The apparently illegal demolition of two of San Francisco’s few remaining earthquake shacks has been stopped by city building inspectors, but not before they had been reduced to the roofs and some framing.
San Francisco, CA
‘Worst fears’: Historic S.F. earthquake shacks destroyed without permits, neighbors say
The roofs and frames are all that remain of a pair of 1906 earthquake refugee shacks at 369 Valley St. in Noe Valley after the rest of the structures was demolished last week. The shacks were joined to form one cottage.
The historic structures, at 369 Valley St. on a steep block of Noe Valley, have been at the root of preservationist and neighborhood fights against a residential developer for more than 10 years. According to neighbors, a building permit had been issued that required preservation of the two shacks, which were joined to form one cottage, while a single-family home behind the two shacks was approved for demolition and reconstruction. But that permit allowed only for the shacks to be lifted and moved forward on the lot, not the near-total demolition that happened before the project was red-tagged late last week.
Neighborhood preservationists who are organized enough to have a website called savetheshack.net are demanding that the shacks be reassembled using as much of the historic debris that was left on-site in the demolition as possible.
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“After a 10-year struggle to preserve the cottages, we now see that our worst fears may be coming true, that the cottages may be destroyed,” said Marc Norton, a retired hotel worker who has lived across the fence from the shacks since 1984. “We always feared that the developer would destroy the cottages in the process of development and act like it was an accident. It looks like that is what happened.”
Norton said the original developer, John Schrader, who saw the project through to the permit stage, recently sold it. The new owner is not adhering to the agreed upon plan to conserve the shacks as part of the development. The violation notice posted by the Department of Building Inspection states that work is being done “that is beyond the scope of the permit.”
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After the stoppage, Norton emailed Kelly Wong, enforcement officer for the planning staff, stating that “the only proper course of action is a thorough reassembly of the historic resource. Without such reassembly there is an environmental impact that cannot be mitigated.”

A 1906 earthquake shack in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, shown in 2023, was reduced to a roof and frame last week.

The roofs and frames are all that remain of a pair of 1906 earthquake refugee shacks at 369 Valley St. in Noe Valley after the rest of the structures was demolished last week. The shacks were joined to form one cottage.
The two shacks in question have been empty since the property sold in 2014. They are set back to the rear of the lot and pinned between taller residential buildings on both sides. The building at the back of the lot was unpermitted construction and was already demolished by the developer, Benjamin Steiner. From Norton’s property, he can see the weather vane of a rooster, though that is about all that is still standing.
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But the rubble from demolition is just as important.
“The debris is essential to any reassembly of the cottages,” Norton said. “We are demanding that the planning staff order the developer to leave everything as is, until a plan can be made to reassemble the cottages, under the supervision of a qualified preservation architect.”
On Friday, a next door neighbor sent photos to planning staff, complaining that the shacks were being destroyed. Agents from the Department of Building Inspection were sent out to stop work.
The developer, Benjamin Steiner, did not respond to requests for comment Sunday. San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the district, also did not respond to a request for comment.
Jane Cryan, a preservationist known as the Cottage Lady, estimates there are now fewer than 20 earthquake cottages left in the city out of 5,610 built in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire. She took a census in 1983 and has been fighting for the dwindling supply, even after she was priced out of the city and living in Oshkosh, Wis.
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Cryan said the cottage at 369 Valley was made up of two shacks, one 10 by 14 feet and the other 14 by 18, and they were attached, as was the norm. Cryan, who has written two books on the shacks, said they were most likely hauled out of their original quake refugee camps in Precita Park and dragged up onto the 369 Valley by their owner, as was allowed once the camps closed in 1908. The third structure in the compound was built to mimic an earthquake shack but was not historic, and that’s why it was allowed to be demolished previously, she said.
“A whole lot of people became homeowners because of these shacks being built with the idea that people who paid $2 installments on them could take them to a lot and join two or three of them together and make a cottage out of them,” said Cryan, who lived in a cluster of three shacks in the Sunset District and was able to get them declared a city landmark. Cryan said a survey mounted in 2015 identified only 43 quake cottages in the city, with two sets in Noe Valley.
