CFAH

600 Van Ness: 2/4/15

Having been abruptly shuttered and boarded up two weeks ago, the long-standing McDonald’s at 600 Van Ness Avenue has already become a magnet for graffiti and urban blight. And considering that McDonald’s has yet to file any plans for building upon the Van Ness Corridor site, a site which is zoned for development up to 130-feet in height, it’s a blight which could easily mar the corner and burgeoning corridor for years to come.

Comments from Plugged-In Readers

  1. Posted by eh

    I see graffiti, not so much the blight.

    • Posted by Sierrajeff

      one and the same

      • Posted by Futurist

        Agreed. Graffiti is pure blight. And it brings more blight, and trash.

        • Posted by Giuliani

          I like it, better than most new buildings.

    • Posted by Orland

      While there is such a thing as a “graffiti art style,” there is no such thing as graffiti art. Pure criminal vandalism. Knock the thing down.

    • Posted by Giuliani

      The blight is not the graffiti, but the dead animals McDonald’s sells as food. Veggie for life!

  2. Posted by Sid W.

    Magnet. Not Magnate. But boarded up buildings = blight.

  3. Posted by seriously

    is mcdonalds developing the site too?

    [Editor’s Note: See Van Ness McDonald’s Closed, Zoned For 13-Story Development (as linked above for reference).]

  4. Posted by Jackson

    Graffiti is blight. Letting graffiti remain on buildings shows a neighborhood on the downhill slide.

  5. Posted by StirringThePot

    Graffiti is art.

    • Posted by Sierrajeff

      Feel free to share your address, so that we may encourage people to festoon your house with “art”.

      Please also clarify the principle – moral or legal – that allows one person to unilaterally decide it’s OK to change the appearance of another person’s property. I can’t wait to start randomly stripping aluminum siding off old Victorians around the City, given that I think that would be an aesthetic improvement and beneficial to society that I do so.

      • Posted by Serge

        Hear hear.

      • Posted by Giuliani

        Do Victorians have aluminum siding?…

        • Posted by Sierrajeff

          ones that were ruined in the 1970s do…

          • Posted by Serge

            Yep. Or those that have been stucco’ed over. There is a prime example of those on Scott St at Duboce. A row of six Italianate Victorians where one has a stucco facade. They probably thought it looked great compared to the high maintenance wood facades of their neighbors. Now it looks silly, of course.

            Street view: https://goo.gl/maps/VeNmf

      • Posted by Flash

        Great response! Given that his name is “StirringThePot”, he might just be trolling. But I do know morons who truly believe that graffiti adds to the “character” of a neighborhood and should not be punished. I wish people convicted of certain crimes which harm a city could be banned from setting foot in that city, at least for a time. Or at least make them ineligible for all city benefits.

        • Posted by Amewsed

          Or lose said foot in the city. There may be diabetic patients/amputees in need of a perfectly good foot transplant. How about graffiti taggers lose their hands to those patients with deformed hands from dehabilitating injuries? Learn to be grateful when you have fully functioning limbs and put them to good use. Go build a house, help someone carry groceries, or learn a trade.

  6. Posted by Ham

    The corrupt government institutions in the area are more of a blight. City hall to the south, ABAG to the west.

  7. Posted by Brian Poole

    The photo is facing Van Ness. What was previously a patio on the side of the building is now a homeless camp. It’s blight. McDonald’s should tear it down or be forced to secure it.

    • Posted by Amewsed

      McDonald’s should AirBnB the place.

      • Posted by Sierrajeff

        Wait, I think you’ve created a concept – AirCafe – a furnished kitchen and restaurant space can be leased out by someone who wants to operate a restaurant for a brief period of time, without long-term commitment or investment.

        • Posted by Joel

          A popup?

          • Posted by Amewsed

            Yup, instant visibility and customers. Better than subletting an industrial kitchen, save on marketing expenses.

          • Posted by The Milkshake of Despair

            The McDonald’s kitchen is highly tuned to their menu and not very flexible for preparing any other food. Yeah, it could be adapted but you would end up not using a lot of expensive equipment. There’s even a special bun toaster that just toasts Big Mac buns. Not burger, fish sandwich, quarter pounder, or chicken sandwiches. Just Big Macs.

  8. Posted by SFJohn

    Well WTF did you expect to happen?? geez

  9. Posted by EcceMorons

    Well, cool – now the Opera crowd has a convenient place to score a hit of smack before the show.

    • Posted by Brian M

      Wouldn’t indulging in a central nervous system depressant make enduring the opera even more difficult?

  10. Posted by sassyboyfrisco

    Looks better than the day to day stench of piss inside when the doors were open.
    At least housing will be built relatively soon.

  11. Posted by San Francisco

    the graffiti is better than a blank pink wall

  12. Posted by dotpocalypse now

    I bet those luxury apartments will always have the faint whiff of mcnuggets & fries…

  13. Posted by BTinSF

    I reported it to the city. I urge others to do so as well.

    • Posted by Orland

      Was painted over this afternoon. Let’s see how long it takes to reappear.

      • Posted by Serge

        Will likely reappear soon. But if it’s painted over shortly after, it will make the graffiti “artists” less likely to vandalize it again. Their goal is to “show off” their “art” for as long as possible. Risking possible jail time for something even more ephemeral is not worth the effort for them.

  14. Posted by John

    Bulldoze it. Put up a pop-up beer garden. Problem solved.

  15. Posted by R

    This needs to go to market!

  16. Posted by Mark F.

    What about the “Urban Blight” at the former site of “Home Restaurant” on Upper Market?

    • Posted by Orland

      Hopefully, the proposed residential development (as reported upon previously here) will be replacing it soon enough.

  17. Posted by Stephen

    I walk by this homage to post-apocalyptic buildings every day on the way to work and can’t stand it, especially in the midst of the good things that are finally making their way to Van Ness. (not that many yet I realize, but there are some!)

    I started tweeting pictures of it with @McDonald’s with the #McDonald’s hashtag so brand followers (I don’t know why they would be) start seeing this jacked up visage show up alongside their happy meal and quarter pounder pictures. If you have time, access, and interest in getting this thing squared away, as a neighborhood resident, I ask that you spread the word on all the internets too. Thanks in advance!

Comments are closed.

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