Mission Mission

Thanks, Ryan!

Earlier this month a wild pig terrorized some neighbors near Dolores Park. Well, we’re happy to report the pig, whose name is Janice btw, is safe and sound and nowhere near the Mission.

SF Gate reports:

A little piggy has been adopted after she got loose and sent Good Samaritans on a hog hunt through San Francisco’s Mission District this month.

Janice the wayward piglet’s new home will be with Al Wolf, director of Sonoma County Reptile Rescue in Sebastopol, San Francisco Animal Care and Control announced Friday.

“We’re gonna miss her,” said Deb Campbell, a spokeswoman for San Francisco Animal Care and Control, the shelter where Janice has been staying. “She’s so awesome. She’s so cute.”

The 10-pound porker led a group of people on a chase on Dolores Street on March 8, running under cars to evade her pursuers and prompting a police officer to block traffic in the area. Brother Damian of the Society of Saint Francis headed the pursuit.

“We had a three-block up-and-down and up-and-down chase,” he said the day of Janice’s capture.

Read on for more. (Thanks, Jess!)

Now please enjoy these other pig-related posts from over the years…

Nah, just kidding. It’s somebody’s lost pet we think, and the SFPD were on the scene (haha) and we think maybe it ended up with the SPCA?

(Thanks, Victoria!)

If you have any curiosity, at all, about the 1906 Earthquake (especially a morbid one), the Mission District is probably the most interesting place to look. Here are the top 3 reasons history nerds should take a closer look in the Mission.

1. LIQUEFACTION

Turns out that when you fill a marsh in with sand and debris, build lavish 3 & 4 story buildings on that sand and debris, then shake the ground for half a minute, those buildings pretty much sink right down into the ground.

Sinking buildings were built over what was once lake or marsh.

Guests on the 4th floor of the Valencia St. Hotel (top) simply stepped out of the window onto the street. Those sleeping on floors 1-3 weren’t so lucky. Most of the buildings destroyed by the earthquake were wiped out by fire. But this block of victorians on South Van Ness (below) survived 3 days of fires to become a tourist attraction.

South Van Ness between 18th & 19th.

2. FIRE LINE

The fires burned out in the Mission leaving a dramatic contrast between prosperity and homelessness (just like today!), thriving commerce and total annihilation (just like today!), Victorian architecture and Edwardian. Walk down 20th street from Dolores Park to Valencia paying attention to the architecture on the North side (post 1906) vs. the south side (pre 1906).

Much of the commercial hub in the Mission District survived. There weren’t many places left in the city that you could buy anything so thousands flocked to the Mission for goods and services in the days, weeks, and months after the fires.

3. DOLORES PARK

At the corner of 20th and Church remains one of the few fire hydrants in the city that was functioning after the city’s water mains had burst. This hydrant is credited for helping stop the fire for pushing forward and is painted gold on April 18th each year.

Dolores was also the temporary home for some of the quarter of a million refugees (more than half of the city’s population). A handful of these Army built earthquake shacks remain in the city.

Next week Mission Bicycle Company begins hosting 1906 Earthquake bike tours which include a theatrical simulation of the 46 seconds of the earthquake, 10 stops with before and after pictures, little known stories, a few surprises, lunch and a rental bike (more info).

Don’t forget to clean up after yourself!

[via Ariel Dovas on Instagram]

[via Dagga]

We saw the gorgeous photos already; now here’s a firsthand account:

(Thanks, Chris!)

And what a beautiful day for it!!!

[via Wild SF Walking Tours on Instagram]

But, look, it’s all done, and as soon as the wet weather subsides, it’ll open back up:

[via Hoodline]

Mission Local reports:

San Francisco police released a statement today seeking the public’s help in finding 32-year-old Matthew Wastrodowski, who was often seen in the Mission.

Wastrodowski was last seen, according to police, at 1 p.m. on December 7 at Clay and Walnut streets, and has not been seen since. He was a frequent visitor to Dolores Park and would go to the Phone Booth bar at 25th Street and South Van Ness Avenue.

He was described as approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing around 140 pounds, with blue eyes, blond hair, and a beard. Wastrodowski was last seen wearing black framed glasses, a red and black plaid shirt, a blue jacket, blue pants and blue shoes.

SFGate adds:

At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing black glasses, blue pants, blue shoes, a plaid shirt and blue jacket — but his jacket, shirt, wallet and keys were found later in the Presidio.

About a year ago, Wastrodowski was treated for depression-related illness and put on medication, according to his mother, Patricia Wastrodowski.

“In July, he got it into his head that he was feeling better and wasn’t going to take it anymore,” Patricia Wastrodowski said Wednesday. “The last two or three weeks, apparently he had become delusional.”

Call SFPD if you can help.