Closed Stores in San Francisco Video.

Remy

Remy

Well-known Member
Location
California, USA
This popped up in my feed. I can't remember the last time I was in San Francisco. Probably 2005 or 2007. He was walking from Market Street downtown up toward Union Square and the St Francis Hotel. Where President Ford was shot at. I wish he had shown Macy's.

I've certainly walked those streets more than once. (I've never lived in San Francisco, I'm originally from Santa Cruz to the south) The empty store fronts is not what I remember. I liked this guy's presentation.

 

The old cable car turnaround. I have been there a few times. It's a shame. At one time it was such a beautiful city. We stayed up on Nob Hill in the Fairmont. Beautiful views of the Bay area.
 
Been There said:
The old cable car turnaround. I have been there a few times. It's a shame. At one time it was such a beautiful city. We stayed up on Nob Hill in the Fairmont. Beautiful views of the Bay area.
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Oh wow, I can imagine the views. I think it was 1990 I walked from downtown to the bay. No one bothered me. I took the cable car back.

I really got a feel of being in San Francisco from this video. But a very changed place.
 

interesting video
although i doubt as he asserts it is all e- commerce thing ....
many store have fled areas or other cities for crime and issues that kept the customers away. the same type of thing has happened in other cities with similar problems .... In Seattle for example they closed not one but 2 of Starbucks flagship locations downtown ....... worried about the safety of staff and customers.
 
Well, people with cars moved to the suburbs in the 60s- 90s. If you don't have customers, stores aren't that profitable, and go out of business. In most cities after dark, there's nobody around. We have to re-people our cities.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Well, people with cars moved to the suburbs in the 60s- 90s. If you don't have customers, stores aren't that profitable, and go out of business. In most cities after dark, there's nobody around. We have to re-people our cities.
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There are still people who live in the cities. I remember in the 80's just up from Market Street, the sweetest little bakery. You could hardly get a table, usually had to share with other patrons, they were so busy. It sure isn't there now.

Last time I was in SF I went to a show. Took a cab there from my hotel on Union Square. Afterward there were a lot of people walking so I decided to do so. Thought better of it after a time. I kind of walked next to others and if they turned down a street, I walked up to the next couple or group. Made it back OK. Wouldn't do that again. Sure got a drink at the bar on return.

But there were people sleeping in doorways, cops with people stopped including a guy sitting on the ground handcuffed and a rat ran right in front of me.
 
Alligatorob said:
Thanks @Remy I had no idea. Lived in the Bay Area for a couple of years in the 80s, but have not be
en back to San Francisco in probably 20 years, sure not the way I remember it.

What do you think is the future of these shops? It was once some of the highest priced space anywhere...
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It's a really good question I sure don't have the answer for. I know covid, crime and yes e-commerce as this man mentioned have all had a hand it this. But what a change in less than 20 years. Who wants to move their business in there? Probably not many.

I know he mentioned that one store may have been a Ross. I don't think it was. I went to the Ross, I believe it was on Market Street and two stories!
 
Jeni said:
interesting video
although i doubt as he asserts it is all e- commerce thing ....
many store have fled areas or other cities for crime and issues that kept the customers away. the same type of thing has happened in other cities with similar problems .... In Seattle for example they closed not one but 2 of Starbucks flagship locations downtown ....... worried about the safety of staff and customers.
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I agree, I watched the video twice and e-commerce was all he mentioned. I forgot to mention that in my post. He seems to really have it out for that. Amazon van "victory lap." Well at least he had a sense of humor.

I was in Seattle in the mid 80's. Can't even imagine the changes there. A Whole Foods also closed in SF due to staff and customer safety concerns. They are brushing it off by saying it was a bad location or other such BS. It's getting to everything being a bad location.

Too bad about the Starbucks. They started there right?
 
Remy said:
I agree, I watched the video twice and e-commerce was all he mentioned. I forgot to mention that in my post. He seems to really have it out for that. Amazon van "victory lap." Well at least he had a sense of humor.

I was in Seattle in the mid 80's. Can't even imagine the changes there. A Whole Foods also closed in SF due to staff and customer safety concerns. They are brushing it off by saying it was a bad location or other such BS. It's getting to everything being a bad location.

Too bad about the Starbucks. They started there right?
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Yes they did start there and one of the big ones they closed was i believe their very first location ..... but losing customers not wanting to walk into there .... ODs or people taking up residence in bathrooms...... finally took its toll.

It is happening all over the country......... Even Walmarts have pulled out of many areas Port too all using the "Under performing" or safety concerns .......but most all people KNOW what is the real driver of this.
I just laugh when people say things like ... "it is not about crime/ homeless they said it was under performing" ......... those people need to catch a clue. Even saw an article on MSN saying that "walmart is big enough to absorb the losses of theft and vandalism" and it is greed to pull out of areas..... come on!

Many store fronts i have read in downtown in many big cities have lost stores of all kinds ....restaurants as well.......
restaurants left Seattle ............. but RE-opened in cities in surrounding areas ........ i mean come on it is clear.
 
I also enjoyed Fisherman's Wharf and the sealions, along with the Blue and White boats out to Alcatraz. I did Ghirardelli Square and had one of their super brownie chocolate sundaes and the clam chowder in the bread bowl. But, going downtown on the cable car was the best time, especially, like just before noon. We would also go over to Oakland if one of our ships were in port. SF was just a great all around place to chill for a long weekend.

