Peter Hartlaub
@peterhartlaub.bsky.social
San Francisco Chronicle culture critic. Spends too much time in the archive. Total SF co-founder. S.F. 🌁 Oakland 🌳 Alameda ⚓️
The new Valkyries court is the Warriors yellow sleeved jerseys of pro basketball floors. It looks like there’s a moat around the key. It looks like they installed two swimming pools in a roller rink. No one, including whatever combination of executives and WNBA officials approved it, likes this.
Mayor Art Agnos' pivot on the Embarcadero Freeway demolition likely cost him a second term. How does he feel about it now? The mayor is such a great storyteller. Lessons abound. I wanted to tell this one in advance of our 8/26 @sfchronicle.com live event. www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
The thriving Embarcadero is thanks to this S.F. mayor. It cost him reelection
Razing an ugly freeway and freeing the Embarcadero likely cost this San Francisco mayor his second term. We asked if he would do it again.
sfchronicle.com
Trump: “Their trees are all gross” The trees:
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2d agoTrump: "Look at the blue cities. What do they have in common? They're all dirty. They're filthy dirty. Their streets are dirty. Their streets smell. Their storefronts are broken. Their trees are all gross. Everything about the place is dirty. It's really all of them."
88°F atop Mt. Tam 58°F on Panoramic Highway A 30-degree difference in just three miles, but the 1,585 feet of elevation gain is key. Temperature inversions are a remarkable thing and Marin County shows them off in a stunning way.
The Valkyries could have come up with a better package but this tells me that they didn’t want to part with their depth
Peter Hartlaub@peterhartlaub.bsky.social · 3d agoKelsey Plum to the … Mercury? A team lower in the WNBA standings than the Sparks? Glad she’s not a Valkyrie — didn’t seem like a good chemistry fit — but still looking forward to @mingemi.bsky.social (probably still asleep?) and @valkyriesbeat.bsky.social to make this make sense.
Social event of the season just dropped! ⏱️ San Francisco Time Machine set for 8/26 🌁 Mayor Art Agnos on meeting Mother Teresa, being shot during the Zebra killings and the 1989 earthquake 🚍 @sfmta.bsky.social's archivist Jeremy Menzies reveals his best 1970s photos Plus YOUR requests! Buy tix ⬇️
San Francisco Chronicle@sfchronicle.com · 5d agoJoin the Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub live at Gray Area as he takes us back to the 1970s and ’80s along side the former mayor and SFMTA photographer and archivist Jeremy Menzies
Kelsey Plum to the … Mercury? A team lower in the WNBA standings than the Sparks? Glad she’s not a Valkyrie — didn’t seem like a good chemistry fit — but still looking forward to @mingemi.bsky.social (probably still asleep?) and @valkyriesbeat.bsky.social to make this make sense.
Deleted because of an error with the alt text & wanted to check with one of the organizers before I repost. Will post again … at the 50th anniversary?
Matt Laroche@mattlaroche.com · 5d agoWhere'd the calendar post go?! I wanted to reply Peter Hartlaub? More like Peter Heartthrob!
In the 70s-80s Curtis Green and H. Welton Flynn reinvented Muni while other cities abandoned transit. Art Agnos staked his political future on demolishing the Embarcadero Fwy. I can't wait to hear more about these inspiring figures, esp @peterhartlaub.bsky.social interviewing Mayor Agnos himself
San Francisco Chronicle@sfchronicle.com · 5d agoJoin the Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub live at Gray Area as he takes us back to the 1970s and ’80s along side the former mayor and SFMTA photographer and archivist Jeremy Menzies
Social event of the season just dropped! ⏱️ San Francisco Time Machine set for 8/26 🌁 Mayor Art Agnos on meeting Mother Teresa, being shot during the Zebra killings and the 1989 earthquake 🚍 @sfmta.bsky.social's archivist Jeremy Menzies reveals his best 1970s photos Plus YOUR requests! Buy tix ⬇️
San Francisco Chronicle@sfchronicle.com · 5d agoJoin the Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub live at Gray Area as he takes us back to the 1970s and ’80s along side the former mayor and SFMTA photographer and archivist Jeremy Menzies
This is my least favorite genre of criticism: Trying to talk people out of the good time they just had. (Neil deGrasse Tyson has made a career of this. Wilson is coming from a better place & her takes do lead to good conversations. But nothing wrong with Nolan's film.) www.npr.org/2026/07/29/n...
'Odyssey' translator Emily Wilson says Nolan shouldn't have written the movie himself
The renowned classics scholar caused a stir when her critical review of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey went viral. Wilson explains her reaction to the film and why she's translating the poem again.
npr.org
Damn, @peterhartlaub.bsky.social , you’ve done it again. This heartfelt tribute brought tears to my eyes, reminding San Franciscans of the values we cherish. Thank you. ❤️💜💙🩵💚🧡❤️
Peter Hartlaub@peterhartlaub.bsky.social · last wk.I have a new favorite San Francisco landmark. And it's the symbol the city needs. (Also in today's column — let us know your favorite S.F. landmark. Doesn't have to be something that appears in a snow globe.) Gift link 🏳️🌈 🎁 ⬇️ www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
I have a new favorite San Francisco landmark. And it's the symbol the city needs. (Also in today's column — let us know your favorite S.F. landmark. Doesn't have to be something that appears in a snow globe.) Gift link 🏳️🌈 🎁 ⬇️ www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
Move over, Sutro Tower. This is my new favorite San Francisco landmark
Exploring San Francisco is my full-time job. I have a new favorite landmark, and it’s the symbol the city needs, culture critic Peter Hartlaub writes.
sfchronicle.com
Don't know another NFL writer whose preseason predictions include the exact number of games a starting QB will miss ... along with the obscure injury that will land them on the DL.
