Peter Hartlaub
@peterhartlaub.bsky.social
San Francisco Chronicle culture critic. Spends too much time in the archive. Total SF co-founder. S.F. 🌁 Oakland 🌳 Alameda ⚓️
Pinned
Peter Hartlaub
@peterhartlaub.bsky.social
· Sep 27
S.F.’s most interesting man? Meet Lord Frederick, a blind, gay, marathon-running artist
San Francisco history is full of eccentric characters who grew into legends. Add to that list Lord Frederick, the blind, gay, marathon-running artist who may be the city’s most interesting man.
www.sfchronicle.com
He's blind living in supportive housing near the Tenderloin.
He's also learned how to ride horses, has run a dozen marathons, joined a choir and is launching his latest art exhibition.
Is Lord Frederick the most interesting man in San Francisco?
👑 🌁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
He's also learned how to ride horses, has run a dozen marathons, joined a choir and is launching his latest art exhibition.
Is Lord Frederick the most interesting man in San Francisco?
👑 🌁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
What! A! Game!
Spurs (who are awesome) won the battle of ESPN highlights.
Warriors won the game.
🔥🔥🔥
Spurs (who are awesome) won the battle of ESPN highlights.
Warriors won the game.
🔥🔥🔥
a basketball player with the number 10 on his jersey stands on the court
ALT: a basketball player with the number 10 on his jersey stands on the court
media.tenor.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:15 AM
What! A! Game!
Spurs (who are awesome) won the battle of ESPN highlights.
Warriors won the game.
🔥🔥🔥
Spurs (who are awesome) won the battle of ESPN highlights.
Warriors won the game.
🔥🔥🔥
Reminder that @sfchronicle.com meteorologist @edwardsanthonyb.bsky.social is an A+ follow for your weather needs.
Love how he combines expertise with the wonder of a relative newcomer — in an earnest, curious informative way.
☀️⛈️💯
Love how he combines expertise with the wonder of a relative newcomer — in an earnest, curious informative way.
☀️⛈️💯
Was just hit by a terrain-induced convective shower in San Francisco’s Twin Peaks neighborhood, the first I’ve experienced in my time living here. The marine layer typically limits surface convection along the San Francisco Peninsula, but it’s nonexistent today, making these showers possible. #CAwx
November 14, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reminder that @sfchronicle.com meteorologist @edwardsanthonyb.bsky.social is an A+ follow for your weather needs.
Love how he combines expertise with the wonder of a relative newcomer — in an earnest, curious informative way.
☀️⛈️💯
Love how he combines expertise with the wonder of a relative newcomer — in an earnest, curious informative way.
☀️⛈️💯
The trail is out there:
After spending the last half century looking at the Stanford Dish from 280, I walked the trail & mined our archive to figure out what kind of UFO shit is going on there.
As usual @jachristian.bsky.social upstages me with her photos!
📡👽💯
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
After spending the last half century looking at the Stanford Dish from 280, I walked the trail & mined our archive to figure out what kind of UFO shit is going on there.
As usual @jachristian.bsky.social upstages me with her photos!
📡👽💯
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
The Bay Area’s perfect fall hike has rolling hills, views and … alien contact?
The trail is out there: this space-aged Peninsula loop, well-loved by locals, is ready for discovery and an excellent late fall hike.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:34 PM
The trail is out there:
After spending the last half century looking at the Stanford Dish from 280, I walked the trail & mined our archive to figure out what kind of UFO shit is going on there.
As usual @jachristian.bsky.social upstages me with her photos!
📡👽💯
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
After spending the last half century looking at the Stanford Dish from 280, I walked the trail & mined our archive to figure out what kind of UFO shit is going on there.
As usual @jachristian.bsky.social upstages me with her photos!
📡👽💯
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
My middle school girls basketball team just voted on our name. Our color is royal blue & they wanted something water themed.
The choice was unexpected.
Meet … the Glaciers?
🧊🧊⛹🏽♀️🧊🧊
The choice was unexpected.
Meet … the Glaciers?
🧊🧊⛹🏽♀️🧊🧊
November 13, 2025 at 5:38 AM
My middle school girls basketball team just voted on our name. Our color is royal blue & they wanted something water themed.
