The Slides of San Francisco: A Photographic Essay in Four Parts

I never learned to propel a playground swing on my own. I couldn’t master the weight transfer of the leg kick. Even today I still need someone to push me. As a result I got the majority of my jollies on the slide. I was lucky to grow up where I did. The concrete slides I became accustomed to as a child are a lovely and unique feature of the city by the bay. Bring a cardboard toboggan and ride the slippery slopes of the first installment of TYHIVN's very first service feature!

Seward Street slides - Seward and Douglass Street

The Seward Street slides are the big island of the SF Slide archipelago. These twin chutes are seriously steep in and of themselves, but the view of the downtown skyline and the East Bay reminds you that you are riding a slide on top of a mountain.


As if the vertiginous height wasn’t enough to make your knees knock, ole Johnny Law ups the fear factor! What I do is just make friends with whatever children and accompanying parents you meet there and strike a deal that they will say you’re with them if the cops show up.


While both runs are painted a patchwork of grey from snuffed out graffiti, TYHIVN has learned from a source close to us who frequented these slides during elementary school circa 1994 that they were originally painted yellow and red, and affectionately referred to as ‘mustard’ and ‘ketchup.’ Longtime neighborhood resident Matthew Pantell clarifies: "More like blood and bile." And indeed he is right. These slides are serious business.

Surprisingly, the Seward Slides were designed by a kid (ForUsByUS) in 1973. From the Noe Valley Voice:

The curved double slide, which is a favorite destination of many a Noe and Eureka Valley child, was designed by a 14-year-old girl, Kim Clark, who won a "Design the Park" competition. Clark grew up on Seward Street and attended nearby Alvarado School, where she participated in a special arts program pioneered by Noe Valley sculptor Ruth Asawa.

"Ruth Asawa and her kids were very involved in the Slide Park project," recalls Kim's mother, Annette Clark. "To have children participate in the design was part of the philosophy of the time, which emphasized learning through the arts. We were very conscious of giving children opportunities to do design work."

Clark adds that her daughter's winning slide design was inspired by a slide that many of the city's children loved at the old Playland amusement park at Ocean Beach, torn down in 1972.

Kim Clark, your vision has provided thrills aplenty and also a place for teenagers to drink forties at night. Thank you.

Failed Publishing Ventures: "Little Local Angle"

"Mark no longer works here. We did not run your story as there was little local angle in it. Best regards, Liz R, managing editor"

- Liz R., Managing Editor

Queens Native Murphy Grabs Bonds’ Historic Blast

By Martin M

Matt Murphy of Elmhurst was just passing through San Francisco’s AT&T Park on his way to Australia when Barry Bonds’ 756th homerun tore through the sky and into his lap. Next thing he knew, he was on the bottom of a pile of desperate fans.

"I just curled up under a bleacher and immediately there was a 30-person dog pile," Murphy told the New York Daily News. "I kept yelling, 'I got it! I got it! ...Get the bleep off of me, get the bleep off of me!'"

Murphy, who wore a Mets jersey atop a Mets t-shirt to the Giants-Nationals game on the night of August 7th, defended the ball from a horde of rabid fans, one of whom claims to have recovered his shoe, until he was escorted away by SFPD on hand at the stadium.

"I feel like I won the lottery," Murphy said.

Authorities estimate the ball could be worth anywhere between 1/2 and 2 million dollars. Murphy, 22, has promised to split the proceeds from the ball with his friend who attended the game with him, Amir Kamal, 21.

Fans who were in attendance recall an ugly fight for the valuable souvenir.

“Coming out of the pile, [Murphy] looked pretty messed up,” recalls Lynne Podesta, a firefighter in the Hayward Fire Department in Alameda County, who celebrated her birthday at the game on August 7th. She was seated in the first row of the center field bleachers – where Bonds’ 435-foot record-breaking blast landed. The fifth-inning homerun places Bonds in sole possession of the number one spot on the all-time home-run list ahead of Hank Aaron.

“I didn’t know [Murphy] was the one who got it,” said Podesta. “I just thought he was some kid who had been in the fight.”

“The kid behind us, the ball hit off his hand. That’s what made it go cockeyed and allowed [Murphy] to get to it. As soon as the ball was hit I stood up with my glove to try to catch it but I was getting pushed away. Then they had the scrum, and everyone piled on top of each other. It was incredible.”

Matthew Pantell, a native San Franciscan and first-year University of California San Francisco medical school student, attended the game with his father and brother. He witnessed the historic moment from high above the action, perched on his seat in the very last row of the stadium in left field.

“The whole stadium was standing and chanting ‘Barry’ in between pitches,” said Pantell, who nearly missed the game to study for an Anatomy test. “As soon as the ball landed, down in the bleachers there was this visible wave of motion, this big ripple effect of people as everyone converged on the ball.”

“There’s something great in that he just happened to by passing through. It’s part of the magic of baseball that anything can happen,” said Pantell. “And if it had to be caught by someone from out of town, at least it wasn’t a Yankee fan.”