I lived here from December 1972 to June 1991, in the same house on Edgemar Street, for over…read moreeighteen years. I knew a lot of our neighbors, and our street was very diverse. Low crime on our street. I miss it, the house and the city. Our home was on the border of SF and Daly City. The street to the right of Lowell (that was the fork) was San Francisco. I think that the lowest street just off of Lowell, near Mission, was already San Francisco. The schools on that street are also in San Francisco.
I attended George Washington Elementary School (kindergarten to fifth grade), which was two blocks away. It's a steep walk either way, but it was walking distance. My younger sister also attended the same school.
It's cold and foggy. But on a clear day, the views of the city and San Francisco were breath-taking. I'd forgotten how cold the house can be, until we stayed with my cousin and his wife. It feels damp.
I do not miss the Street Cleaning though!
The parks in nearby neighborhoods: Lincoln Park- Brunswick and Templeton, Frankfort Park (398 Frankfort). Other parks in the city: Gellert Park- 50 Wembley Dr., Hillside Park- 222 Lausanne Ave.- Palisades Park- 101 Palisades Dr.- Marchbank Park- 10 S. Parkview Ave.- Mussel Rock Park- Skyline and Westline.
Most of the homes are stuck together, many of them are two-story homes. Parking has gotten much tighter since our last visit (2011). Just recently visited for a death in the family (Nov 2023).
I wanted to see my old house, on Edgemar Street, some of the other streets, like Frankfort, a block over, one home was a mini farm (that is long gone though), and a couple of the neighborhood stores (sadly the little one that was Chinese owned is boarded up), but it looked like Lowell Market was still open. (***Behind some homes, across the street, from m y old house, used to be a drive-in movie theater and a horse stable, but this was years ago!***)
It looks like there are renovations under way on some homes. I noticed some newer properties. I also noticed that some were in better condition than others (as evidenced by the exterior paint). I also noticed the new feature at Lincoln Park.
We passed by Jefferson High School, noticed a Jollibee, saw the Jack-In-The-Box (that's old), and saw the Bread Basket (a Filipino bakery, I liked their pandesal and pandeleche, so masarap!).
We ate at Ling Nam Starbread on King. Yummy, check out my review in detail.
We also passed by Serramonte Mall. I noticed many new stores in place of the old ones (Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward, Sears- these don't exist anymore, maybe just online). A high school boyfriend called it "Serramanila." This was my favorite mall, growing up. Also saw the Boston Market nearby (none in Vegas anymore, unless you have military base access at Nellis AFB).
We also passed by on Mission, where the street is split, to allow store access (I saw that the last time we were here).
"Top of the Hill" looks a little different, because one corner is now filled with a building. I remember a food truck being there and people were buying food. There is still a small car dealership on the opposite corner, though.
We also visited Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a small church, on Wellington Ave. (check out my review).
We got gas near Westlake, and it is really developed now. I don't remember all of the apartment buildings nearby. We used to go shopping with coupons at Walgreens, every week.
On the racial and ethnic diversity: our street was mixed, but as a whole, there were a lot of people like me and us, lots of Pinoys. My mom came to the US, with friends, no family, in 1970, but she had an apartment in San Francisco. And slowly, over the years, she helped some of our relatives come over too. I really miss the city and I miss my family too (I have family on both sides on both sides of the SF Bay Area).
There is an old song about Daly City that I found a long time ago, online. But I think it was kind of making fun of the boxy homes.
Daly City borders San Francisco, Colma, and Pacifica. It's a pretty big area.
