You know that house at the corner of 15th and Dolores that's been totally gutted and lifted off its foundation like it's going to be moved somewhere? Well, today Curbed (and SFist commenter MrEricSir) bring us some history on the site, where a Lutheran church once stood that survived the 1906 earthquake only to be burned to the ground in 1993 the day after it received an angry letter from the Aryan Brotherhood regarding their liberal stance on gay people. more ›

Two horrible teenagers were arrested for robbing a woman at Dolores Park this week. Mission Local reports: "A 39-year-old woman was sitting at a park bench when an 18-year-old male suspect approached her and put a knife next to her. A second male suspect, 17, approached the victim and demanded her cellphone, which she gave to them." more ›

A harrowing scene was captured on tape recently as ranch dressing and ketchup duked it out on the Dolores Park playground. Ranch, the clear winner since it's the superior condiment, was minding its own business when ketchup began to harass Ranch for, presumably, hanging out in his skivvies on the fruit shelf and getting stoned. Actually, it's all part of Hidden Valley Ranch's campaign to become to the ketchup. Yes, it's an ad campaign and, yes, we are falling for it because, again, we love Ranch dressing. It should be on everything. more ›

Yesterday was another lovely day in Dolores Park, and there were once again thousands jamming onto Hipster Hill, the Gay Beach, the dog area, and elsewhere. Also, there were many, many kids at play in the very attractive but arguably oversized new playground, and a number of cops taking tours, on foot and and on motorcycles, apparently taking some kind of census of how many people were drinking out in the open — telling some people to put their bottles away, and issuing a citation to somebody in at least one case we observed. Boo! Right? Well, this might only be getting worse for park boozing ... News arrived today that that brick church building, converted into a residence a few years ago by a misguided house-flipper, is going to become a middle school. more ›

Not to be confused with the other cardboard battle in Dolores Park, the Ultimate Team Cardboard Fortress Battle promises to bring even more childlike whimsy to Dolores Park with a showdown between two opposing cardboard forts. There are kind of a lot of rules for this thing, but if you ever played Capture the Flag as a kid, you've already got the gist of it. more ›

We've discussed before our trepidation about the infringing upon gay space that happened when that new Dolores Park playground got renovated and drastically enlarged. Though most of the gay beach remains intact, there have been complaints that motorcycle cops have been making the scantily clad sunbathers feel uncomfortable lately — if there are too many reports like this, we don't want to see how mad and in-your-face Anna Conda will get. Cops have also handcuffed and cited the cold-beer-cold-water dude, which is just sad, even if he is mean. And now Mission Local and Uptown Almanac report on some complaints from parents that with their ridiculously outsized new toddler terrarium they now think they need a fence to keep out the big scary dogs running around. COME ON. more ›

Every year on the anniversary of the Great 1906 Earthquake, the heroic fire hydrant at 20th and Church Streets that saved the Mission District is honored with a ceremonial wreath-laying and a fresh coat of gold paint. This year however, on the 106th anniversary of the city-leveling quake, the little hydrant that could got painted a slightly less heroic color, apparently due to a Rust-Oleum mix-up at a local Lowe's Hardware Store. more ›

Love it or hate it — pst, we love it — the new playground in Dolores Park got a wee bit of a makeover with some fun street art. Jeremy Novy painted some of his famous koi on the rubber matting. You like? He also drew some clouds and a line of ants, both of which are sure to delight the thong of kids playing in the park again. Mission Mission has more images for your enjoyment or disapproval, depending on which side of the street-art fence you sit. more ›

PBR, Dolores Park, Madrone, salted-caramel, guys who wear those brightly colored sunglasses, waiting in line like sheep for ice cream, start-ups, average-size penises — Chris Avery's parody rap video 'SF Playa' pokes fun at San Francisco's current state of insufferable smugness. (With nary a mention of anything gay, like the time-honored tradition of performing fellatio in the back room at the Powerhouse, we can't say it encompasses the full San Francisco-lifestyle package. But we're splitting hairs.) It also features an all-too-brief appearance from Wall-E. Good stuff. Enjoy. more ›

Did you know the new Dolores Park playground is open? Aye. And you simply must drag your snot-covered little blessing(s) to the city's favorite park to check it out. It's got everything: slides, sand, rubber safety thingamajigs, poles, a bridge, swings, and... ok, not everything. But still, it's got all you and your kids will need for a smashing day at Dolores Park. Get it while it's fresh, new, and not desecrated with PBR and fornication. more ›

Formerly bespectacled Rachel Maddow loves riding Muni, the MSNBC host told Vanity Fair. She's a big fan of taking the J-Church up to "the top corner of Dolores Park" (a.k.a. "the fruit shelf," where the gays converge because it's arguably the nicest area in the park) and admiring the view. more ›

New census figures only confirm what we already suspected: There are barely any children left in this town to use that oversize playground they just built for them, which is using up practically a third of well-loved, sometimes hoodlum-filled Dolores Park. The playground is set to open March 31, but will it really get a lot of use and not just devolve into a homeless encampment by November? We shall see. more ›

Looking like the Mission-Dolores of the '90s, a grisly stabbing near artisan market Bi-Rite resulted in two men being whisked to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. The incident occurred on Oakwood between 18th and 19th after a gaggle of horrible drunk twentysomethings got into a fight. more ›

MateVeza, makers of cervezas brewed with yerba mate (get it?) so they're naturally caffeinated, announced yesterday they'll be opening up their own Dolores Park-adjacent restaurant and brewery at Church and 18th Streets. Owner/brewer Jim Woods hopes to open the doors and start slinging Argentinian food and caffeinated beers at "Cervecería de MateVeza" as early as spring 2012, provided the California ABC and the Planning Department give their approval. more ›

In the latest food cart controversy to hit the hotly contested turf in Dolores Park, the neighbors have spoken: no one likes a sausage slinger. Or the Sausage Slinger, rather — a popular Sacramento-based hot dog cart whose owners dutifully applied for the proper permits to move in to San Francisco before being roundly met with objections from the neighbors. more ›

This Saturday, San Francisco's premiere recycled materials battle returns to Dolores Park for an afternoon of playful reuse. For the uninitiated, Boxwars combines recycling with gladiator-style battles to exhilarating and hilarious result. Basically, you raid the recycling bin at your local liquor store or big box chain and put together your best corrugated armor and wrapping paper-tube weaponry. Then you bring it all down to Dolores Park on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. to do throw down the gauntlet with other post-consumer-clad hellions. more ›

So, after multiple community meetings and sub-committee meetings which SFist did not exactly make it to, the first-draft plan to renovate Dolores Park has been unveiled, with what Dolores Park Works describes as a favorable reception. Among the things that certain persuasive citizens were able to strong-arm into the plan by showing up to meetings and being consistently vocal, are a large youth soccer field abutting Hipster Hill -- which will be closed from 3 to 6 pm (daily?) for soccer games and which will require the largest amount of maintenance -- and (get this) a bicycle polo court/flex hard-surface court, which at least one vociferous individual contends will be "much in demand" by the bike polo community. more ›