@eric-branch.bsky.social · 2w agoIt's the 10th edition of 25 predictions for the #49ers’ season: Playoffs? This year's crystal ball included a stunner www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers...
There hasn’t been a significant snowfall in San Francisco in a half century! cc @peterhartlaub.bsky.social www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
This weather pattern has vanished from S.F. Could it ever return?
On Feb. 5, 1976, S.F. residents awoke to a surprise snowfall. Columnist Peter Hartlaub and meteorologist Anthony Edwards revisit the wild weather and answer if S.F. will ever see snow again.
sfchronicle.com
Cary Mock@cj-mock.bsky.social · 2w agoVerbal descriptions for late January 1862 in San Francisco, suggesting it was their coldest day in the historical record.
Mayor Art Agnos lost reelection over the Embarcadero Freeway demolition. He told me last year: "I'd do it again in a hot minute. I've found what sticks to you, like a good breakfast in the morning, is the knowledge that you made this a fabulous city. "The important thing is we make a difference."
Tom Hilton@tvhilton.bsky.social · 2w agoReminder: This was a 6-5 vote in the Board of Supervisors. Someone visiting the waterfront today would think it nuts that anyone opposed it.
Had a great time exploring downtown Benicia. A city that once endeavored to outdo S.F. as the "Athens of the West," and briefly succeeded. Now it's a quiet suburb, with some wild history. (I need to write a follow-up about the "Camel Corps.") Gift link! 🎁 ⬇️ www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
This charming Bay Area town is filled with small shops and big history lessons
This cozy Bay Area suburb with a sweet downtown is a former California capital with ties to Jack London, early state politics and the Gold Rush.
sfchronicle.com
“People who didn’t watch the game — Don’t think football is important.” Love this 1/24/1982 photo negative find in the @sfchronicle.com archive. Photographer Steve Ringman sent to find people NOT watching Super Bowl XVI. There appear to be images from the Condor adult club in North Beach.
Ok that was pretty fun. Time to go watch some real soccer played where the gods intended at mighty Kezar Stadium. GO CITY ROLL FOG 🌁🖤💛
San Francisco City FC@sfcityfc.com · 2w agoIt’s NorCal vs SoCal in the Western Conference Semifinal. 🆚 Ventura County ⏰ 3:45 Gates | 4:30 Kickoff 🏟️ Kezar Stadium 📺 Sports Engine Play (link in bio) 🎟️ ticket link in bio 🚍 N Judah, 6, 7, 33, 37, 43 FIERROYORO ⚫️🟡 Roll Fog
Weird that the Muppets were the ones who look MOST like they’re actually playing/singing live.
Just downloaded the @sfgate.com app. It was easy. Decided I need an ad-free space to read the Bay Area culture articles @amandabartlett.bsky.social writes that I wish I thought of first.
Grant Marek@grantmarek.bsky.social · 3w agoOh hey, big news, if you've ever spent a morning reading free content on @sfgate.com while swatting away pop-up ad after pop-up ad and thought "there has to be a better way," well, there is now A BETTER WAY. Introducing: @sfgate.com's ad-free app. www.sfgate.com/news/article...
I was a courtroom reporter in LA in the 1990s and covered some hearings related to Snoop Dogg’s murder charges. Whenever he’s on PBS with Elmo or whatever I’m like … huh, this narrative took quite a turn.
TK@40goingon28.bsky.social · 3w agoSeeing Ludacris doing ads for One A Day vitamins will make you feel your age more than anything else
I still have one in my disaster kit! When the grid goes down figuring I’ll barter that and my “West Wing” complete season DVD set for a couple chickens. Worked four years as a journalist in L.A., a city I never lived in before that, getting to every assignment with Thomas Guides. Very useful.
darth™️@darthbluesky.bsky.social · 4w agowho else had the spiral bound thomas guides under their car seat because they did not fit in the glove compartment
Good one to miss. Sit her for a game and give Jocyte 15-20 quality minutes to cook.
Valkyries Beat@valkyriesbeat.bsky.social · 4w agoGabby Williams is listed as QUESTIONABLE (back contusion) for tomorrow in Connecticut.
“Every now and then, I get a little bit nervous/That the best of all the years have gone by.” RIP to a 1980s legend. Others sold more albums. You made the decade’s best roller rink free skate anthem. 🛼🪩💔
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 4w agoBreaking News: Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer who soared to No. 1 with “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” a titanic pop anthem of the 1980s, died at 75. nyti.ms/4y8Y9x6
Tomorrow's newsletter will include a roundup of local history news articles from my friends @peterhartlaub.bsky.social @oaklandreviewofbooks.org @coyotemedia.org @oaklandside.org & more. Subscribe here: eastbayyesterday.substack.com
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Super disappointing. Just one Chronicle colleague complimented my Ryan Gosling/“Project Hail Mary” cosplay yesterday. (My favorite movie of the year so far that doesn’t feature zombies or sheep detectives.) 🌁🐈⬛🪐
Justice for Veronica Burton! The Sparks, the biggest underachievers in the league, have two all-stars. The Dream, dominated this season by the Valkyries, have three. Valks have one? 😡
Alexa Philippou@alexaphilippou.bsky.social · 4w agoThe 2026 WNBA All-Star reserves: Sonia Citron, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Kiki Iriafen, Jonquel Jones, Marina Mabrey, Dominique Malonga, Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, Courtney Williams and Jackie Young
