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Dogpatch, San Francisco: the Museum of Craft and Design, Letterform Archive and the Pier 70 yard

Dogpatch, California

Dogpatch is a working waterfront quarter of San Francisco, and it is read from Third Street. Two ticketed institutions stand on Third Street: the Museum of Craft and Design at 2569 Third Street, which its own site places in the American Industrial Center, and the Letterform Archive at 2325 Third Street, and both publish their hours and their admission prices. West of Third Street the Dogpatch Historic District covers blocks of flats and cottages, designated under Article 10 of the San Francisco Planning Code by Ordinance 66-03, adopted on 18 April 2003; the Irving M. Scott School of 1895 stands inside it. East of Illinois Street the ground turns industrial, in the Pier 70 yard of sixty-six acres at Potrero Point and at Crane Cove Park on the bay.

  1. Open Thursday to Sunday from 12:00 to 17:00 at 2569 Third Street, with $10 general admission and free entry on the first Thursday of every month.

  2. A typography archive with a gallery and a reading room at 2325 Third Street, Floor 4R; Thursday admission is complimentary.

  3. A gallery complex in three buildings on Minnesota Street and 25th Street; no source states regular opening hours.

  4. The school building of 1895 at 1060 Tennessee Street: San Francisco Landmark No. 138, designated in 1981, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 11 April 1985, reference number 85000714.

  5. Sixty-six acres of shipbuilding ground at Potrero Point, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 17 April 2014, reference number 14000150.

  6. A seven-acre bay front park at 18th Street and Illinois, with a beach, two play areas, an off-leash dog run and a promenade to a lookout deck.

  7. A small waterfront park on 24th Street with a paved pathway through a grove of trees, a picnic table and seating.

  8. A Recreation and Park lawn of 2.23 acres at 700 Minnesota Street.

  9. The blocks of flats and cottages designated under Article 10 of the San Francisco Planning Code by Ordinance 66-03, adopted on 18 April 2003.

  10. Dinner Wednesday to Sunday from 5pm to 9pm at 1001 Minnesota Street, with lunch Wednesday to Friday and brunch at weekends from 11am to 2pm.

  11. A cafe at 732 22nd Street opening Monday to Friday from 7:30 and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00.

  12. A restaurant at 2495 Third Street, open Tuesday to Saturday from 17:30, taking walk-ins at the bar table.

  13. A butcher's shop at 1192 Illinois Street, open Wednesday from 11:00 and Thursday to Sunday from 10:00.

  14. A printmakers' co-operative gallery at 2565 Third Street #305, open to the public Friday and Saturday from noon to 5pm.

Third Street and the American Industrial Center

The Museum of Craft and Design is at 2569 Third Street, and its own site places it in the historic American Industrial Center. It opens Thursday to Sunday from 12:00 to 17:00 and is closed Monday to Wednesday. General admission is $10, students with identification and seniors of 65 and older pay $8, children through age 12 and museum members are admitted free, and admission is free on the first Thursday of every month.

The Letterform Archive is at 2325 Third Street, Floor 4R, with a mailing address of 2339 Third Street. It opens Thursday 13:00 to 20:00, Friday 11:00 to 18:00, and Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 13:30 and again 14:00 to 18:00, closed Monday to Wednesday. General admission is $10; students, seniors, educators and people with disabilities pay $5; children of 12 and under and members are admitted free. Thursday admission is complimentary.

The Graphic Arts Workshop, a printmakers' co-operative, is at 2565 Third Street #305 and is open to the public Friday and Saturday from noon to 5pm. Dogpatch Boulders, a climbing gym, is at 2573 Third Street.

The shopfronts along the same stretch are places to eat. Wolfsbane is at 2495 Third Street and opens Tuesday to Saturday from 17:30. Souvla is at 2505 Third Street, Long Bridge Pizza Company at 2347 Third Street, Wooly Pig at 2295 Third Street and Domaine SF at 2331 Third Street. Velocipede Cyclery is at 2405 Third Street. No source states opening hours for those five, so none are given here.

The historic district, Pier 70 and the waterfront parks

The Dogpatch Historic District was designated under Article 10 of the San Francisco Planning Code by Ordinance 66-03, adopted on 18 April 2003. The Irving M. Scott School stands inside it at 1060 Tennessee Street, built in 1895: San Francisco Landmark No. 138, designated in 1981, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 11 April 1985, reference number 85000714. The Article 10 register carries the school under the name The Potrero School.

