Urban Rats - Revision history

Ccarlsson: added photo

2024-05-21T05:41:11Z

added photo

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:41, 20 May 2024
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	''Photo: Susan Greene''		''Photo: Susan Greene''

			[[Image:Gartland-pit IMG00076.jpg]]

			'''The Gartland Pit, c. 1982.'''

			''Photo: Chris Carlsson''

	[[Image:Contraband Gartland-Pit001x.jpg\|720px]]		[[Image:Contraband Gartland-Pit001x.jpg\|720px]]

Lisaruth at 00:48, 23 June 2018

2018-06-23T00:48:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:48, 22 June 2018
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	''Photo: Susan Greene''		''Photo: Susan Greene''

	'''Urban Rats, a San Francisco political agit-prop group in the early 1980s, carried on an active campaign over the "Gartland Pit," targeting especially the Reverend Floyd Andrews, a shyster preacher running the Christian Spiritualist Church of America at 635 Dolores St. He had plans to "develop" the site as a home for women with drug problems (who would then work for the Reverend's church, while turning over their various support payments to him).'''		'''Urban Rats, a San Francisco political agit-prop group in the early 1980s, carried on an active campaign over the [[The GARTLAND FIRE!\|"Gartland Pit,"]] targeting especially the Reverend Floyd Andrews, a shyster preacher running the Christian Spiritualist Church of America at 635 Dolores St. He had plans to "develop" the site as a home for women with drug problems (who would then work for the Reverend's church, while turning over their various support payments to him).'''

	[[Image:Rev.-Floyd poster.jpg]]		[[Image:Rev.-Floyd poster.jpg]]

Lisaruth: fixed video link to GARTPIT1

2016-11-04T21:04:53Z

fixed video link to GARTPIT1

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:04, 4 November 2016
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	Many more billboards: "America is going towards Europe", featuring Uncle Sam became "America is going towards Fascism"; Marlboro Men, and tough guys smoking Camels were beheaded. We became the Domino Theory for Carnival, dressed up in sandwich board dominoes. We were met with cheers by the onlookers. One of our crew wore a Reagan mask and was assaulted by the white domino dots that we pulled off and threw. We turned billboards for "Skyline Realty" into "Slumlord Realty." Early one morning we took a photo of a prominent slumlord as he left his mistress's house. The next day the neighborhood was plastered with the guy's mug and "Wanted for felonies" with a listing of his grievous offenses. One night we staged a macabre cocktail party outside said realtor’s office. We aspired to a kind of cultural War of the Flea.		Many more billboards: "America is going towards Europe", featuring Uncle Sam became "America is going towards Fascism"; Marlboro Men, and tough guys smoking Camels were beheaded. We became the Domino Theory for Carnival, dressed up in sandwich board dominoes. We were met with cheers by the onlookers. One of our crew wore a Reagan mask and was assaulted by the white domino dots that we pulled off and threw. We turned billboards for "Skyline Realty" into "Slumlord Realty." Early one morning we took a photo of a prominent slumlord as he left his mistress's house. The next day the neighborhood was plastered with the guy's mug and "Wanted for felonies" with a listing of his grievous offenses. One night we staged a macabre cocktail party outside said realtor’s office. We aspired to a kind of cultural War of the Flea.

	~~{{#ev~~:archive\|ssfGARTPIT1~~\|320}}~~		<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/ssfGARTPIT1" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

	'''URBAN RATS performance at 16th and Valencia'''		'''URBAN RATS performance at 16th and Valencia'''

Ccarlsson: added Jeanne Hansen photo and fixed audio link

2015-08-06T21:42:07Z

added Jeanne Hansen photo and fixed audio link

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:42, 6 August 2015
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	''Photo: © Jeanne Hansen''		''Photo: © Jeanne Hansen''

	<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/GartlandPitAndAftermathSept.261987" width="500" height="~~140~~" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>		<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/GartlandPitAndAftermathSept.261987" width="500" height="30" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