The choice was unexpected.
Meet … the Glaciers?
🧊🧊⛹🏽♀️🧊🧊
The choice was unexpected.
Meet … the Glaciers?
🧊🧊⛹🏽♀️🧊🧊
LOVE my new @bart.gov holiday sweater.
Appreciate that instead of thinking “how do we make it weirder/uglier?” they pivoted to “let’s make a holiday sweater people can wear to a first date or job interview!”
❄️🚇💯❄️
Appreciate that instead of thinking “how do we make it weirder/uglier?” they pivoted to “let’s make a holiday sweater people can wear to a first date or job interview!”
❄️🚇💯❄️
November 10, 2025 at 5:43 PM
LOVE my new @bart.gov holiday sweater.
Appreciate that instead of thinking “how do we make it weirder/uglier?” they pivoted to “let’s make a holiday sweater people can wear to a first date or job interview!”
❄️🚇💯❄️
Appreciate that instead of thinking “how do we make it weirder/uglier?” they pivoted to “let’s make a holiday sweater people can wear to a first date or job interview!”
❄️🚇💯❄️
Things the @sfchronicle.com gave away during subscription drives:
🗞️ Firearms
🗞️ A llama
🗞️ A Batmobile
🗞️ Buried treasure
And this 1922 house, which is about to go back on the market after 33 years.
Gift link 🏡🎁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
🗞️ Firearms
🗞️ A llama
🗞️ A Batmobile
🗞️ Buried treasure
And this 1922 house, which is about to go back on the market after 33 years.
Gift link 🏡🎁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
The Chronicle once gave away an S.F. house. It’s about to hit the market
A 1922 Chronicle subscription drive gave away 20 cars and an isolated San Francisco house (plus furniture). See the neighborhood, and what it’s worth now.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Things the @sfchronicle.com gave away during subscription drives:
🗞️ Firearms
🗞️ A llama
🗞️ A Batmobile
🗞️ Buried treasure
And this 1922 house, which is about to go back on the market after 33 years.
Gift link 🏡🎁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
🗞️ Firearms
🗞️ A llama
🗞️ A Batmobile
🗞️ Buried treasure
And this 1922 house, which is about to go back on the market after 33 years.
Gift link 🏡🎁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
I’ve been reading Carl Nolte for four-plus decades and I swear he’s never been better.
Today’s column is particularly lovely.
Today’s column is particularly lovely.
OPINION: Time moves on, and one of these days, another piece of street life in San Francisco will be gone. Better to remember it now because these are the good old days, Carl Nolte writes.
Once a common street presence, they’re almost gone from S.F.: ‘I believe I’m the last one’
OPINION: Time moves on, and one of these days, another piece of street life in San Francisco will be gone. Better to remember it now because these are the good old days, Carl Nolte writes.
bit.ly
November 9, 2025 at 5:47 PM
I’ve been reading Carl Nolte for four-plus decades and I swear he’s never been better.
Today’s column is particularly lovely.
Today’s column is particularly lovely.
Reposted by Peter Hartlaub
I learned a lot about Nancy Pelosi this week — including her very early advocacy for AIDS patients. She visited them in SF General’s AIDS ward and convinced the Reagan administration to allow the AIDS Memorial Quilt to be displayed on the National Mall in 1987.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
A Light in Very Dark Days: Nancy Pelosi and AIDS
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:45 AM
I learned a lot about Nancy Pelosi this week — including her very early advocacy for AIDS patients. She visited them in SF General’s AIDS ward and convinced the Reagan administration to allow the AIDS Memorial Quilt to be displayed on the National Mall in 1987.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Just set up a monthly continuing payment to @alamedapost.com!
They’re relatively new — filling a gap when we recently lost both Alameda newspapers — and they do a very solid job covering breaking news & culture.
🦃⚓️💯
They’re relatively new — filling a gap when we recently lost both Alameda newspapers — and they do a very solid job covering breaking news & culture.
🦃⚓️💯
Alameda Fire, Police Rescue Woman from Boat near Encinal Boat Ramp https://alamedapost.com/news/alameda-fire-police-rescue-woman-from-boat-near-encinal-boat-ramp/
Alameda Fire, Police Rescue Woman from Boat near Encinal Boat Ramp - Alameda Post
Shortly after 7 a.m. on November 5, emergency personnel responded to distress calls about a boat taking on water near a rock wall.
alamedapost.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Just set up a monthly continuing payment to @alamedapost.com!
