Civic Center Stories was developed through the San Francisco Planning Department’s Summer 2016 Internship Program and attempts to bring a new dimension to the department’s community engagement process through a more personalized, one-on-one approach. By collecting people’s stories and taking their photos, the aim is to bring a human face to the individuals who spend time in the “Heart of the City” and develop a better understanding of the public’s sentiments, criticisms, and relation to Civic Center. Furthermore, it aims to get a better sense of the challenges and opportunities for the Civic Center Public Realm Plan.
These stories have been transcribed directly from interviews recorded with the consent of each storyteller. They have been edited for brevity. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the City and County of San Francisco or the San Francisco Planning Department.
Cynthia
“I’m always passing through but lately I’ve been stopping here like a couple times a week. I go to the library every now and then; I come to get some sunshine.”Steve
“I’m happy there are public spaces, I’m happy for this space. I would say more seating, make it more inviting for people to spend a little bit of time to eat your lunch or just relax and read.”LanAhn
“Here you see all walks of life. I always see people that I’m running into that I’ve known. San Francisco is very small and you’re more than likely to bump into someone you know.”Michelle
“I really appreciate being able to be here and be myself. It’s nice to be able to do that here. I would say that out of all the places that I’ve been, San Francisco and right here has been the…Terrance
“A guy asked me the other day, “How much does it cost to do this? To walk on the Quiet Walk to do this?,” and I told him, “All this gonna cost you is a smile,” and he smiled and…Eva
“It’s great because there’s a lot of stuff going on and there’s a lot of potential but I guess it just doesn’t feel completely comfortable.”Helder
“It gives me a place to feel like a part of something. Like you come and that’s your space and you get to know the people that are around you. It makes you feel like you belong somewhere, not just…Midge
“If you’re going there regularly, you get to know the people and they become a part of your extended community and sometimes it extends beyond just meeting there and you become friends with that person.”Christine
“I’m 73 years old. I need to sit down! Park benches seem to be disappearing everywhere.”Tim
“I think the more you can focus on making public spaces usable, then they would be more appreciated and the more you restrict public spaces, then it doesn’t serve anyone’s interest.”Diane
“I take him to the children’s library at least once or twice a month because there’s a lot of children in there and they have story time.”Marvin
“I’m making good progress on my book and so this is allowing me to just keep going forward with it and I think that’s something really positive for me.”Omar
“It has most of the elements that make it really great plaza: the beautiful architecture, the history, access to a lot of different places, it’s centrally located.”Annie
“This is the heart of San Francisco. This is where you would expect you would be taken care of in San Francisco.”Avery
“I still come here because it brings me back. It reminds me where I came from.”Christy
“I like when the Farmer’s Market is here. It’s very happy.”Juanita
“It’s wonderful people here. It’s people that I draw strength from. I see people that’s utilizing their time wisely going to and from work, trying to become something. That’s my role model, that’s my strength.”Joon
“I know a majority of people here. I feel comfortable here ‘cause there’s all kinds of people here. There’s low class, high class, homeless people. I don’t get bothered by nobody.”Abraham
“I spend a lot of time out here just people watching, getting in random conversations with people that just want to stop and talk. I’m an open friendly kind of person. I like people.” Lynn
“Let’s make our own history, shall we?”Randy
“If I hit the lotto, I would still want to do this. Because it does something for me on the inside.”The Leferinks
“I think if you visit a city in Holland, you will remember the atmosphere more than the buildings and what you can see.”Youth Art Exchange
“Our program is the Youth Art Exchange of Architecture and this project has been designed throughout the school year by our youth driven architecture firm.”Dean
“Anything that kind of sharpens people’s awareness of reality and question the way they do things and listen to things I think is good.”Ingrid
“This is one of the areas that gets more quiet on the weekends. Because it’s so many of the government buildings. There’s not like a coffee shop or anything over here if we wanted to grab something or get my…Alan
“It’s changing with the high tech. I’m not blaming anybody; it’s just the way the times are.”Latisha
“I like this place right here, because I get to stretch out. When I get to stretch out here, it relieves my soul.”Chad, Patrick, and Erte
“It’s a pretty comfortable spot compared to other areas where you’re likely to have to engage somebody.”Carlos
“Some people...get out from the bus and take a few pictures and continue looking around. They like more the bridge than this area.”Violet
"I didn’t know that certain parts of San Francisco which are supposed to be the beautiful parts of the City had so much hidden hurt.”Jonathan (Jo Jo)
“San Francisco is nice. There are resources. If you want to use them. If you know how to use them.”Bryan
“I would like to stay here; I just can’t manage my drug habits here. I’ve been here multiple times and every time I always end up using too much hard drugs and it’s not good for me to be here.”Linda
"I like to people watch and evaluate and think. I always taught my kids evaluation is the key to success. When you evaluate certain things, you learn from your mistakes."Andre & Family
"I wouldn’t have thought that we would spend so much time here!”Naseem
“I just graduated.”Yuchen
“I like something that’s more fun and can make people think about something.”Malik
"You have access to the world.”Marvin
“I expected a cosmopolitan society. I didn’t know there were homeless here and no place for them or me to stay. I had visited California over the years three times but that’s as a tourist and you don’t really see…Siva
“This area was almost unrecognizable when Twitter came in.”Ethel Jean
“Any kind of job is better than no job, so I do the best I can.”L.M.
“There was a real opportunity in San Francisco to do radical design rather than radical displacement. That’s the opportunity that’s lost.”Mario
“That essence of being a human is gone.”Rosa
“Families used to come, now you find those people with drugs. They used to come from San Jose and pick up a box and share with the neighbor. They used to [say], ‘Ok, I go to the market this week…Jim
"It’s a big deal! So having it here—it’s not going away—we should try to make something of it in the spirit of the past but make it useful for the present and the future."Manny
"You don’t want a band-aid. You want an actual fix.”Regina
"I’ve changed my mind, so I’m trying to change my life around."Don
"That’s the challenge! It’s to not let one activity preclude the others. Let them all exist in their way.”Mabo
"They should call this place ‘Harmony’ because you’re never off cue. Everybody can play together.”Ben
"People are people as far as I’m concerned…It really is about love more than hate. We have a short period of life in this life to live. So we need to make the best of it and help one another…Ira
"I think anything is possible [in Civic Center] if you conceive it. But you have to have the energy to go and talk to different people. This person might say ‘No.’ Damn them! You trying to do something? Go to…Martha
“I’ve seen homelessness firsthand. I lived out on these streets when I was thirteen for a whole year. I ran away from home. I lived out here. And it’s rough."Joseph
“I lived in Mission Bay during 1976 and it was all deserted buildings and empty lots. Now it’s one of the top places. Incidentally I live in Mission Bay now and I have a one bedroom apartment that is for…Maria
“San Francisco is not like the rest of the United States. You just cross the bridge or go two miles out, and it’s a whole different world.”
