San Francisco's Fillmore District

Todays Fillmore District while one of San Franciscos most diverse neighborhoods bears little resemblance to the cosmopolitan place it once was. This district which has arguably changed more than any other in the city once held a large Jewish settlement replete with synagogues bakeries and kosher markets. It also had a huge Japanese community now centered in Japantown but not as extensive as in the prewar years; amusements like the Chutes Dreamland boxing ring and theatres; schools churches and a celebrated Jazz District that hosted the top names in music for many years. And in one of the most controversial displays of civic power this densely populated area fell to the forces of redevelopment bisected by the ambitious plan to widen Geary Boulevard creating a freeway-like road through the district and forcing out thousands of dwellers whose homes were either moved or demolished.