South Park, the real park.

When I first arrived in the SOMA scene in 2000 this was still a pretty disreputable area that had started out with gold rush bravado, gone along and then way down and was climbing back up. Laid out between 2nd, 3rd and Bryant and Brannan streets in 1857 it's now a techy millionare dream with houses going for prices above the clouds. I can't really include any links here because they will all be broken so soon. One ad I found described "South Park, a lush green park encircled with interior designer showrooms, boutique shops, notable restaurants and cafes." Perhaps the usual realtor hyperbole but certainly more promising than just a few years ago.

Originally developed in 1865 as an American version of the English crescent it briefly flourished as desirable real estate but industrial development and the influx of foreigners and working people (for God's sake) doomed the location to tenement housing and factories.

George Gordon, the original developer of South Park was in Philadelphia when Brannan declared "Gold, gold" but soon came out west with two groups of adventurers, one by ship and a second land party to prepare the way to Eldorado. They never really managed to meet up as promised since things had changed to much while they were on the way over.

Gordon died in 1869 and is celebrated in one of the curiously dense obituaries typical of the time. One cause of death being "excessive labor".

These days besides the park which is pretty well kept despite the amazingly high dog population there are several notable restaurants and meeting places. I have no actual knowledge of these only that I walk by them everday. There's:

• California Grilled Cheese Kitchen - which you can look up since I refuse to link to yelp and similar. I guess that's what the sell, I do know that the guy who hoses off the sidewalk every morning is not that considerate of walkers like me.
• 21st Amendment - which I will link to despite annoying flash page. Real beer actually made here, I've watched the grain trucks blow their load up to the bins on the roof in the early morning. Right across 2nd street from the above.
• South Park Cafe - supposed to be good, it's right at the actual park.

Of these three above web sites all are just wrong in so many ways. But that's what this area is, a web driven economy that thinks twitter etc is the new gold rush. But maybe they're right, Twitter's main office it right near here too. Working to destroy the world at just a 140 characters at a time.