They’re relatively new — filling a gap when we recently lost both Alameda newspapers — and they do a very solid job covering breaking news & culture.
🦃⚓️💯
They’re relatively new — filling a gap when we recently lost both Alameda newspapers — and they do a very solid job covering breaking news & culture.
🦃⚓️💯
Woke up at 6 a.m. sensing some news had broken, and wrote this.
Nancy Pelosi was dismissed as a lightweight party planner. Read about the 1987 moment @pelosi.house.gov was (metaphorically) bitten by a radioactive spider and crushed her overconfident foes.
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
Nancy Pelosi was dismissed as a lightweight party planner. Read about the 1987 moment @pelosi.house.gov was (metaphorically) bitten by a radioactive spider and crushed her overconfident foes.
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
How Nancy Pelosi shook the housewife narrative and seized power in a brutal 1987 campaign
Nancy Pelosi was known as a Democratic party fundraiser and housewife in 1987, before her ascent to power in a short and vicious knife fight of a campaign.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Woke up at 6 a.m. sensing some news had broken, and wrote this.
Nancy Pelosi was dismissed as a lightweight party planner. Read about the 1987 moment @pelosi.house.gov was (metaphorically) bitten by a radioactive spider and crushed her overconfident foes.
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
Nancy Pelosi was dismissed as a lightweight party planner. Read about the 1987 moment @pelosi.house.gov was (metaphorically) bitten by a radioactive spider and crushed her overconfident foes.
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
New sculpture near the ferry terminals has a “War of the Worlds” vibe and I’m here for it.
November 5, 2025 at 3:32 PM
New sculpture near the ferry terminals has a “War of the Worlds” vibe and I’m here for it.
Reposted by Peter Hartlaub
Be like Art Agnos
Just talked to Art Agnos, in great spirits.
Served one term — his support of the Embarcadero Freeway teardown sunk his reelection — but his tenure ages so well.
Pushed for housing, parks and safe space for pedestrians and bicyclists. And the Embarcadero is now his biggest triumph.
📸: Minh Connors
Served one term — his support of the Embarcadero Freeway teardown sunk his reelection — but his tenure ages so well.
Pushed for housing, parks and safe space for pedestrians and bicyclists. And the Embarcadero is now his biggest triumph.
📸: Minh Connors
November 4, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Be like Art Agnos
Reposted by Peter Hartlaub
We love the 3 new stairways @peterhartlaub.bsky.social's added to his list of favorites. Who knows: maybe one will make it into next year's #SFStairChallenge? 👀
17 epic stairways that will make you fall in love with San Francisco again
Is San Francisco the best stairway city in the world? Try these 17 urban stairwell hikes and find out for yourself.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM
We love the 3 new stairways @peterhartlaub.bsky.social's added to his list of favorites. Who knows: maybe one will make it into next year's #SFStairChallenge? 👀
Just talked to Art Agnos, in great spirits.
Served one term — his support of the Embarcadero Freeway teardown sunk his reelection — but his tenure ages so well.
Pushed for housing, parks and safe space for pedestrians and bicyclists. And the Embarcadero is now his biggest triumph.
📸: Minh Connors
Served one term — his support of the Embarcadero Freeway teardown sunk his reelection — but his tenure ages so well.
Pushed for housing, parks and safe space for pedestrians and bicyclists. And the Embarcadero is now his biggest triumph.
📸: Minh Connors
November 3, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Just talked to Art Agnos, in great spirits.
Served one term — his support of the Embarcadero Freeway teardown sunk his reelection — but his tenure ages so well.
Pushed for housing, parks and safe space for pedestrians and bicyclists. And the Embarcadero is now his biggest triumph.
📸: Minh Connors
Served one term — his support of the Embarcadero Freeway teardown sunk his reelection — but his tenure ages so well.
Pushed for housing, parks and safe space for pedestrians and bicyclists. And the Embarcadero is now his biggest triumph.
📸: Minh Connors
I wrote this @sfchronicle.com column and still can't believe it happened.
