By Magaly Muñoz,
Post Staff

On Monday, the Indigenous Peoples Day Festival was held for the fifth consecutive year at the Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. This event was organized in collaboration with the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) to celebrate and honor the traditions and heritage of Native Americans.

Art exhibits, music performances and vendor stalls were set up at the garden’s public park and cultural space on Monday afternoon with many people stopping by to purchase items or watch the cultural events.

Among the performers was a Mexican native group called Grupo de los Wawas del Centro Ceremonial de Tajín hailing from Veracruz, Mexico. The group belongs to the Totonaco Nation, which is primarily based in east-central Mexico.

Group leader Vidal Perez has been performing a traditional dance called “Danza de Voladores” and one called “Danza de Wawa” for over 30 years. This dance has been passed down through several generations of men in his family.

“We do this dance to celebrate Mother Earth, so that she brings rain, a plentiful harvest and good energy,” Perez said.

He said that they tour all over California, performing for a few weeks before heading back to Mexico to continue expressing their culture through dance. He pointed out that they come to events like this because it allows both Native American and Mexican groups to recognize and celebrate the resilience of communities that strive to preserve their cultural heritage despite enduring a long history of colonization.

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“We want people to remember that there are still old customs and cultures to learn about. No matter where we live, the point is to acknowledge where we came from,” Perez said.

Cristina Ibarra, a Yerba Buena Gardens employee who is co-organizer for the event, said that this festival is her favorite one to put on each year. She said working with all the vendors and performers has been the best experience, likening it to being in the company of family.

“It’s so beautiful to see all the families, especially the elders and the kids, celebrating their culture,” Ibarra said. “We do probably 150 events every year and this is still one of my favorites.”

Ibarra stated that this year’s festival has seen the biggest turnout since its inception. She affirmed that they’ll continue to host this event in the future as a platform to “uplift Indigenous Peoples voices.”

In 2018, San Francisco made the decision to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day as a means of acknowledging and addressing the historical violence and discrimination faced by Native Americans in the U.S.

Andrea Carmen, the executive director of the IITC since the ’90s, said every city and county on this side of the hemisphere should consider revising this date on their local calendars. Instead of honoring Christopher Columbus, Carmen suggested to celebrate the people impacted by the explorer’s arrival.

“We’re celebrating our survival, the resiliency and strength of our cultures that still exist. We’re honoring our ancestors that sacrificed unbelievable amounts of suffering so that we could have these ways, the dances, the language,” Carmen said.

Carmen observed that it’s been over 500 years since colonization began in the Americas. She stressed that the IITC is committed to preserving their history and teaching it to those who are willing to learn.

She said it’s important for non-Natives to know that there is an ongoing struggle to revitalize languages, reclaim stolen land and preserve tareas that once belonged to Natives. She added that despite the horrors that Natives have endured, they’re still standing.

“We’re still here, our culture is still strong, and the amazing thing to me is that we’re still willing to share it with those very descendants of the ones that carried these things [colonization] out,” Carmen said.

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In the great tradition of “movies that make you gay,” few stand as tall as the 1975 documentary Gray Gardens.

Of course, movies don’t have the ability to turn people gay, but there’s a special power in a movie like Gray Gardens, an idiosyncratic documentary that practically counts as homework (the funny kind!) for the modern queer — a movie we should know.

Following the strange everyday life of “Big Edie” Beale – the aunt of former first lady Jackie O – and her grown daughter “Little Edie”, Gray Gardens welcomed viewers to the titular estate in the East Hamptons, a run-down house where the women in poverty and (as some would call it) delusions lived.

Over the decades it has become a real cult hit, around which friendly gays will build their entire personality. And among the many fascination of the loyal fandom is the Handyman of Beale, who makes occasional appearances throughout the doc.

Dubbed “The Marble Faun” by Little Edie, viewers spent years contemplating the young man’s identity. But in the 2000s he resurfaced and the world finally got to know Jerry Torre.

