The State of Commercial Real Estate in San Francisco, the Case of the Missing Propeller, the Cupcake Factory and The British Are Coming

As I have been out and about in San Francisco over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a few things...none of which are cinema related.

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There is a lot of vacant commercial/office property in San Francisco. Union Square and the Financial District seem particularly distressed. It seems like every one of the vacant properties has a sign listing Kazuko Morgan of Cushman Wakefield as the leasing agent. Kazuko Morgan must be the Michael Jordan of commercial real estate agents and/or Cushman Wakefield must have hundreds of thousands of vacant square feet in San Francisco.

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Matson Shipping had/has an office in the building at the corner of Mission and Spear. I know it’s Matson Shipping because they had model ships with their name in the lobby and a Golden Propeller outside the building. I moved here in 1992 and the Golden Propeller was already a landmark, On the afternoon of May 7, there was a tall, wooden fence around the Golden Propeller and I could hear workmen inside. On the afternoon of May 8, the Golden Propeller was gone and the lobby windows where the model ships were previously displayed were covered over with construction paper.

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I repeatedly rode the 38 Geary Muni bus from the Kabuki Cinemas to Powell Street during the recently concluded San Francisco International Film Festival. The bus stop I exited at was on the 200 block of O’Farrell. At 211 O’Farrell (near the corner of Powell and O’Farrell) is Cako Bakery. The window display consists of row after row of appealing looking cupcakes. I wonder whether a cupcake purveyor can survive in such a high rent location. I stopped in last Friday and tried a Strawberries and Cream Cupcake ($3). Not bad but nothing to write home about (although apparently it’s something to blog about). Actually, I read a few months ago about how cupcakes were making a comeback. Red velvet cakes/cupcakes are also popular.

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Also last Friday, I went to American Conservatory Theater to see Round and Round the Garden, a play by Alan Ayckbourn. Written and set in the 1970’s, this sex farce hit all the right notes for me. I laughed heartily throughout the performance. Round and Round the Garden is part of a trilogy called The Norman Conquests (the lead character is named Norman). The Shotgun Players in Berkeley are performing the entire trilogy from August 6 to September 5.