“Earhquake shacks were the greatest act of charity the world has ever known, and they’ve been mowed down by developers,” she said. “They are very endangered, and it is a terrible thing the city allowed to happen in Noe Valley.”
San Francisco, CA
Where the wild things dine: Inside Wolfsbane, San Francisco’s most exciting new restaurant
SAN FRANCISCO — There’s a new kind of magic happening in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood; the kind that arrives quietly, in nine courses, with a glass of rare Kentucky bourbon in hand.
Wolfsbane, named for the ancient plant of folklore said to keep werewolves at bay, opened its doors last Fall as a collaboration between Tommy Halvorson, a Kentucky-born chef and catering veteran, and the husband-and-wife duo behind the beloved Michelin-starred Lord Stanley, chef Rupert Blease and general manager Carrie Blease. Together, the three have transformed the former space of Serpentine, Halvorson’s previous restaurant, into one of the city’s most anticipated fine dining destinations.
The idea, Halvorson says, had been brewing for years. “I always kind of had in the back of my mind, I was like, we should have Rupert and Carrie,” he recalls. The opportunity came last year as both camps closed up their respective restaurants. “I texted Rupert and I was like, dude, it’s time. We need to open a restaurant.” Once the decision was made, there was no looking back. “We pretty much stepped on the gas and started rolling.”
The Bleases are no strangers to commitment. Carrie first met Rupert while interning at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in England, a storied Michelin two-starred property helmed by Raymond Blanc. “We worked at a lot of places together, probably more so than apart,” Carrie says. After years in London, New York, and the English countryside, San Francisco became home and eventually their life’s work. Lord Stanley ran for a decade before the couple channeled everything into this new chapter.
The nine-course tasting menu is rooted in Northern California’s rich bounty. “We go to the farmer’s markets several times a week,” says Rupert. “We buy directly from farms. We use all of the local produce that we can possibly find when it’s in season.” Standouts include an edible sunflower fashioned from artichoke heart with toasted seed butter and poppy seeds, and the return of favorites from Lord Stanley, including its buttermilk cabbage dish and delicate onion petal appetizer.
But for all its refinement, Wolfsbane is deliberately unpretentious. “We don’t want to create a space where people feel uncomfortable because they think they’re going to be looked down upon because they don’t know which fork to use,” Halvorson says. The bar program reflects his personal obsession; rare bourbons sourced over years, including a barrel named after his family’s Kentucky farm. “When you get into really well-made bourbon, really high-proof, and it doesn’t feel like they are, that’s when you know you’ve got something special there.” What Halvorson says about bourbon also sums up Wolfsbane-high-concept dining that doesn’t feel like it, making for a special and unforgettable experience.
For more information, visit https://wolfsbanesf.com/
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San Francisco, CA
Daniel Lurie sparked confrontation that injured security team: Police report
Mayor Daniel Lurie sparked the altercation that led to a fight and injuries to two San Francisco police officers in his security detail, according to a police report of the incident obtained by the Standard.
On Thursday evening at 5:38 p.m., Lurie, an aide, and two members of his security team were driving north on Larkin St. when they spotted several people sitting on the sidewalk on the corner of Cedar St., an alley in the Tenderloin.
The mayor ordered the driver of his Rivian SUV, Officer Nicholas Boccio, to pull over. Lurie hopped out of the SUV. His second bodyguard, Officer Joel Aguayo, followed.
What happened next would result in two injured officers, a gun aimed at a man’s chest, two arrests, and renewed questions about the public safety under the mayor’s leadership.
While footage of the incident after the officer pushed one of the men has been published by Mission Local (opens in new tab), details about what led up to the fight have not been previously revealed.
After leaving the safety of his vehicle, the mayor took matters into his own hands, the report says. Lurie attempted to get the group hanging out on Cedar St. to move, but one of the men refused.
“On whose behalf do I need to move?” asked one of the men named Tony Phillips, according to Aguayo’s statement.
According to the narrative of the combined witness statements, “Mayor Lurie addressed the group and requested that they move along, as they were standing in the roadway. Phillips became immediately argumentative, stating that he did not have to move.”