Sometime after the events of Gray Gardens, Torre moved to Saudi Arabia where he worked for a palace garden – a job secured through Jackie O’s second husband, Aristotle Onassis. Back in the States, he drove cabs in New York City and ran an art transportation business while pursuing his own passion as a sculptor. He has lived happily with his partner Ted O’Ryan Sheppard for many years.

All of this and more – including memories of his time with the Beales – is told by Torre in his fascinating memoir, The Marble Faun Of Gray Gardens, co-authored with film historian Tony Maietta.

Now Torre becomes the focus of his own film in an adaptation of his famous book. As Deadline reports, The Marble Faun Of Gray Gardens is being adapted into a feature film by Unger Media, which tells the story of “a gay teenage runaway from Brooklyn who portrays Big Edie and Little Edie as misguided guardian angels in his life – and beyond. “

Sounds like another future gay classic to us!

The adaptation is scripted by Leo Geter (who has written scripts for shows like Longmire and The Closer), who is producing along with Torre, Maietta, Jonathan Unger, the CEO of Unger Media, and actor/comedian Drew Droege, who shares that he is “a longtime Gray Gardens fan”. and that Torre is “profoundly inspirational to me as an artist and a queer person.”

Deadline is currently casting for the role of Torre. He was only a teenager when he met the Beales, so we’d expect a young aspiring actor to take on the role of The Marble Faun.

Our two cents? Rising star Daniel Zolghadri has been great in coming-of-age movies like Eight Grade and Funny Pages and could fill the bill. As for Big Edie and Little Edie, Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore’s appearances in the 2009 HBO film are still not over, so why not bring them back?

Or heck, maybe Jinkx Monsoon is available?

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With the end of the Fassking’s Gardens era at Grand Station, Alameda’s next phase of growth was about to begin. Alameda, once primarily a place for weekend picnics and summer retreats, has become a town of houses. In Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this story, we learned how German immigrant Louis Fassking founded Alameda’s largest and most successful hotel and resort at Fassking’s Park. The railroads, which had done so much to bring business to his resort, were now bringing that business to the West End seaside resorts, the most famous of which was Neptune Beach. Those same railroads, as they expanded their lines and stations, also made Alameda a more desirable and convenient place to live, with regular rail and ferry services to and from San Francisco and Oakland.

A view of Grand Station in 1940 and today. From the founding of Fassking’s Hotel here in the early 1860’s to the introduction of the railways in 1864, through the era of the ‘Big Reds’ in the South Pacific to 1941 and into today’s bustling CBD, this station has been a hub of activity for over 160 years. Left photo unknown source. Right photo Steve Gorman.

Marcuse & Remmel excel in real estate

1726 Lincoln Ave., adjacent to Minturn Court, was built on the former Fassking’s tract as part of Marcuse & Remmel’s 1891-1892 development of 15 houses there. This Queen Anne High Basement Cottage was built in 1892 and sold for $2,300. It displays a particularly large and spectacular variation on the sunbeam theme in its pediment. Photo Steve Gorman.

At the end of the 1880s, the businessman Felix Marcuse (1847-1925) and the musician Julius Remmel (1855-1913), independently of one another, began to deal more and more with the sale of real estate. Although each was successful in their chosen field, they couldn’t resist Alameda’s booming housing market. By 1890 they had merged and when Fassking’s tract was vacated of its old hotel buildings they were perfectly positioned to seize the opportunity. A large, empty piece of land right next to a train station must have seemed like an excellent investment to the new company Marcuse & Remmel.

They bought land for 10 cottages on the newly created Minturn Court, along with enough land for five more houses on Lincoln Avenue. Although new to the field of house building, they hired architects and builders to build affordable homes in the style of the period – Queen Anne High Basement Cottages. While other builders such as Joseph Leonard and Charles Shaner built larger and more opulent homes for wealthier clients, Marcuse & Remmel focused on more modest but stylish cottages for the average earner. Their cottages typically cost $1,400 to $2,500 and can be purchased on installments with as little as $100 down payment and $10 per month.

