Gazetteer Entry, E-Squared

The Gazetteer has been overstimulated for the last few months. The city is turning out to be bigger, badder and larger than I ever imagined. More raw data has been thrown at my senses than my pineal gland can possibly be expected to process. Like a mammalian brain, the City's folds and twists increase its surface area, until the relatively small area it occupies turns it into an endless and unknowable universe.

The neighborhood of E-Squared, as I'll call it for now, is not a tourist destination. While it technically lies within City Limits, it has very little to recommend it. In fact, its Wiki page is very short. For the last month, I held my breath and shut my eyes when I passed through it. The auto painting shop, the vomit on the street, the intense smell of urine all combined to turn my senses off to further investigations. I don't enjoy writing whole places off, so last week I decided to breathe deep and look.

What She Saw


the less said about a certain school of muralists, the better

This mural graces the Northeast corner of Mission and Excelsior. I am starting here because its the loudest thing on the neighborhood's namesake corner. According to the wiki article, this street used to be called "Japan", and there also was a "Germany", and during the last World War, Japan and Germany fell out of favor, and consequently, lost their streets. You can still transverse Brazil, Persia, Lisbon, Madrid and a number of other countries and capitals. By far, the most charming part of this neighborhood is that I can call Dutch and say something like this, "Hey, the keys are locked in the car and its on the corner of Moscow and Russia." I wonder how the Russia and Moscow streets survived the Cold War.


Spelling, not a strong soot

This sign arches over a private yard. I don't know if the misspelling is intentional or not.



The same yard. I don't know who lives here, or what the story is. It looks like it belongs to an artist. I love the title, though. Do the learned need shelter? What will they be sheltered from?

Free The Victorians



E-Squared lacks the stereotypical City Victorians, but I found a wee Painted Lady in the Shelter. The Great E didn't disappoint, as soon as I got over my bad attitude, interesting things started popping up. The architecture of the E will have to wait for future entries, until then, I'll be holding my breath and stepping carefully.