Photos of a high-speed auto race in Golden Gate Park. Cars going 100+ miles per hour, often with no barriers separating them from the crowd.
(And then neighbors got involved.)
🏎️ 🏎️ 🏎️ 💨
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
Photos of a high-speed auto race in Golden Gate Park. Cars going 100+ miles per hour, often with no barriers separating them from the crowd.
(And then neighbors got involved.)
🏎️ 🏎️ 🏎️ 💨
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
Golden Gate Park was once home to high-speed auto racing (It did not end well)
Speeds were high and safety was low in the Guardsmen classic, a short-lived automobile race that accelerated through San Francisco’s biggest park. We found the startling photos.
www.sfchronicle.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I wrote this @sfchronicle.com column and still can't believe it happened.
Photos of a high-speed auto race in Golden Gate Park. Cars going 100+ miles per hour, often with no barriers separating them from the crowd.
(And then neighbors got involved.)
🏎️ 🏎️ 🏎️ 💨
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
Photos of a high-speed auto race in Golden Gate Park. Cars going 100+ miles per hour, often with no barriers separating them from the crowd.
(And then neighbors got involved.)
🏎️ 🏎️ 🏎️ 💨
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
So true.
And ethical minefields aside, contemporary Superman and Spider-Man content has done a pretty good job of reflecting the changing newsroom — print to digital, deadlines, etc. — and resulting challenges.
And ethical minefields aside, contemporary Superman and Spider-Man content has done a pretty good job of reflecting the changing newsroom — print to digital, deadlines, etc. — and resulting challenges.
The Power Fantasy of Superman is you still have a staff job on a newspaper.
October 27, 2025 at 5:32 PM
So true.
And ethical minefields aside, contemporary Superman and Spider-Man content has done a pretty good job of reflecting the changing newsroom — print to digital, deadlines, etc. — and resulting challenges.
And ethical minefields aside, contemporary Superman and Spider-Man content has done a pretty good job of reflecting the changing newsroom — print to digital, deadlines, etc. — and resulting challenges.
I wish I currently had a podcast to take advantage of this!
@jessethorn.bsky.social is a good dude & The Podfather. When I was lost at podcasting sea he listened to my pod & gave me advice that turned things around
He did it in such a casual & confident way I suspect he did the same for 100 others
@jessethorn.bsky.social is a good dude & The Podfather. When I was lost at podcasting sea he listened to my pod & gave me advice that turned things around
He did it in such a casual & confident way I suspect he did the same for 100 others
October 26, 2025 at 4:02 AM
I wish I currently had a podcast to take advantage of this!
@jessethorn.bsky.social is a good dude & The Podfather. When I was lost at podcasting sea he listened to my pod & gave me advice that turned things around
He did it in such a casual & confident way I suspect he did the same for 100 others
@jessethorn.bsky.social is a good dude & The Podfather. When I was lost at podcasting sea he listened to my pod & gave me advice that turned things around
He did it in such a casual & confident way I suspect he did the same for 100 others
Answered the question "what's up with Coast Guard Island?"
Across the estuary from my Alameda house. Got it's start busting Prohibition "rum-runners." And turns out there have been other immigration detentions there.
The @sfchronicle.com archive is knowledge 🗞️🗞️
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Across the estuary from my Alameda house. Got it's start busting Prohibition "rum-runners." And turns out there have been other immigration detentions there.
The @sfchronicle.com archive is knowledge 🗞️🗞️
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
From rum-runners to immigration protests: Coast Guard Island’s dramatic history
Coast Guard Island in the Oakland Estuary has been used to bust rum-runners and patrol the Pacific. This week, it was the center of immigration enforcement protests. Here’s a look at its history.
www.sfchronicle.com
October 25, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Answered the question "what's up with Coast Guard Island?"
Across the estuary from my Alameda house. Got it's start busting Prohibition "rum-runners." And turns out there have been other immigration detentions there.
The @sfchronicle.com archive is knowledge 🗞️🗞️
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Across the estuary from my Alameda house. Got it's start busting Prohibition "rum-runners." And turns out there have been other immigration detentions there.
