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, USA named after the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis. The area occupies land previously settled by Spanish-Mexican ranchos such as the Valencianos, Guerreros, Dolores, Bernals, Noes and DeHaros. The neighborhood is ethnically and economically diverse, with a population that is half Latino, a third White, and 11 percent Asian. The Mission District is part of San Francisco's supervisorial districts 5, 9 and 10. As its name suggests, the principal thoroughfare of the Mission District of San Francisco is Mission Street. Its borders are U.S. Route 101 to the east which forms the boundary between the eastern portion of the district, known as "Inner Mission" and its eastern neighbor, Potrero Hill, while Church Street separates the neighborhoods from Eureka Valley (also known as "The Castro") and Noe Valley to the west. Cesar Chavez Street (formerly Army Street) is the southern border which lies next to Bernal Heights, while to the north the neighborhood is separated from South of Market roughly by Duboce Avenue and the elevated highway of the Central Freeway which runs above Division Street. Also along Mission Street, further south-central are the Excelsior and Crocker-Amazon neighborhoods, sometimes referred to as the "Outer Mission". The microclimates of San Francisco create a system by which each neighborhood has radically different weather at any given time. The Mission's geographical location insulates it from the fog and wind from the west. As a result, the Mission has a tendency to be warmer and sunnier than the rest of the city. This climatic phenomenon becomes apparent to visitors who walk downhill from 24th Street in the west from Noe Valley (where clouds from Twin Peaks in the west tend to accumulate on foggy days) towards Mission Street in the east, partly because Noe Valley is on higher ground whereas the Inner Mission is at a lower elevation. The Ohlone Indians inhabited the region of what is now the Mission District for over 2,000 years. Spanish missionaries arrived in the area during the late 18th century. They found the Ohlone living peacefully in a village at the edge of a lagoon, hunting and gathering. It was here that a Spanish priest named Father Palou founded Mission San Francisco de Asis on June 29, 1776. This period marked the beginning of the end of the Ohlone culture. The Mission was moved from the shore of Laguna Dolores to its current location in 1783.[3] Franciscan friars are reported to have employed Ohlone slave labor to complete the Mission in 1791. Many native Indians were forced to flee the area, and the Indian population at Mission Dolores dropped from 400 to 50 between 1833 and 1841. Mexican and Spanish ranches continued in the area until 1849. During European settlement of the City in the 19th and 20th century, large numbers of Irish and German immigrant workers moved into the area. Development and settlement intensified after the 1906 earthquake, as many displaced businesses and residents moved into the area, making Mission Street a major commercial thoroughfare. In 1926, the Polish Community of San Francisco converted a church on 22nd Street and Shotwell Street and opened its doors as the Polish Club of San Francisco, referred to today as the "Dom Polski", or Polish Home. The Irish American community made their mark during this time, with notable people like etymologist Peter Tamony calling the Mission home. During the 1940-1960s, large numbers of Mexicans moved into the area as whites moved out, giving the Mission the Latin character it is known for today. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Mexican population was joined by large numbers of immigrants and refugees fleeing civil wars from Central and South America. Despite rising rents and housing prices, gentrification, many Mexican and Central American immigrants continue to move into the Mission district. The Inner Mission was viewed as a Hispanic neighborhood through much of the 1960s and 1970s. However, the Mission today is both the nexus of the Chicano and Latino community and a neighborhood of artists and hipsters. While Mexican, Salvadorian, and other Latin American restaurants are pervasive throughout the neighborhood, residences are not so evenly distributed. Traditional residents, including most of the neighborhood's Hispanic residents, tend to live on the eastern side. Hipsters center around Valencia Street and Mission Dolores Park on the western side. However, there are certainly no distinct racial lines. A fusion of the conceivably disparate cultures is evidenced by the many colorful Mexican and Latin American themed murals throughout the neighborhood. Numerous hispanic artistic and cultural institutions are based in the Mission. The Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts, established by Chicano artists and activists, is a rich art space serving young, teens, adults and elders. The local bilingual newspaper, El Tecolote, was founded here in 1970. The Mission's Galeria de la Raza, founded by local artists active in el Movimiento (the Chicano civil rights moment), is nationally recognized as one of the Bay Area's most well-respected arts organizations. And every late May, the city's annual Carnival festival and parade marches down Mission Street. Meant to mimic the festival in Rio de Janeiro, it is held in late May instead of the traditional late February to correspond with local weather. From the 1980's and on many Central American banks and companies have set up branches, offices, and even their regional headquarters on Mission Street. Due to the existing cultural attractions, relatively less expensive housing and commercial space, and the high density of restaurants and drinking establishments, the Mission has become a magnet for young people, including a clearly identifiable hipster crowd on Valencia Street. A lively independent arts community resulted and since the 1990s, the area has been home to the so-called Mission School art movement. Many studios, galleries, performance spaces, and public art projects call the Mission home, including the Clarion Alley Mural Project, Project Artaud, Southern Exposure, Art Explosion Studios, Theatre Rhinoceros, Artists' Television Access, and the oldest, alternative, not-for profit art space in the city of San Francisco, Intersection for the Arts. The Roxie Theater, the oldest continuously operating movie theater in San Francisco, is host to repertory and independent films as well as local film festivals. The neighborhood was dubbed "the New Bohemia" by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1995 (see link below). The cultural shift, often referred to as gentrification, has led to tension between traditional and new residents. Source: Wikipedia |