	'''42 minutes of sound from a live punk concert in the Gartland Pit, Sept. 26, 1987, featuring Tom Jennings and Shred of Dignity'''		'''42 minutes of sound from a live punk concert in the Gartland Pit, Sept. 26, 1987, featuring Tom Jennings and Shred of Dignity'''

Ccarlsson: added Jeanne Hansen photo and fixed audio link

2015-08-06T21:41:32Z

added Jeanne Hansen photo and fixed audio link

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:41, 6 August 2015
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	''Photo: Susan Greene''		''Photo: Susan Greene''

	~~<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="350" height="24" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" src="http~~:~~//www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial~~-3.~~0.5.swf" w3c="true" flashvars=~~'~~config={"key"~~:~~"#$b6eb72a0f2f1e29f3d4"~~,~~"playlist":[{"url"~~:"~~http~~://~~www.~~archive.org/~~download~~/GartlandPitAndAftermathSept.261987~~/Gartland-Pit-and-aftermath-26Sep1987.mp3~~","~~autoPlay~~"~~:false}],~~"~~clip~~"~~:{"autoPlay":true},"canvas":{"backgroundColor~~"~~:"0x000000","backgroundGradient":"none"},"plugins":{"audio":{"url":"http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.~~0~~.3-dev.swf~~"},"~~controls~~":{"~~playlist~~":false,"fullscreen":false,"gloss":"high","backgroundColor":"0x000000","backgroundGradient":"medium","sliderColor":"0x777777","progressColor":"0x777777","timeColor":"0xeeeeee","durationColor":"0x01DAFF","buttonColor":"0x333333","buttonOverColor":"0x505050"}},"contextMenu":[{"Listen+to+GartlandPitAndAftermathSept.261987+at+archive.org":"function()"},"-","Flowplayer 3.0.5"]}'> </~~embed~~>		[[Image:Contraband Gartland-Pit001x.jpg\|720px]]

			'''[[New Stages: Dance and the Transition of Form\|Contraband performs]] ''Religare'' in the Gartland Pit, early 1980s.'''

			''Photo: © Jeanne Hansen''

			<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/GartlandPitAndAftermathSept.261987" width="500" height="140" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

	'''42 minutes of sound from a live punk concert in the Gartland Pit, Sept. 26, 1987, featuring Tom Jennings and Shred of Dignity'''		'''42 minutes of sound from a live punk concert in the Gartland Pit, Sept. 26, 1987, featuring Tom Jennings and Shred of Dignity'''

Lisaruth at 06:47, 5 November 2012

2012-11-05T06:47:55Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:47, 4 November 2012
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	[[Image:Gartland-hotel-october-1958-w-arrow.jpg]]		[[Image:Gartland-hotel-october-1958-w-arrow.jpg]]

	'''[[The GARTLAND FIRE!\|Gartland ~~Hotel~~]] at Valencia and 16th Streets, 1958.'''		'''[[The GARTLAND FIRE!\|Gartland Apartments]] at Valencia and 16th Streets, 1958.'''

	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

Ccarlsson at 06:58, 31 July 2011

2011-07-31T06:58:26Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:58, 30 July 2011
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	[[Image:Gartland-hotel-october-1958-w-arrow.jpg]]		[[Image:Gartland-hotel-october-1958-w-arrow.jpg]]

	'''The Gartland Hotel, ~~October~~ 1958'''		'''[[The GARTLAND FIRE!\|Gartland Hotel]] at Valencia and 16th Streets, 1958.'''