Join historian Dennis Evanosky and the Alameda Post for a walking tour of Caroline and Weber Streets on Saturday, February 25 or Sunday, February 26 at 10am. We’ll learn about the notable architects – including Marcuse & Remmel – who designed and built homes in the 1200 and 1300 blocks of these Gold Coast streets. We will also learn personal details about some of the people who lived in the historic houses there. We meet at the intersection of Caroline Street and Fair Oaks Ave at 10:00 am both days. Tickets are $20 each for the Saturday or Sunday tour. Limited tickets may be available on the day of each tour.

Fassking’s hotel page comes to life

An early view of 1525 Minturn Ct., one of Marcuse & Remmel’s creations on this block, compared to a current day view. Like much of the street, this home was built in 1891 in the Queen Anne High Basement style and originally cost $2,250. One of the distinctive features of these houses is the heavily decorated gable with a full circle sunburst. Left photo unknown source. Right photo Steve Gorman.

Marcuse & Remmel’s first major project was to convert an empty lot three blocks from their Bay Street offices into Mastick Court, a cul-de-sac of 11 Queen Anne-style cottages built in 1890. The success of this project led to the Minturn Court development where 15 cottages were built in 1891 and 1892 on the site of the old Fassking’s Hotel. Ten of them can still be seen on Minturn Court itself, with another five located just outside Lincoln Avenue. They are in various stages of alteration, renovation or conservation but there are some excellent examples of the work of Marcuse & Remmel in the early 1890’s along these streets.

It is interesting to compare the cottages on Mastick Court, Marcuse & Remmel’s first major project, with those on Minturn Court, the firm’s second major project. Within a year they had greatly improved their game, and the increased level of detail and beauty of the houses shows it. The firm was constructing 58 buildings in 1891 and averaging 60 buildings a year through 1896, making them among Alameda’s most prolific builders.

Most of their work was in Alameda, but about a fifth of their commissions were in other cities, and they even opened a branch in San Francisco in 1890. Marcuse & Remmel eventually employed a team of over 60 skilled workers such as architects and draftsmen, carpenters, plumbers, plasterers and painters. Bert Remmel (1872-1927), Julius’ younger brother, joined the firm around 1895 and may have played a role in the shift to more ‘modern’ and transitional designs as the Colonial Revival style entered the scene.

The time of Marcuse & Remmel is coming to an end

In the late 1890s the ongoing depression began to take its toll on Marcuse & Remmel. Their annual number of homes fell below 50 and continued to fall each year. By 1898, new orders were coming mostly from San Francisco, and their incredibly prolific and prolific house building era in Alameda was coming to an end. In less than 10 years they had built over 500 homes in the Bay Area, most of them in Alameda. But as sales slowed and bills piled up, they found themselves in the same position Louis Fassking had at the end of his run at Fassking’s Park – in debt and in trouble with creditors. And so the cycle of boom and bust, so often repeated, reemerged.

An ad for Marcuse & Remmel in the Alameda Daily Argus in 1898. The ad lists their business address in San Francisco in addition to their original Bay Station location. By 1898, more business was coming from San Francisco, and their reign as Alameda’s most prolific house builders was nearing an end.

By Christmas 1899, reports in local newspapers reported the transfer of all of Marcuse & Remmel’s assets to the Puget Sound Lumber Company, their largest creditor. In February 1900, the San Francisco Examiner published articles with headlines such as “Home Builders Forced Under” describing the bankruptcy of Marcuse & Remmel. Both Felix Marcuse and Julius Remmel worked separately with Bert Remmel in other areas including notary public and real estate, but never again was there to be such a golden age of building as they witnessed in Alameda in the 1890s.

Julius Remmel died in 1913, Felix Marcuse in 1925, and Bert Remmel in 1927. Though they are long gone, their spirit lives on in the many examples of their fine work throughout Alameda and the Bay Area. Its characteristic elements such as sunbeams, molded plaster, structured facades, an enormous variety of milling work and curved metal sills under bay windows let the viewer know immediately that it is a creation of Marcuse & Remmel.

