Create Ansel Adams Grove

[ERIC]

Create Ansel Adams Grove

by Ken Werner, Trinity Plaza Tenants Association (TPTA)‚ Jan. 24‚ 2006

More than four decades ago, City officials decided to tear down one of the most beautiful theaters ever constructed, The Fox Theatre. In retrospect, it was one of the worst decisions ever made for we can never recover the beauty that once existed in Civic Center.

The Board of Supervisors will soon be faced with the question of whether to allow the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to recover costs incurred from a sewer repair as a result of an El Niño winter that created a sinkhole in the Richmond District -- it's a considerable amount of money: $1.5 million. That's the bid from Karen Lum and Hoi Por Kwok to purchase 107 24th Avenue, the "Billman Lot," which happens to be one of two lots adjacent to the home of world renowned photographer Ansel Adams.

Though Mr. Adams' passed away in 1984, his 'eye' for environmental beauty continues to capture our hearts through his photographs numbering nearly 2,000. Indeed, President Jimmy Carter was so inspired that he bestowed upon Mr. Adams the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. And according to a PBS documentary on Mr. Adams, six months after his death the U.S. Congress enacted legislation creating the Ansel Adams Wilderness Area comprised of more than 200,000 acres near Yosemite National Park, and a year later a mountain higher than 11,000 feet was officially named Mt. Ansel Adams to honor his memory.

Should the most progressive city on the planet act differently, just for the sake of recovering the PUC's financial loss?

The answer must be a resounding no. We must learn the mistakes of the past and not repeat them, for once committed, we can never recover that which we would lose.

Concerned neighbors in the Richmond District and art lovers and environmentalists nationwide are adding their voices to a petition to be presented to the Board of Supervisors, and let us all join our fellow San Franciscans and former City residents to create Ansel Adams Grove to honor the memory of someone who inspires us so much and who presented to us the beauty he captured through his lens.

Additionally, there are environmental concerns focused on Lobos Creek, which serves as a source of drinking water for the Presidio, as well as potential disruption and/or destruction of a valuable ecosystem. The PUC's decision to sell the property should be reversed, and the remaining lot which the PUC wants to sell should suffer the same fate.

For more information visit AnselAdamsGrove.org or go directly to the petition at http://new.petitiononline.com/aag/petition.html.