The Ocean View district has always been intrinsically tied to transportation. Started as a community built around a railway station, the Ocean View grew from a valley of dairy and vegetable farms to a vital urban neighborhood.
Alemany Boulevard, the Interstate 280 freeway, and BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) took the place of the old steam locomotives, as the Ocean View continues to host the paths from San Francisco to the Peninsula.
Originally an Italian-Irish-German neighborhood, the Ocean View was one of the few places in post-World War II San Francisco where African-American families could buy property. During redevelopment in the Western Addition/Fillmore in the 1960s and 70s, more African-American families moved to this western neighborhood. In the past five years, relatively lower real estate prices have brought in a new influx of Asians, Latinos and Caucasians, making Ocean View one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco.
--From the OMI Website
I think I am one of those "Caucasians" that they accuse of looking for cheap housing in the last paragraph. Seeing as my parents have been bugging me to put up some photos of my house, now might be as good a time as ever.
My house, right-side-up.
...Hill taken into account.
My street.
Muni stop where I wait every morning. The library is that yellow building across the street.
The hill looking up toward my house. Steeper than it looks here.
I became completely immersed in the book and read nearly the entire thing. The photographs were achingly lonely and made me want to steal a nice SLR and join the Urban Explorers pronto. It's so fascinating how nature reclaims these structures - left to their own devices like weeds. Plus, the idea of trespassing appeals to me. I remember when I was little reading in something like (but not necessarily) National Geographic, a story of the Salton Sea. It boomed as a lake resort in the '50s, but once it began to dry up, motels and gas stations were abandoned. The photographs gave me chills.