Learn about another member of the Remmel family, Jacob Remmel, who founded the Teutonia Park and Homestead Association in Alameda.

Lasting treasures from the past

While numerous examples of Marcuse & Remmel’s work still stand in Alameda today, there are less tangible reminders of Louis Fassking’s legacy. In Part 3 of this story, we looked at the two surviving sections of Fassking’s Hotel, which still stands today on the corner of Eagle Avenue and Stanford Street. But there is one remnant of the old Fassking’s Hotel, an ornate door that somehow escaped the junkyard and has been preserved in the Alameda Museum.

The Alameda Museum has an original door from Fassking’s Hotel, believed to date from 1874 when the hotel buildings were replaced after the Great Fire. The detail and beauty of this door suggests the grace and beauty of what was once Alameda’s largest hotel and resort. Photo Steve Gorman.

This door, accompanied by a framed description on the wall, is known for the fine craftsmanship of its time. Rather than being made of plywood or other cheaper construction methods, these door panels are “chamfered and mitered, stiles and railings joined with wooden dowels, and the panels fitted in mortise and tenon joints. The window is made from pieces of stained, textured and etched glass. This door is truly a work of art,” according to Ron Ucovich’s The Fassking Hotel Door. This door gives us just a touch of the grace and beauty that must have characterized Fassking’s Hotel and Gardens.

The late 19th century was truly a time of craftsmanship and beauty of design. Things were made to last, including buildings and houses. The fact that we can admire these treasures from the past today is a testament to the quality of the work, the building materials (old redwood) and the dedication of the preservationists to keeping them alive for future generations. Thanks to Cohen’s Railroad, Fassking’s Park, and Marcuse & Remmel, the Grand Station retains the basic layout of a 19th-century railway station and business district. Stop by anytime and take a stroll through history while admiring our Alameda treasures.

For more information on Marcuse & Remmel and the other leading builder in Alameda, Joseph A. Leonard, see Woodruff Minor’s book, A Home in Alameda, available in the gift shop and on the Alameda Museum website.

Special thanks to Alameda Librarian Beth Sibley for researching Louis Fassking and Fassking’s Park and a tour of the door of Fassking’s Hotel at the Alameda Museum.

Contributing writer Steve Gorman has lived in Alameda since 2000 when he fell in love with the history and architecture of this unique city. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Steve-Gorman.

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CHICAGO, IL – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged the $ 104 million refinancing of City Gardens, a recently developed apartment building in San Francisco, California.

JLL worked on behalf of borrower Panoramic Interests to secure the three-year floating rate loan through Ready Capital.

City Gardens consists of 200 micro-units with two, four and five bedrooms, which are characterized by strategic and efficient design. The property is a total of 152,445 square feet with fully furnished bedrooms and living areas, large windows with great views of the city, 9 ‘ceilings, and has been sustainably built; This includes highly efficient lighting and plumbing, laminated, heat-resistant glass and ventilation with energy recovery.

City Gardens is located at 333 12th St. in the Western Mission / SOMA neighborhood, close to many shopping and grocery stores including Costco and Trader Joe’s, as well as a variety of restaurants, bars and cafes. Additionally, the property is located between two emerging areas including Hayes Valley; a revitalized neighborhood filled with high-end boutiques, lively restaurants, and watering holes; and the design district; Here you will find renowned designer and furnishing showrooms.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Charles Halladay, Senior Managing Director, and Managing Directors Alex Witt and Jordan Angel, Associate Jonah Aelyon and Lauren Mezzanotte, Analyst.

Patrick Kennedy, CEO of Panoramic Interests, said, “Alex Witt, Jordan Angel and the JLL team did an excellent job in a challenging market. We were grateful to have them on our team.”

“Panoramic Interests has built an exceptional, high-density apartment building that is uniquely positioned to meet tenant demand in San Francisco,” said Angel. “The JLL Capital Markets team in San Francisco is fortunate to work with the Panoramic Interests team to secure a refinancing with Ready Capital and facilitate the rental of City Gardens. This was a great loan deal with a top notch developer and lender. “

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