A citywide surge in trendy restaurants. Runaway rental and housing rates. Construction cranes dotting the skyline. The Twitter-ization of blighted Mid-Market. Conversions of old buildings to new market-rate housing, even in the stubbornly seedy Tenderloin.
If we hadn’t been told over and over that it is an evil word that should never be uttered in San Francisco, even cynics would say it is the g-word: Gentrification.
And it’s happening with surprisingly little grumbling.
What does this mean for Pier 70 and the Bethlehem Shipyard Museum? Take Dogpatch, an obscure right turn off Third Street south of AT&T Park. Until recently, it was best known as home to the clubhouse of the San Francisco chapter of Hells Angels. But now a resident confidently walks past the Dogpatch Saloon on his way to work in the budding neighborhood. And the Museum is currently negotiating with the new owners and the interior designer to include artifacts from Bethlehem Steel in that renovated bar.
Read more about this trend of making sure we don’t kill that quirkiness and uniqueness.