	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

	~~'''[[The GARTLAND FIRE!\|Gartland Hotel]] at Valencia and 16th Streets, 1958.'''~~

	~~''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''~~

	'''Susan Greene:''' This was some of the most satisfying and exciting work I have ever done, art and politics, activism, the immediacy, life-art, the engagement with all kinds of people, the late night early morning illicit thrill of using big business‚s words, images and space, and turning them around so they became the object of scrutiny and analysis. We worked with what the environment had to offer, and manipulated existing signs to say what we wanted to say, something large, public and illegal. We turned that light on ourselves too. Many of our group were middle class, white artists, activists and intellectuals, and were thus, in spite of ourselves, part of the first cutting edges of the gentrification of the Mission. Everyone knows that murals also raise property values. Now most of us can barely afford to live in San Francisco, and cannot afford to live in the Mission.		'''Susan Greene:''' This was some of the most satisfying and exciting work I have ever done, art and politics, activism, the immediacy, life-art, the engagement with all kinds of people, the late night early morning illicit thrill of using big business‚s words, images and space, and turning them around so they became the object of scrutiny and analysis. We worked with what the environment had to offer, and manipulated existing signs to say what we wanted to say, something large, public and illegal. We turned that light on ourselves too. Many of our group were middle class, white artists, activists and intellectuals, and were thus, in spite of ourselves, part of the first cutting edges of the gentrification of the Mission. Everyone knows that murals also raise property values. Now most of us can barely afford to live in San Francisco, and cannot afford to live in the Mission.

Ccarlsson: added images

2011-07-31T06:57:25Z

added images

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:57, 30 July 2011
Line 7:		Line 7:
	''Photo: Susan Greene''		''Photo: Susan Greene''

	~~'''Urban Rats, a San Francisco political agit~~-~~prop group in the early 1980s, carried on an active campaign over the "Gartland Pit," targeting especially the Reverend~~ Floyd ~~Andrews~~, a shyster preacher running the Christian Spiritualist Church of America at 635 Dolores St. He had plans to "develop" the site as a home for women with drug problems (who would then work for the Reverend's church, while turning over their various support payments to him).~~'''~~		[[Image:Gartland-Rev-Floyd-protest-June-20,-1983 2.jpg]]

	~~[[Image:mission$gartland-cemetery~~.~~jpg]]~~		'''Urban Rats protesting Reverend Floyd at 16th and Valencia, June 20, 1983.'''

	''Photo: Susan Greene''		''Photo: Susan Greene''

	~~[[Image:Gartland-hotel-october-1958-w-arrow.jpg]]~~		'''Urban Rats, a San Francisco political agit-prop group in the early 1980s, carried on an active campaign over the "Gartland Pit," targeting especially the Reverend Floyd Andrews, a shyster preacher running the Christian Spiritualist Church of America at 635 Dolores St. He had plans to "develop" the site as a home for women with drug problems (who would then work for the Reverend's church, while turning over their various support payments to him).'''

	'''~~The~~ Gartland ~~Hotel~~, ~~October 1958~~'''

	~~''Photo~~: ~~San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''~~		[[Image:Rev.-Floyd poster.jpg]]

	~~'''[[The GARTLAND FIRE!\|Gartland Hotel]] at Valencia and 16th Streets, 1958.'''~~

	~~''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''~~

	<font size=4>'''Tales of the Urban Rats, circa 1982'''</font>		<font size=4>'''Tales of the Urban Rats, circa 1982'''</font>
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	'''Susan Greene and Peter Plate:''' A trail of tears, devolution along the Valencia Corridor. We were a loose amalgamation of artists and activists who recognized the climate of gentrification we were living in. It was a war between real estate speculators, slum landlords and tenants. We fired the opening salvo at 16th and Valencia, the site of the Gartland Apartments landlord arson fire.		'''Susan Greene and Peter Plate:''' A trail of tears, devolution along the Valencia Corridor. We were a loose amalgamation of artists and activists who recognized the climate of gentrification we were living in. It was a war between real estate speculators, slum landlords and tenants. We fired the opening salvo at 16th and Valencia, the site of the Gartland Apartments landlord arson fire.

