June 28, 2001
Chronicle:
Ken Garcia:
Examiner:
Andrea Woo 10/15/99
Carousel Diner:
Official Hearing Notices"
SF Independent:
Ken Garcia: Chron, June 28, 2001
I don't know how many lives dogs are supposed to have, but it's nice to know a few of them get to have more than one nose. That will explain why a lot of people will be smiling under a familiar pooch perch near the beach this weekend, a gathering of the faithful for the city's most loyal doggie patrons. Few heads in this town have been more abused than that of our best-known smiling dachshund's -- though Steve Young's came pretty close. And even though the famed Doggie Diner head is the last of the official litter, a lot of our civic leaders fell down on the job when it came to giving DD proper protected status. It took a full-fledged campaign by a certain columnist to save the city's renowned dog head, including a threat that either the town save the 10-foot dachshund in the chef's hat or the columnist would get it. Happily, the columnist got tons of support instead, and finally a few supervisors saw the light and agreed to save DD for the ages. But that was before some unexpected howling winds loosened the 700-pound head from its rusty pole onto Sloat Boulevard on April 2, placing the sign in serious condition. Worried fans rushed to the scene and stood vigil as public works crews lifted the hound onto a truck bed and sped off to a maintenance yard, its trademark snout in shambles. Several months, and about $25,000 later, the pooch is getting a new leash on life, returning to its favorite haunt Saturday at the former Doggie Diner at 46th and Sloat. The festivities begin at 10:30 a.m., when the refurbished DD is officially unveiled. Among those in attendance will be John Law, the Emeryville contractor who has been a steward of three knockoff Doggie Diner heads in recent years. Law, showing that to understand the lure of the dogs requires a sense of humor, created a "dogminican order" of the First Church of the Last Laugh in honor of his adopted pets. Unfortunately, officials in Emeryville, where the dog heads are arguably the most recognizable icons outside of the Ikea store, showed no humor when they ordered Law to dump his fiberglass dogs -- which he rightly has refused to do. Also on hand will be Anna Conti, a Sunset District artist who recently held a show of her original paintings featuring the Doggie Diner symbol at gallery Canvas. Conti will be selling coloring books featuring some of her familiar canine drawings at the event, which is expected to last about three hours. It's been quite a long haul for the Doggie Diner symbol, which was falling apart as a result of civic neglect and petty squabbling. A few years ago, a group realized that the last real dog head was about to go the way of the other 25 original signs, which had been mounted atop one of the more successful locally owned food chains for more than two decades. The smiling dachshund icon was recommended for landmark status by the city's Landmarks Advisory Board, only to have a municipal muzzle placed on the idea by members of the Planning Commission, who were so busy approving the projects of the mayor's favorite developers they forgot to save one of the town's most creative and kitschy signs. After much brow beating from this corner, a few supervisors, led by Gavin Newsom, managed to reach an accord with the property owners across from the zoo to give the doggie head protected status. But it took months of debate before the city came around -- and that was before a group of self-serious lefties took over the board and showed the same lack of foresight in dealing with the venerable landmark. Rather than provide full funding for the repair of the damaged dog head, the new board gave it only about half of the money needed, leaving a group of dedicated DD lovers to raise the rest. The group still needs about $10,000 to pay for the fiberglass nose job, and anyone wishing to chip in can do so by calling (415) 554-7926. Contributions can be sent directly the the Department of Public Works, c/o the Doggie Repair Fund Committee, 875 Stevenson St., San Francisco, CA 94103. "We kind of inherited the dog head, but it's a lot of fun and it's nice to know that so many people love this thing," said Alex Mamak, DPW's spokesman. "We've restored the original candy apple colors, and it's going to look really good." Most people who have lived in the city for any length of time have their own memories of Doggie Diner, and having grown up in the shadows of the famous nose, I can recall many occasions where the dog head played a part in my life. But the most compelling story was relayed to me by Gloria Bonilla, a member of the city's Recreation and Park Department, who is heading the fund-raising effort. Bonilla said when her nieces and nephews from Fresno came to visit here each summer, she would take them to the zoo with a mandatory stop at Doggie Diner. It was, she said, by far their favorite place to go. "They would take back napkins, cups, anything they could that had the diner logo on it," Bonilla said. "Apparently, they were a big hit back home." The tradition lasted for many years, up until her nephew was tragically murdered. To this day, she said, she always equates her nephew with the Doggie Diner. Which is why, when the head blew down in April, she felt compelled to get involved in saving it. Now she'll have her chance and so will hundreds of others who recognize that a town that has steamrolled over its landmarks needs to reverse course and start saving more of its seedy gems. Even if the bureaucrats force us to do it one nose at a time. You can reach Ken Garcia at (415) 777-7152 or e-mail him at kgarcia@sfchronicle.com.