East of Illinois Street between 18th and 22nd Streets is the Pier 70 yard. The Union Iron Works Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 17 April 2014, reference number 14000150. San Francisco Planning's record gives sixty-six acres at Potrero Point, bordered by San Francisco Bay, holding "buildings, piers, slips, cranes, segments of a railroad network, and landscape elements", most of them "constructed of unreinforced brick masonry, concrete, and steel framing with corrugated iron or steel cladding." Named structures within the yard include a Bethlehem office building of 1917 by Frederick Meyer in Renaissance Revival, Power House No. 1 of 1912 by Charles P. Weeks, a Union Iron Works office of 1896 by Percy & Hamilton, and the machine shops of 1885.

Crane Cove Park sits on the bay at 18th Street and Illinois Street, and the Port of San Francisco calls it a seven-acre bay front park in the Dogpatch neighborhood. Warm Water Cove Park is on 24th Street, and the Port describes it as "a small park nestled within the industrial central waterfront in the Dogpatch neighborhood". Esprit Park, at 700 Minnesota Street, is a San Francisco Recreation and Park property of 2.23 acres. The Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Hospital at 331 Pennsylvania Avenue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, reference number 100008498.

Getting there

Steer by addresses instead, and by Third Street, which the shopfronts and both ticketed institutions sit on.

The addresses that matter: the Museum of Craft and Design, 2569 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. The Letterform Archive, 2325 Third Street, Floor 4R, San Francisco, CA 94107. The Minnesota Street Project galleries, 1275 Minnesota Street, with further buildings at 1201 Minnesota Street and 1150 25th Street. Esprit Park, 700 Minnesota Street. The Irving M. Scott School, 1060 Tennessee Street. Crane Cove Park, 18th Street and Illinois Street. Warm Water Cove Park, 24th Street.

The two ticketed institutions are the fixed points of a day here, and both are closed Monday to Wednesday. The parks have no admission and no published hours. The Minnesota Street Project publishes no regular opening hours either, so check a gallery's own notice before setting out.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Museum of Craft and Design open, and what does it cost?
The museum is at 2569 Third Street, in the historic American Industrial Center. It opens Thursday to Sunday from 12:00 to 17:00 and is closed Monday to Wednesday. General admission is $10; students with identification pay $8; seniors of 65 and older pay $8; children through age 12 and museum members are admitted free. Admission is free on the first Thursday of every month.
Can I visit the Letterform Archive?
The Letterform Archive is at 2325 Third Street, Floor 4R, with a mailing address of 2339 Third Street. It opens Thursday 13:00 to 20:00, Friday 11:00 to 18:00, and Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 13:30 and 14:00 to 18:00; it is closed Monday to Wednesday. General admission is $10, with $5 for students, seniors, educators and people with disabilities, and free entry for children of 12 and under and for members. Thursday admission is complimentary.
What is at the Minnesota Street Project?
The galleries are at 1275 Minnesota Street, with further buildings at 1201 Minnesota Street and 1150 25th Street. The galleries named on its own site are Casemore Gallery, Themes + Projects, Ruth Asawa Lanier Inc., Hashimoto Contemporary and Harman Projects, Municipal Bonds, Nancy Toomey Fine Art and Slash. No source states regular opening hours.
Which buildings here carry a register citation?
The Irving M. Scott School at 1060 Tennessee Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 138, designated in 1981, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 11 April 1985, reference number 85000714. The Union Iron Works Historic District, the Pier 70 yard east of Illinois Street, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 17 April 2014, reference number 14000150. The Dogpatch Historic District was designated under Article 10 of the San Francisco Planning Code by Ordinance 66-03, adopted on 18 April 2003. The Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Hospital at 331 Pennsylvania Avenue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, reference number 100008498.
What is there to do on the waterfront?
Crane Cove Park is at 18th Street and Illinois Street, and the Port of San Francisco describes a seven-acre bay front park with a beach giving bay access for kayaking, paddle boarding and wading, picnic tables, benches and grills, two children's play areas, an off-leash dog run, a promenade running to a lookout deck, and public restrooms. Warm Water Cove Park is on 24th Street, with a paved pathway through a grove of trees, a picnic table and seating. Neither park publishes opening hours, so none are given here.
Where can I eat in Dogpatch?
Piccino is at 1001 Minnesota Street, serving dinner Wednesday to Sunday from 5pm to 9pm, lunch Wednesday to Friday from 11am to 2pm, and brunch Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 2pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Giuliana's Just For You Cafe at 732 22nd Street opens Monday to Friday from 7:30 and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00. Wolfsbane at 2495 Third Street opens Tuesday to Saturday from 17:30. Butter& at 690 Indiana Street opens Sunday from 10:00 and Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00, closed Monday, and Kin Khao Eatery shares the same address. Olivier's Butchery at 1192 Illinois Street opens Wednesday from 11:00 and Thursday to Sunday from 10:00.

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