Lurie told Phillips that Aguayo was an SFPD officer. Aguayo repeated that and requested that Phillips comply and move out of the way. Phillips again refused.
The police report said the mayor and Aguayo asked Phillips to move at least four times, at one point saying they would call uniformed officers to remove him.
Still, Phillips refused, as the mayor paced a few feet away from Aguayo, video of the incident shows.
While most of the group of four men appeared to stay put, according to footage of the incident, Phillips stepped toward Aguayo, who was standing in front of the mayor.
According to the police report, Phillips then said, “I’ll Bruce Lee kick your ass.” Aguayo then swiftly pushed Phillips to the ground. Phillips got up and was pushed again before rushing the officer. The pair grappled and then fell to the ground, and Aguayo struck the back of his head.
During the fight, Lurie ran to the parked SUV to tell the driver, Boccio, that his partner was in trouble. When Boccio rushed to help, another man in the alley — Abraham Simon — grabbed the officer and reached for his waistband. Simon backed off after Boccio pulled his service weapon.
Boccio then helped Aguayo but was unable to restrain Phillips. It wasn’t until several uniformed officers arrived that Phillips was taken into custody.
Aguayo, who suffered cuts to the back of his head, facial bruising, and a back injury, said to investigating officers that he had to use force on Phillips because he was threatened verbally and got within inches of him. The officer also said he tried to de-escalate to no avail. Boccio’s hand was cut during the confrontation.
No body camera footage was captured of the incident because officers in the mayor’s security detail did not wear them.
The incident, about which Lurie has made brief statements, has raised questions about whether Lurie’s freewheeling approach to walking the streets could put him into danger. The mayor told reporters last week after the incident that he asked the people to move because he was concerned for their safety and that of other pedestrians and drivers.
“I’m out here walking the streets of San Francisco like I do every day. I believe that you can’t solve what you can’t see,” Lurie said in an Instagram post Monday, seemingly doubling down on his approach to interacting with San Franciscans.
When asked for comment, the mayor’s spokesman Charles Lutvak referred to the Instagram post and a story Lurie shared in his State of the City speech about approaching a man who appeared to be an addict, who told the mayor to mind his own business.
The mayor’s reply: “You are my business.”
Lurie’s own account of the incident was not included in the police report, although the document says he later would be contacted for a statement.
Phillips is set to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of threatening an officer, inflicting great bodily injury, and contempt of court for violating a stay-away order from the alley. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office will request that Phillips remain in custody as he is a threat to the public.
Simon is also set to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of interfering with an officer.
The incident is also being investigated by the Department of Police Accountability, according to The Chronicle.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco man charged with attempted murder in unprovoked daylight Chinatown stabbing
SAN FRANCISCO – A 37-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in what authorities described as an unprovoked, broad daylight stabbing in San Francisco’s Chinatown last week.
Suspect charged
What we know:
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that Jian Feng Huang was charged with attempted murder in connection with the attack at Stockton and Sacramento streets.
Huang, of San Francisco, will be arraigned Tuesday. He remains in custody.
Jenkins described the incident as a “horrific attack of an innocent man waiting to cross the street.” She said there is no indication that the victim and the suspect knew each other.
Surveillance video captures attack
Dig deeper:
Surveillance footage circulating online shows a man in a black hoodie walking down Stockton Street before suddenly lunging at a man who was waiting at a corner to cross the street.
The attacker stabbed the victim in the back and then walked away, according to the video. The victim is seen collapsing to the ground.
The attack occurred shortly after 1 p.m.
Bystanders rush to help
Local perspective:
Bystanders and business owners rushed to help the wounded man.
“We bring the ice and the towels to stop bleeding,” said Rawnie Chan, manager of Flags International Services. Chan said the victim was speaking in Cantonese and said he was in pain.
One business owner said she grabbed frozen dumplings from an office refrigerator to place on the wound because there were no restaurants nearby with ice available.
Victim recovering
Jenkins said the victim is recovering at a local hospital. Authorities previously said the victim suffered life-threatening injuries and has undergone at least two surgeries.
The Source: This story was written based on information from San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
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