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Frank Chu

4.6 (136 reviews)

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Frank Chu look alikes at B2B 2006
Nikki M.

I love Frank Chu. My friends who work in the Chinancial district say that they know it's gonna be a good day, when they see Frank Chu walking down the street. Five stars for this San Francisco icon! The frank chu tribute at bay to breakers was also a hit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixiegrrle/151900347/in/set-1085284/

Frank W. Chu holding a more coherent sign.
Tadashi Y.

I never thought I'd Yelp a person, but if anyone deserves one, quirky (a major understatement) Frank Chu certainly fits the bill. Born March 24, 1960 is one of San Francisco's best-known eccentrics, protesting against US Presidents, corporations, individuals, & most importantly to him, the 12 Galaxies, since the mid-nineties. Most of his rants & signs appear completely nonsensical to the average person, but then again, Frank claims he's not from this planet. Regardless of how one finds him, he's garnered quite a sizable following that includes a restaurant being named after his signs (the now defunct 12 Galaxies on Mission Street), his getting free drinks & food at various establishments, a Wikipedia entry, maintaining MySpace & Facebook pages (w/ over 1,000 friends!), a Frank Chu Sign Party at 111 Minna Gallery, two female roommates (including aspiring local fashion designer & former Matt Gonzalez campaign worker Kristina Hoerler), & various media interviews. Not to mention a Frank Chu Protest Sign Maker page. (http://acme.com/chumaker/) Always carrying his trademark picket sign & usually dressed in slightly distressed business wear & shades, Frank's near daily routine is to take BART from his Lake Merrit home & prowls Market Street, usually between the Montgomery Powell Street stations, unless there is a more crowd/media-drawing event elsewhere. In which case he'll pop up there, regardless of the event. While generally polite & coherent, if one asks him about his protest of the day or anything 12 galaxies-related, you'll be inundated w/ gibberish that will hurt your head. Seriously. Typical signs include ones that highlight the benefits of "Cotsgrogrenigul Coverage", decry the "perils of Nexsrojrenikol", or bemoan "Qwintrozenikulled Suppression". And drawing attention to the 12 Galaxies, of course. The backside of Frank's signs have been sponsored by the likes of Blondies Pizza, Rasputin Records, Laughing Squid, Barbary Coast Consulting, Harputs adidas, Learn iT!, Quiznos Sub, Rasputin Music, Chris Daly's 2006 San Francisco Supervisor campaign, & Phil Angelides's 2006 California gubernatorial campaign for about $100.00 per week. Although he started w/ & stayed w/ ranting against the 12 galaxies, in mid 2007, he began to increase the number of galaxies he has a beef w/ & is up to over 8,685,000,000 galaxies. Frank has even had a legal dispute w/ the Zegna Group over the term & website zegnatronic.com. http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2004/d2004-0416.html On the more serious side, Frank suffers from a history of mental problems & had been prescribed medication. In early 1985, Frank took 11 members of his family hostage in his home in Oakland & fired a .38 pistol at a police officer who came to investigate, but missed. Police cordoned off a ten-block area for three hours. Chu eventually released his hostages & surrendered to the police. Santa's Yelper sez: "I hear Frank's looking for another roomie, preferably female that are willing to go on double dates. Any takers?...Heh." Really funny, SY, really funny. But true. And scary.

Spotted walking down Market during the gay pride parade 6/24/12. We excitedly asked if we could take a picture of him.
Christine A.

I just happened to look away from the gay pride festivities for a second and spotted that multicolored, Impact font-covered sign in the sea of rainbows and stoned teenagers, making its way up Market. My heart stopped. I started excitedly patting the boyfriend's shoulder and excused us from our friends' sides as we ran after Frank, the Laughing Squid logo emblazoned on the back of his sign. After tapping on his shoulder and asking for a picture, which he posed for (photo: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/2tbN_rppko8MbwCj_v_APQ?select=sPlVT6m9H4hHugK31VD29g#D6unnXkbIPfeJOra1G44eA), we returned to our friends who looked at us bewildered. "It was like a chance meeting with a unicorn," I began. My best explanation a moment later was that seeing Frank is like encountering Rorschach, his "The End is Nigh" sign in tow, during one of his patrols through the city as his alter-ego. And while that fits (though I don't know how well Frank could be charged with upholding Kant's concept of categorical imperative), I later amended that Frank is pretty much a San Francisco institution much like His Imperial Highness, Joshua Norton I. He's just one of these so-called harmlessly crazy personages to which the city had just opened up its lovin' arms and embraced. And with good reason. Now ... when's Frank Chu going to start printing his own money?

Frank Chu Crashes a Houseparty
Padawan T.

I was at a Carnaval party this past carnaval Sunday. A kind of underground houseparty by one of the main D.J. organizers behind Come-Unity. It was a pretty small party, not a ton of people yet. The D.J. was spinning skillfully, the urban-techno-hippie-hipsters were beating out good rhythms on the drums, and people were blissfully dancing. And in walks Frank Chu. He strolls into the kitchen, sets down his sign, and proceeds to serve himself food from the counter, go through the fridge looking for drinks. He sits down by the soundset, eats, gets up, serves himself again, eats some more. Leaves, comes back, bobs his head to the music once, eats some more. And then he leaves. Soon afterwards, loads of people started streaming in and the party really picked up. House party blessing by Frank Chu. Priceless.

Frank Chu Rockin Qool!
James M.