When the Embarcadero was open, we went to a nightclub there and I met a woman that invited me home with her. She said it would save me on a hotel bill. I told her, Darling, the government pays my tab, but thanks for the offer. I really thought about it, but I know a lot of men that got taken because the lady wasn't a lady, but a married woman just looking for some fun and for a Marine, that is spelled B-U-S-T-E-D. That alone isn't so bad, but then the husband calls you, if he knows where you are staying and he always does, even if it's his house and tells you that for $500 or more, he won't call your CO. When you are an Officer, you have an awful lot to lose besides your you-know-what.
 
@Been There I've never done the Alcatraz tour. I did do the bay boat tour. It used to be people of all kinds, great people watching, fun and kitschy things to do. Now I'd be scared and have no desire to go to SF. And yes, the sealions. ♥️
 
San Francisco has been in the news for a long time over its problems with crime and public safety. The video was interesting. It's going to be a ghost town if the exodus continues. There's another announcement in the news today.

Cinemark movie theater closing in downtown SF, days after Westfield departure news​

Downtown moviegoers will lose one of their only theater options this week. Cinemark announced the closure of its theater in Westfield San Francisco Centre this week via an email to its customers. The final movies are scheduled for Thursday.

This news comes just days after Westfield, the mall’s operator, and its partner Brookfield Properties, said it will turn over the property to its lender, blaming diminishing sales and low foot traffic at its stores.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/cinemark-closing-san-francisco-centre-18152215.php
 
Sad indeed, and didn't need to reach this point. If this continues, it will cause an accelerating chain reaction of people leaving with the huge numbers of SF government employees left holding an empty bag without adequate tax for support. Before that happens, the politicians will beg, beg & beg the state for funding for their enormous numbers of homeless and other's on government rolls. That will be really bad for the governor who will start twisting resistant arms in the legislature and feds causing funding issues across the state. A long list of advocates with a stranglehold on politicians will increasingly go ballistic causing fractures in their party. Over decades, SF has had extra high salaries and benefits for all their employees like it is a feeding frenzy since stuck there SF businesses have little control. Even down here in Santa Clara County residents are increasingly throwing fits as criminals drive down from Alameda County to prey on residents. Nextdoor postings have become ridiculous.

Although I haven't been up to The City in a few months, I have few problems whenever I do because I know how to avoid problem areas and how to do so. Getting around anywhere is a matter of understanding its massive, complex, public transportation system. I usually park for free on the north shore at Marina Green and enjoy urban street hiking along the popular tourist shore zones. Always tons of tourists. I've also occasionally walked about in the Tenderloin areas so have seen what is going on there. Next month I have tickets at the SF Giants stadium for the last 2 Dead shows. I'll park on relatively safe Potrero Heights steep hill streets and walk in a mile.
 
Living 3 hours away we used to go to San Francisco once a year for 3 days. When people would come from out of state we would take them there. It was a fun place to visit and was always really busy.

Sometimes the cable cars were so busy you couldn’t even get on one. We took the Alcatraz and Angel island tour which was good. There were so many places to shop.

The last time I was there was 2018 before taking a cruise. We stayed in a nice hotel in the financial district and were shocked at the amount of garbage everywhere and the smell of urine.

Many more homeless people and people openly shooting up. I think crime has destroyed the city. No one wants to vacation if they don’t feel safe.
 
I remember when San Francisco was beautiful and mostly safe, but I left over 40 years ago.

So, re all these current problems, wasn't San Francisco one of the "defund the police" cities? Just like Seattle -- what did they expect would happen?

Seriously, if some of the police are doing something wrong, you work to correct it. You don't get rid of them or cut the numbers down so they can't be effective or make it clear that you're not backing them up. Especially if the initial problem occurred somewhere else entirely.

Edited: typo
 
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Remy said:
@Been There I've never done the Alcatraz tour. I did do the bay boat tour. It used to be people of all kinds, great people watching, fun and kitschy things to do. Now I'd be scared and have no desire to go to SF. And yes, the sealions. ♥️
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When we did the Alcatraz tour, of course they show Al Capone's cell and talk about the escapes and how the prison got started, etc., but when we went out into the recreational yard, as they called it, I never seen so much pigeon do-do. I told the park's guy that did the tour they need to clean it up. I told him this can cause people to become very ill. He said he was going to "call it in." OK, whatever. The cement yard was more white than gray from all the do-do.
 
Things are now changing in San Francisco and its mayor is no longer afraid to challenge advocates.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ma...ialist-radical-politicking-city-activist-says

San Francisco Mayor London Breed and a Board of Supervisors member got into a fiery exchange this week over the mayor's recent commitment to using police to crack down on public drug activity as the city deals with skyrocketing overdose deaths. Supervisor Dean Preston said Breed's approach — which quickly yielded dozens of arrests — contradicts the city's 2022 overdose prevention plan stating that "Black, Brown and indigenous communities nationwide" have been disproportionately impacted by racist drug policies.

(Preston) >>> "Will you follow your own Department of Public Health advice and end punitive policies … or will you ramp up these strategies, ignoring the advice of public health experts and causing even more overdose deaths?" Preston, whose biography boasts that he's the first Democratic Socialist elected to the board in more than 40 years, asked Breed.

Breed fired back, accusing Preston of acting like the "savior" of "Black and Brown people."

"I have a sister that I lost to a drug overdose in the city. I have friends and family members who have been lost in the Tenderloin with no aggressive action, no changes to policies," she said. "Have you ever spent time talking to any of those same Black and Brown people who are addicted to drugs on our streets in San Francisco to understand their challenges and what they need and what we need to do as a city to turn their lives around?"

Breed said the solution is "not just services, it's also force."

"At the end of the day, when we need to make arrests because someone's breaking the law and needs to be held accountable and can potentially be forced into treatment services, I'm going to do so," she said.
 

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