A journalist has shared alarming images of a once-prominent street that’s been rocked by store closures in San Francisco.
One snap, taken in the heart of the city’s famed shopping district, shows tourists wandering down a gutted Powell Street.
But instead of being graced with an array of shops, cafés, bars, and restaurants, the party is seen encountering countless shuttered storefronts.
More shots from Erica Sandberg show more of the same, and how the thoroughfare that runs adjacent to the city’s Downtown, all the way from Market to Fisherman’s Wharf, has become a shell of its former self.
The sights, while startling, should come as no great surprise to anyone keeping up with the now-years-long saga of the crime-ridden, homeless-overrun city, which recently had two nets installed around its seminal bridge to prevent suicides.
One snap, taken in the heart of the city’s famed shopping district , shows a group of tourists wandering down a gutted Powell St – a way once bustling with businesses.
Instead of being graced with an array of shops, cafés, bars, and restaurants, the party is seen encountering countless shuttered storefronts
‘This pic infuriates me,’ wrote Sandberg, a self-employed San Francisco correspondent, in an impassioned post to X that laid bare the city’s current state
‘Tourists, who do a little thing called SPEND MONEY, walking down a gutted Powell St.’, she continued.
‘[It] should be buzzing with shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, theaters, venues.’
The photos, within six hours of being posted, have amassed more than 8,500 views, and are quickly circulating across the internet.
Sandberg, in turn, categorized the fruits of her effort as both ‘depressing [and] embarrassing’ – not to mention a blow to the city’s still-struggling shopping scene.
She went on to call on candidates up for election in the district overseeing the area to take action – posing the pointed question: ‘How will you fill these empty storefronts with revenue bearing businesses?’
She tagged District 3 supervisor candidates JConr B Ortega, Sharon Lai, Danny Sauter in the post, and promised to personally forward the images X-less candidate Moe Jamil.
All four – as is almost always case in the California stronghold – are progressives.
More shots from independent commentator Erica Sandberg show more of the same, and how the thoroughfare that runs adjacent to the city’s Downtown has become a shell of its former self
The sights, while startling, should come as no great surprise to anyone keeping up with the now-years-long saga of the crime-ridden, homeless-overrun city, which recently had two nets installed on both sides of its seminal bridge to stop suicides.
The district is one of many that has been been left a husk amid the city’s continued homeless and crime crises, which have persisted since the pandemic
A short walk through the area will reveal how there are more closed storefronts than open ones, as businesses continue to flee due to high rents and diminished foot traffic
As mentioned, the 1.4 mile thoroughfare connects Market Street (seen here in this map of store closures) – once one of the most photographed spots Downtown – to Union Square, North Beach, Nob Hill, and Russian Hill before ending at the bay
That said, the district is merely one of many left a husk by the city’s continued homeless and crime crises, which took a turn during the pandemic and have since persisted.
As mentioned, the 1.4 mile thoroughfare connects Market Street – once one of the most photographed spots Downtown – to Union Square, North Beach, Nob Hill, and Russian Hill before ending at the bay, making it a prime destination.
Moreover, its southernmost point is only a stone’s throw from another famed shopping area, the Bay Area’s Mission District, which was recently rocked by a slew of restaurant closures on the equally iconic Valencia Street.
The roadway, located right on the cusp of the city’s embattled Downtown, was once considered one of the most sought-after strips of real estate, but today, like Powell, is reeling from store closures brought on by high rents and diminished foot traffic.
In comments to the San Francisco Chronicle, restaurant owner Rafik Bouzidi explained how he had seen a seemingly endless stream of terminations since opening his eatery in April.
‘If you took me back before I signed the lease, I would have opened somewhere else,’ he told the paper in a recent interview.
‘Before COVID there was no way in hell you could find an available space on Valencia Street. Now, it seems like another restaurant shuts down every week.’
A few blocks away, restaurants on one of San Francisco’s Valencia Street, also one of the most storied in the country, are closing at an alarming rate – and owners say it’s because of crime
In comments to the San Francisco Chronicle, business owners recently explained how high rents and high rates of homelessness have led to a seemingly endless stream of terminations
Homeless are seen returning to the streets in the Tenderloins district close to San Francisco’s Moscone Center where the APEC conference was recently held
A homeless encampment is seen along Leavenworth Street in the Tenderloin district, only a few blocks from Powell
Headlines featuring the phrases ‘garbage city, ‘ruined city’ and ‘fallen city’ capture how crippling drug issues and widespread homeless problems continue to remain an issue for residents.
The street then runs more than a mile north along some of the city’s most problem areas, which, as the photos of the stripped storefronts show, are continuing to affect businesses
There, right outside the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building, drug dealers set up shop in full view of the public on a daily basis, with users injecting and smoking with no interference from law enforcement
The famous thoroughfare runs for more than mile along the city’s embattled Downtown, where open-air drug use is rife
Meanwhile, the situation at Powell – set on one of the stops of the so-called ‘Doom Loop’ of Union Square, City Hall, and Tenderloin and Mid Market – is even worse, with Union currently serving a hive of unsavory, post-pandemic activity, particularly on the street’s terminus on Market Street.
There, right outside the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building, drug dealers set up shop in full view of the public on a daily basis, with users injecting and smoking with no interference from law enforcement.
The street then runs more than a mile north along some of the city’s most problem areas, which, as the photos of the stripped storefronts show, are continuing to affect businesses.
Crimes like robberies and homicides, meanwhile, are on the rise, statistics show – and the city stands to lose $200 million a year in revenue through its business exodus – which has seen major hotels and retailers flee the city center.
Retail stalwart Old Navy announced they would be shuttering their flagship store in the area In October, after Nordstrom also announced they would be closing all of their locations in the city.
In April, Whole Foods announced it was closing all their locations, with Anthropologie and Office Depot having also made the same decisions leading some analysts to predict that the city has entered a ‘doom-loop’ of permanent decline.
The situation at Powell – set on one of the stops of the so-called ‘Doom Loop’ of Union Square, City Hall, and Tenderloin and Mid Market – is indicative of the current state of the city, with Union serving a hive of unsavory post-pandemic activity on the street’s terminus on Market
US Chinese Radio used the headline ‘Ghost town San Francisco to have major blood exchange as APEC will bring the safest week in history to the city.’
Other headlines featuring the phrases ‘garbage city, ‘ruined city’ and ‘fallen city’ capture how crippling drug issues and widespread homeless problems continue to remain an issue for residents.