You've probably seen Frank Chu walking around downtown holding his 12 Galaxies sign. Sometimes he gets paid to advertise on his sign. Once he advertised for 111 Minna Gallery, and another time he advertised for Y3! To some he's just plain freaky but not me. I've seen Frank a lot over the years. Most recently he can be seen dancing with his picket sign on stage at Qool on Wednesdays which is nice. Qool welcomes anyone because they're good like that. But this is about Frank Chu... Today I was walking down Montgomery Street to catch Muni home. There was a big protest between California and Sacramento. A lot of people were screaming and chanting, "Free Palestine! End The Occupation!". I'm chanting along as I walk through the protest which is really crowded on the sidewalk. I'm having a time getting through and then I spy Frank Chu ahead. I see him and smile and yell, "Hey Frank!". He sees me and waves at me and smiles back. In the craziness of that scenario, my "home base" was Frank Chu, the "crazy" guy with the 12 Galaxies sign. If you think someone is crazy or strange because they tread a different path away from the pack, think again. Give people the benefit of the doubt, don't judge...you just might get a smile and wave back when you could use it. Okay yeah, Frank Chu is definitely marching to the beat of his own drum but I admire him for that. If you treat someone like they're crazy they react to that energy...yes, I said energy. Show people the way you want to be treated by the way you treat others, crazy people and all. Rock On Frank Chu! http://12galaxies.20m.com/

Frank at 850 Bryant St..
Sherman L.

Frank is the MAN... Thanks for picking the Hall of Justice and announcing my retirement.

My friend and I with Frank @ 111 Minna
Karen F.

Frank Chu/Chiu is my homeboy. My friends and I saw him at 111 Minna and chatted with him for a bit. His beer of choice is Budweiser. He had an extra "12 Galaxies" sign in his bag and gave it to me. I felt like I won the friggin' lottery! Unfortunately, my drunk ass forgot it at the bar. The sign would have looked SO cool in my living room (beat *that* in the kitsch department, Urban Outfitters!). I even got my picture taken with him. I should've asked him to sign my boobs. http://www.topramen.net/krista_frank_me.jpg

Frank Chu at Love Parade 04
Roger L.

Frank gets invited to ALL the parties and gets his drinks for free... hmm... I have a great photo from Love Parade 2004. I'll have to dig it up and post it here.

Looking a bit worn out from a hard day's work.

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Ask the Community - Frank Chu

Review Highlights - Frank Chu

I saw Frank today and said "Hey Frank!", gave him a high-five, and asked him what the good word was.

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The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps - Plaque

The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps

4.8(664 reviews)
7.4 kmInner Sunset

Who needs a stairmaster when there are actual outdoor steps all over SF?…read more The Moraga Steps ascend on beautifully tiled stairs to a tiny mountaintop with trees and vistas of the Sunset district and beyond. The reward is the view from the top!

Up and ready to do something early, while the rest of the family was sleeping, my wife and I…read moredecided to go check out the 16th Ave Tile Steps, also know as the Moraga Steps. From what I've read, the project came together started in 2003 all thanks to some of the local neighbors that were tired of looking at 163 plain concrete steps to the top of the hill. They collected donations and raised money, selling tiles, which could be customized with names, dates, phrases, anything people wanted to add to make this project come to life. It took two years of raining money, and assembly, "opening" in 2005. The steps really are truly worth checking out, for being over 20 years old, they still have beautiful and vibrant color. I would have though the sun would have faded them, but i guess the color being baked in to the ceramic tiles really holds up. The design, is very stunning, going "from sea to the star", with so much detail, so much creativity. At the top of the steps, you can hike another set of steps up to an amazing 360 degree panorama of the city. Worth the extra 150 or so steps to go all the way up. If you're able bodied, I'd recommend checking this spot out. It's free, and in a residential neighborhood, so parking is also free and easy to find.

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The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps - View from the top

View from the top

The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps

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The Wave Organ - 06.15.25 Built in 1986 by Exploratorium artists in residence Peter Richards and George Gonzalez

The Wave Organ

3.9(198 reviews)
3.9 kmMarina/Cow Hollow

This sculpture is really cool! I've known about it for a while but finally took the time and effort…read moreto go check it out. It's a little off the beaten path haha, like after walking through marina greens, you kinda go on a narrower pathway, past a yacht club, and at the edge you'll find this quirky, fun thing! It was really cool to listen to the waves through this "wave organ." I thought it was newer but had no idea it was built in 1986! The Wave Organ uses 25 PVC pipes (and stone reclaimed from an old cemetery!) to channel the Bay's waves into eerie, soothing rumbles, gurgles, sloshes and hisses. Definitely put your ears up to the pipes to hear the magic. Pro tip, wish I knew beforehand: go during high tide (that's when the "music" is apparently the best!). 10/10 recommend for a lazy walk and chill moment with the sound of the Bay!

Fun place to take a short walk. No parking super close - so not good for people in wheelchairs or…read morewalkers. Great for kids and beautiful views. Off the beaten path you will find this fun spot. Walk past all the yacht clubs and keep going and going. All the way at the end there is a beautiful interactive art installation perfect for kids or adults that never grew up. Tile work and pipes that go into the ocean and make ocean sounds. Press your ear up against the pipes and take a listen. A couple people were fishing nearby but the whole place you can likely have all to yourself. Not all that many people will go take a few extra steps. Perhaps bring a picnic? Benches built into the walls... Maybe not growing up is ok. Taking life too seriously is perhaps overrated.

Photos
The Wave Organ - 06.15.25 the acoustics of the wave organ are only active when the tide is in, and the music is best heard around high tide

06.15.25 the acoustics of the wave organ are only active when the tide is in, and the music is best heard around high tide

The Wave Organ - View from the organ to the bridge

View from the organ to the bridge

The Wave Organ - 06.15.25 located on a jetty in the Marina District

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06.15.25 located on a jetty in the Marina District

Frank Chu - localflavor - Updated May 2026

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