Then & Now: Land Your Plane and Get Your Mail at Marina Green

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, November 9, 2012, by Alex Bevk

Public spaces change fast here in San Francisco, and for better or worse, it can be pretty crazy when you see what the City used to look like. Every week, we'll bring you Then & Now, a comparison of historic photos of the Bay Area with current views from the same perspective. Have a suggestion for a photo comparison that looks totally different (or shockingly the same)? Drop us a tip in the Curbed Inbox or leave a comment after the jump.

Quick note: See that vertical green bar in the middle of the then and now photos? You can move it horizontally to see the photos side by side.

[Then photo: SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY/ Now photo: Google Maps]

Marina Green, the ever popular place to walk your dog, take your Boot Camp class, and generally be seen looking beautiful, was once nothing more than a tidal marsh, until the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition transformed it. Before it was used for watching fireworks and flying kites, it was an airfield and the terminus of the transcontinental air mail route.

After the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, rubble from the damage was dumped here. The site was filled in for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and since it was situated in front of the fair's Transportation Palace, the "North Gardens" as it was called was used as an airfield for flight shows. By 1920 city the city used it as an aviation field & Air Mail terminal, launching transcontinental postal airplanes, and referring to it as Marina Field. By 1924 the Postal Service had moved on to another field, and the city considered establishing the area's airport on the site. But eventually the leased land south of the city (where the current airport is) and Marina Field was retired by 1930. The park is now operated by the Rec & Park Department, but a plaque commemorating the air mail service is on a pole along the jogging path.
· Montgomery Field / Marina Airfield [airfields-freeman]

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Marina Manse Sells For a Pinch Under Asking: The last time we checked in...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, March 2, 2012, by Sally Kuchar

The last time we checked in with 145 Magnolia was back in late January when it plopped back on the market with an asking price of $2,995,000. In 1998 the original structure was demolished and the 5-bed, 4.5-bath, 4-level contemporary Marina manse you see to the right was finished and ready for its close up by 2000. It sold that same year for $2.8M. We're happy to report that while it didn't get asking asking, it did manage to pull in $2,850,000. Congrats to all parties involved! [Redfin/Curbed]

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Turf Wars: With Rent Control for Yachtsmen in Peril, Greedy Sailors Push Back at New Marina Rules

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Thursday, February 23, 2012, by Philip Ferrato

Fleet Week, Marina Green [Photo Credit: Sergio Ruiz]

In a new twist on three classic San Francisco turf wars- arguing over parking, rent control, and park use, tenants at San Francisco's Marina are unhappy with a draft set of proposed rental terms for slip spaces. Officially called the San Francisco Small Craft Yacht Harbor, the marina has a total of 691 boat slips (aka "berths") and according to Park & Rec's Phil Ginsberg, there are almost 200 people on the waiting list for slips. Previously, boat owners have been able to transfer leases to their slip in the sale of their boats. Making the boat much more valuable. In a nautical version of the teardown, some boats are believed to have been purchased only to acquire the lease.

New rules will end that practice. Owners are crying foul, complaining that transfer of the berth figured into their calculations for the cost of boat ownership. Of course, no one puts quite that cynical a spin on it, but that's what it comes down to, especially with new occupancy requirements, size limits, and a new no-sublet rule.

You can peruse the new rules (there's a link at the Rec & Parks site) with comprehension made easier by by Rec & Parks having simply crossed through the old terms and inserting the new. As for the America's Cup, which seems to elicit yawns from anyone without a oar in it, the slips- privately traded or just sublet for the race- could prove a windfall for current tenants. Meanwhile, Rec & Parks is faced with having to find revenue for infrastructure and maintenance all over town, in the face of opposition from a diverse range of NIMBYs, ranging from Telegraph Hill to San Mateo County's subsidized golfers at Sharp Park. And now, add boat owners to the list.
· Proposed S.F. Harbor-Berth Rules Rock the Boaters [SF Gate]
· San Francisco Small Craft Yacht Harbor [Rec & Parks]
· Coit Tower, NIMBY Beacon to The World [Curbed SF]
· Supes Can't Override Mayor's Veto of Sharp Park Deal [Curbed SF]

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Art and Architecture: Performance art's leading lady, Marina Abramović,...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Thursday, February 16, 2012, by Rob Bear

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34th America's Cup Race: Marina Green: Leave It as You Found It, A-Cup

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, August 2, 2011, by Philip Ferrato

Curbed SF looks at the America's Cup DEIR and the race's impact on neighborhoods. Part of a series.

Not surprisingly, Marina Green turns out to be prime viewing for the America's Cup, and unlike it's neighbor to the west, Crissy Field, has no endangered species or Plover nesting grounds. And according to the DEIR, there are no plans for permanent changes, unlike some piers we know of. During the 2012 races, the big swath of lawn will be the site of the main America's Cup VIllage while Piers 27/29 get their makeovers. With the addition of a floating dock, the site will feature three big tents- one as big as 160x140 feet and 40 feet high- along with smaller tents for the usual suspects, food, toilets retail, and VIPs. Plus maybe a big-screen monitor or two and bleacher seating for 2000 paid spectators.

During the events, it appears that any enhanced mass transit will move along Lombard Street going west and east along Greenwich Street, and if you plan on driving, it's expected that all cars will be banned north of Lombard except for residents, members of the St. Francis and Golden Gate Yacht Clubs, and event-related vehicles. The DEIR is silent on access or parking for boat owners in the East and West Marinas who are not members of the two yacht clubs. And it looks like the entire area will be fenced. The plan shows three "entry gates" which are missing from the rendering, and there's no word on how long the Green's closure will be for construction, the races, and break-down. While the DEIR judges Marina Green to be a high-impact area, because the installations are temporary, there's no need for any mitigation. The DEIR does promise, however, that the lights will go off at 11PM.
· America's Cup DEIR Coverage [Curbed SF Archives]

Images: Aecom via the San Francisco Planning Department

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Under 500K Club: Problematic Marina Studio Is Packed Full of Charm

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, May 20, 2011, by Sally Kuchar The difficult news: it's a short sale. Make sure your agents has expertise in negotiating a short sale if you're interested in this place. Moving on… it's a studio apartment in the Marina. It's been on and off the market and for almost two years, and we're quite smitten by it. Look at that pink bathroom! It's adorable. And at $410,000, it's the newest member of our Under 500K Club. At 547 square feet, we think it's fair to call this studio a large unit or perhaps even a junior one bedroom. Hard to say without floorplan porn. There's 1-car parking in the garage and monthly HOA dues are $400.
· 2701 Van Ness #405 [Redfin]

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