	In mid ’70s, the Bay Area Rapid Transit System or BART was completed with its key stations constructed in the transitional neighborhood of the Mission. The Mission was a working class enclave that had withstood the onslaught of gentrification. It was a neighborhood that traditionally had been a home to political exiles, immigrants and refugees from around the world. The completion of the BART system signaled a rise in property values and foretold the future of the district. The Mission would become a high priced neighborhood for young middle class professionals. In the years immediately after BART's completion a series of landlord arson fires were set. It is much easier to speculate property that does not include a rundown building filled with poverty stricken tenants. The Gartland Apartments at the corner of 16th Street and Valencia was set on fire in December of 1975. 25 people were caught inside because the fire escapes had been wired shut. 13 bodies were never found. Several people spoke to us during the ~~installation‰~~ of the Pit, who said that they had known people who perished in that fire. The Pit was agit prop and a memorial honoring the victims of the Gartland Landlord arson. The grave yard and text that the Urban Rats erected remained untouched for months. It was destroyed the morning after the late Thomas Albright, art critic at the Examiner, wrote a review of The Pit installation, calling it the "best Mission Mural." That was too much attention for the ~~slum lord~~ who sent two young men to destroy it. A couple of guys from the bar/nightclub Esta Noche tried unsuccessfully to defend The Pit. They told us about it later when we went to survey to damage. The Pit lived on however. Between the spring of 1983 and summer of 1987, repeated site projects were enacted at The Pit. The Pit was de-territorialized and removed from the definition of private property as we know it. It became a public vector, the site of poetry readings, dance performances, film screenings. In the autumn of 1987, ground was broken for the Maria Alicia Apartments, a low income housing project. Today landlord arson fires are occurring again in the Mission. This is history repeating itself. In the ’70s and ’80s we saw the beginning skirmishes of a real estate war. Now we are living in the midst of spatial and class apartheid.		In mid ’70s, the Bay Area Rapid Transit System or BART was completed with its key stations constructed in the transitional neighborhood of the Mission. The Mission was a working class enclave that had withstood the onslaught of gentrification. It was a neighborhood that traditionally had been a home to political exiles, immigrants and refugees from around the world. The completion of the BART system signaled a rise in property values and foretold the future of the district. The Mission would become a high priced neighborhood for young middle class professionals. In the years immediately after BART's completion a series of landlord arson fires were set. It is much easier to speculate property that does not include a rundown building filled with poverty stricken tenants. The Gartland Apartments at the corner of 16th Street and Valencia was set on fire in December of 1975. 25 people were caught inside because the fire escapes had been wired shut. 13 bodies were never found. Several people spoke to us during the installation of the Pit, who said that they had known people who perished in that fire. The Pit was agit prop and a memorial honoring the victims of the Gartland Landlord arson. The grave yard and text that the Urban Rats erected remained untouched for months. It was destroyed the morning after the late Thomas Albright, art critic at the Examiner, wrote a review of The Pit installation, calling it the "best Mission Mural." That was too much attention for the slumlord who sent two young men to destroy it. A couple of guys from the bar/nightclub Esta Noche tried unsuccessfully to defend The Pit. They told us about it later when we went to survey to damage. The Pit lived on however. Between the spring of 1983 and summer of 1987, repeated site projects were enacted at The Pit. The Pit was de-territorialized and removed from the definition of private property as we know it. It became a public vector, the site of poetry readings, dance performances, film screenings. In the autumn of 1987, ground was broken for the Maria Alicia Apartments, a low income housing project. Today landlord arson fires are occurring again in the Mission. This is history repeating itself. In the ’70s and ’80s we saw the beginning skirmishes of a real estate war. Now we are living in the midst of spatial and class apartheid.

			[[Image:mission$gartland-cemetery.jpg]]

			''Photo: Susan Greene''

			[[Image:Gartland-hotel-october-1958-w-arrow.jpg]]

			'''The Gartland Hotel, October 1958'''

			''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

			'''[[The GARTLAND FIRE!\|Gartland Hotel]] at Valencia and 16th Streets, 1958.'''