The @sfchronicle.com archive is knowledge 🗞️🗞️
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Reposted by Peter Hartlaub
Thanks for the shout out for Tepco Beach
October 23, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Thanks for the shout out for Tepco Beach
We asked Bay Area readers for their favorite secret destinations.
96% said "I'm not telling you, because then it wouldn't be a secret."
But the other 4% knocked it out of the park.
(Gift link 🎁 for all the koi lovers 🎏)
www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
96% said "I'm not telling you, because then it wouldn't be a secret."
But the other 4% knocked it out of the park.
(Gift link 🎁 for all the koi lovers 🎏)
www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
Here are 15 of the Bay Area's best-kept secrets
The odd museums, hidden arcades, under-the-radar hikes and other hidden gems that make the Bay Area so fascinating.
www.sfchronicle.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:33 PM
We asked Bay Area readers for their favorite secret destinations.
96% said "I'm not telling you, because then it wouldn't be a secret."
But the other 4% knocked it out of the park.
(Gift link 🎁 for all the koi lovers 🎏)
www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
96% said "I'm not telling you, because then it wouldn't be a secret."
But the other 4% knocked it out of the park.
(Gift link 🎁 for all the koi lovers 🎏)
www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
Does this mean the Giants can play with aluminum bats?
The San Francisco Giants reportedly have hired University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello to be their next manager, solidifying a bold choice by Buster Posey.
Giants reportedly hire Tennessee’s Tony Vitello as manager, his first pro baseball job
The San Francisco Giants reportedly have hired University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello to be their next manager, solidifying a bold choice by Buster Posey.
bit.ly
October 22, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Does this mean the Giants can play with aluminum bats?
LOVE this @coyotemedia.org piece from Alan Chazaro.
From the Great Mall to Great America, airbrushing is both nostalgia and a Bay Area art form that endures.
@pochoboymeetsworld.bsky.social
www.coyotemedia.org/spray-area-t...
From the Great Mall to Great America, airbrushing is both nostalgia and a Bay Area art form that endures.
@pochoboymeetsworld.bsky.social
www.coyotemedia.org/spray-area-t...
“Spray Area”: The Evolution of Airbrushing in the Bay
Airbrushing once offered local artists a full-time income; nowadays, it’s mostly a creative side hustle that recalls a nostalgic past. Here’s what the remaining artists have to say about it.
www.coyotemedia.org
October 22, 2025 at 5:58 PM
LOVE this @coyotemedia.org piece from Alan Chazaro.
From the Great Mall to Great America, airbrushing is both nostalgia and a Bay Area art form that endures.
@pochoboymeetsworld.bsky.social
www.coyotemedia.org/spray-area-t...
From the Great Mall to Great America, airbrushing is both nostalgia and a Bay Area art form that endures.
@pochoboymeetsworld.bsky.social
www.coyotemedia.org/spray-area-t...
Ahn Phoong > Sweet James
October 21, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Ahn Phoong > Sweet James
“We need to not turn our backs on the people being targeted today. We need solidarity. We need to bring hope back to America.”
Listening closely to my neighbors who have seen this all before.
@stjbs.bsky.social interviews No Kings protesters who were born/lived in WWII prison camps.
Listening closely to my neighbors who have seen this all before.
@stjbs.bsky.social interviews No Kings protesters who were born/lived in WWII prison camps.
My No Kings dispatch:
‘I’m living in a nightmare’: Japanese internment camp survivors see history repeating under Trump www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
‘I’m living in a nightmare’: Japanese internment camp survivors see history repeating under Trump www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
‘I’m living in a nightmare’: Japanese internment camp survivors see history repeating under Trump
Protesters gathered Saturday at Tanforan Assembly Memorial in the Bay Area, where Japanese Americans were taken to internment camps 80 years ago. Survivors drew parallels from the past to the...
www.sfchronicle.com
October 19, 2025 at 12:17 AM
“We need to not turn our backs on the people being targeted today. We need solidarity. We need to bring hope back to America.”
Listening closely to my neighbors who have seen this all before.
@stjbs.bsky.social interviews No Kings protesters who were born/lived in WWII prison camps.
Listening closely to my neighbors who have seen this all before.
@stjbs.bsky.social interviews No Kings protesters who were born/lived in WWII prison camps.