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Urban Design Observations, San Francisco Edition: Looking Down
By Rain Noe - Mar 26, 2018
Enter a caption (optional)I stayed in the Bernal Heights area and didn't have much time to explore, but observed what I could. I was surprised to see that the municipal government goes to the added expense of having the street names etched into the sidewalk at the intersections.
Enter a caption (optional)I don't keep my head down much in New York, as you'd do better keeping your eyes up to see what (or more pointedly, who, and if they're a threat) is around you. But looking down I also spotted this sign asking you not to dump things down the sewer drains.
Enter a caption (optional)I like that they drew a little crab on it, reminding you that there are living creatures on the outlet end of this drain. It's just a simple outline of a crab but I appreciate the message they're trying to get across.
Enter a caption (optional)Of course, if you look down you also see some things that are gross.
Enter a caption (optional)If I had to guess, here lives a couple, or perhaps roommates, where one of them smokes and the other can't stand the smell, so it must be done out-of-doors.
Enter a caption (optional)And sometimes when you look down, you see things that are sad.
Enter a caption (optional)It was a dead hummingbird. I'd hoped it was sleeping, but nope, it was dead.
Enter a caption (optional)
Rain Noe
Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.
6 Comments
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I live in SF, and yes all of our street names are featured on the sidewalk at each intersection. Supposedly this was implemented after the 1906 earthquake & subsequent fire, so emergency services could find their way around a neighborhood that had burned to the ground. The letters are not etched in, they are cast in with big type blocks when the concrete is poured. The names are cast from individual letterforms, which has led to quite a few typos...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/throgers/sets/72157622211751522/
The streetnames are helpful from a design standpoint, as people tend to maintain a ~15 degree downward gaze when we walk, the names on the sidewalk allow us to navigate without looking up. They are also handy for navigation when someone has stolen the streetsign above as a souvenir, which is common at famous intersections like the one at Height & Ashbury sts.!Report as spam-
Ah interesting! Now it makes sense given the earthquake/fire rationale. I also love the thought that these concrete crews are driving around with a box full of letters.
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sometimes the guys stamping the street names have a little fun to see if you're still paying attention
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Ha, do you reckon they did it on purpose, or just had long days?
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I loved the street stampings when i moved to SF. It was such an obvious solution and really helped mea climate to the city faster without looking like a tourist looking for street signs or always looking at my phone.
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Love the light and shade used in the images.
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Continued Reading
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By Rain Noe - Mar 23, 2018
Urban Design Observations, San Francisco Edition: Meter Windows
Once a month the Con Edison man comes to my building, buzzes every apartment, and enters each in turn to read the gas meters. It's a pain in the neck because I have to leash my intruder-unfriendly dogs and hold them at bay while he enters. In the San Francisco
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By Rain Noe - Mar 22, 2018
Urban Design Observations, San Francisco Edition: Bizarre Public Trash Can
One of you west coasters needs to explain how this thing works
I'm from New York, so everything in San Francisco looks bizarre to me: The hills, the architecture, the parking meters, the street furniture. A good case in point is this public trash can, spotted on Cortland Street in the Bernal Heights area:
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By Rain Noe - Mar 06, 2018
Today's Urban Design Observation: Is This Screw-Up the Designer's Fault or the Contractor's Fault?
When people have aesthetic visions and no follow-through
In the last post we looked at the accidental street furniture that Siamese connections make. Buildings that have them are required to provide signage labeling them. These signs are usually simple and workmanlike. But the designer of this ground-floor business somehow convinced the client to go for more, and spend
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By Rain Noe - Mar 05, 2018
Today's Urban Design Observation: What Exactly are These Pieces of Street Furniture, and How Do They Help Firefighters?
In the city you've seen these convenient two-headed pieces of street furniture sticking out of buildings or the sidewalk, and perhaps even sat on them from time to time: So what exactly are they? It depends, at least in New York City, on what color they're painted. You'll see them
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