Tonight's Super Bowl has a connection to numismatics beyond the opening coin flip. As a result of the game and its surrounding
festivities in San Francisco, the Old San Francisco Mint building got an additional makeover just in time to greet throngs of out-of-town
visitors. -Editor
As recently as last summer, the Old United States Mint in San Francisco was a sorry sight.
Nearly every night homeless people would pitch their tents on the granite landing by the massive Doric columns. Those who had no tents
would sleep on beds of flattened cardboard boxes.
Trash was routinely thrown over the side and onto a fenced-in yard that looked like it hadn't seen a landscaping crew in years.
Passers-by had to watch their step — the overnight residents weren't too particular where they took their bathroom breaks.
Fast forward six months, and now take a look.
Before
After
After
The refuse is gone, the ground raked and replaced with mulch and pea gravel. Palm trees and evergreen shrubs rise up where weeds once
sprouted. The rusty iron fence has been sanded down and repainted.
No one bivouacs next to the front doors anymore.
Amazing what a difference hosting a Super Bowl makes!
To be fair, the transformation of the Old Mint began in earnest well before the Big Game festivities got rolling. But San Francisco
definitely ramped up the makeover in recent weeks. For example, the mulch was just laid this week, and the paint on the historic lampposts,
brushed on on Tuesday, is barely dry.
So apparently we can thank high-end football cleats for helping to make the Old Mint minty fresh.
To read the complete article, see:
Suddenly, the Old Mint is all
spiffed up for the Super Bowl (www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Suddenly-the-SF-mint-is-all-spiffed-up-for-the-6804131.php)
To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
OLD SAN FRANCISCO MINT BUILDING ATTRACTS HOMELESS
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n24a38.html)
SIGNS OF RESTORATION AT OLD SAN FRANCISCO MINT
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n04a15.html)
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor
at this address: whomren@gmail.com
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