			''Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library''

	'''Susan Greene:''' This was some of the most satisfying and exciting work I have ever done, art and politics, activism, the immediacy, life-art, the engagement with all kinds of people, the late night early morning illicit thrill of using big business‚s words, images and space, and turning them around so they became the object of scrutiny and analysis. We worked with what the environment had to offer, and manipulated existing signs to say what we wanted to say, something large, public and illegal. We turned that light on ourselves too. Many of our group were middle class, white artists, activists and intellectuals, and were thus, in spite of ourselves, part of the first cutting edges of the gentrification of the Mission. Everyone knows that murals also raise property values. Now most of us can barely afford to live in San Francisco, and cannot afford to live in the Mission.		'''Susan Greene:''' This was some of the most satisfying and exciting work I have ever done, art and politics, activism, the immediacy, life-art, the engagement with all kinds of people, the late night early morning illicit thrill of using big business‚s words, images and space, and turning them around so they became the object of scrutiny and analysis. We worked with what the environment had to offer, and manipulated existing signs to say what we wanted to say, something large, public and illegal. We turned that light on ourselves too. Many of our group were middle class, white artists, activists and intellectuals, and were thus, in spite of ourselves, part of the first cutting edges of the gentrification of the Mission. Everyone knows that murals also raise property values. Now most of us can barely afford to live in San Francisco, and cannot afford to live in the Mission.

Ccarlsson: fixed navigation for name change

2011-04-11T01:49:51Z

fixed navigation for name change

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:49, 10 April 2011
Line 67:		Line 67:
	'''42 minutes of sound from a live punk concert in the Gartland Pit, Sept. 26, 1987, featuring Tom Jennings and Shred of Dignity'''		'''42 minutes of sound from a live punk concert in the Gartland Pit, Sept. 26, 1987, featuring Tom Jennings and Shred of Dignity'''

	[[FSLN ~~1979~~ \|Prev. Document]] [[MEPHISTOPOLY IN S.F. \|Next Document]]		[[FSLN in the Mission Late 1970s \|Prev. Document]] [[MEPHISTOPOLY IN S.F. \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Mission]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:dissent]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:gentrification]] [[category:1950s]] [[category:buildings]]		[[category:Mission]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:dissent]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:gentrification]] [[category:1950s]] [[category:buildings]]

Ccarlsson: added audio link

2010-02-01T23:08:47Z

added audio link

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:08, 1 February 2010
Line 62:		Line 62:

	''Photo: Susan Greene''		''Photo: Susan Greene''

			<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="350" height="24" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" src="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.0.5.swf" w3c="true" flashvars='config={"key":"#$b6eb72a0f2f1e29f3d4","playlist":[{"url":"http://www.archive.org/download/GartlandPitAndAftermathSept.261987/Gartland-Pit-and-aftermath-26Sep1987.mp3","autoPlay":false}],"clip":{"autoPlay":true},"canvas":{"backgroundColor":"0x000000","backgroundGradient":"none"},"plugins":{"audio":{"url":"http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.0.3-dev.swf"},"controls":{"playlist":false,"fullscreen":false,"gloss":"high","backgroundColor":"0x000000","backgroundGradient":"medium","sliderColor":"0x777777","progressColor":"0x777777","timeColor":"0xeeeeee","durationColor":"0x01DAFF","buttonColor":"0x333333","buttonOverColor":"0x505050"}},"contextMenu":[{"Listen+to+GartlandPitAndAftermathSept.261987+at+archive.org":"function()"},"-","Flowplayer 3.0.5"]}'> </embed>

			'''42 minutes of sound from a live punk concert in the Gartland Pit, Sept. 26, 1987, featuring Tom Jennings and Shred of Dignity'''

	[[FSLN 1979 \|Prev. Document]] [[MEPHISTOPOLY IN S.F. \|Next Document]]		[[FSLN 1979 \|Prev. Document]] [[MEPHISTOPOLY IN S.F. \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Mission]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:dissent]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:gentrification]] [[category:1950s]] [[category:buildings]]		[[category:Mission]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:dissent]] [[category:real estate]] [[category:gentrification]] [[category:1950s]] [[category:buildings]]