The Excelsior District in San Francisco is the area along Mission Street, south of Interstate 280 and north of Geneva Avenue. Its central point is arguably the intersection of Mission Street and Ocean Avenue. The area is characterized by the names of the streets, many of which are named for European countries and cities. Excelsior street itself was only named during the Second World War, replacing Japan. (a second Street, Germany was also booted off the map). In its earlier days the Excelsior was largely Italian, Irish, and Swiss, and today it is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco, with many Asians, Latinos, and other groups settling there in recent decades. Famous Excelsiorites include surrealist poet Philip Lamantia, Grateful Dead singer/guitarist Jerry Garcia, Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame shortstop Joe Cronin, DJ Qbert, and San Francisco mayoral and supervisoral assassin Dan White. A movie was once filmed there with Julie Andrews. The neighborhood is represented by Geraldo Sandoval. Central to the neighborhood was the Granada Theater at the intersection of Mission and Ocean, which opened in 1922 as the Excelsior. In 1931 when the downtown Granada Theater changed its name to the Paramount, the name and a vertical "Granada" sign were deployed in the Excelsior. The theater closed in 1982.
External links
- http://www.jerryday.org
- Excelsior District Improvement Association
- Excelsior Action Group
- http://www.excelsiorfestival.org
- The inactive EDIA website
