Valencia Street Sinkhole

Valencia Street Hotel before fire, Bancroft Library

Valencia Street Hotel, after the fire, at Bancroft Library

We’ve seen the aftermath before, but this before/after is impressive, no? More after the jump…

In another classic post, Burrito Justice gives name to an infamous geological monster living under San Francisco, unleashed like Gojira upon Mission residents after the ’06 quake:

The “18th St Gulch” (for the lack of a better term — feel free to come up with a catchier name) was bigger than I realized. This sketch (below) of the Mission from the 1850 looks NE from around 21st and Liberty and gives some indication of its depth.

Zooming in on the bottom right, we see the gulch at what will be Dolores and 18th, with a stagecoach hurtling out of control (ok, probably not, as it’s not even the steepest part).

'Gulchie' the 18th Street Sinkhole, from Calisphere

We could call him “Gulchie the Sinkhole.”

UPDATE (12/14/09): Gulchie seems to be expanding his territory these days.

One thought on “Valencia Street Sinkhole”

  1. prolly an ancient indian burial ground to boot. good thing we’re on bedrock out here in sunnyside!

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