Landmark Painted Gold Again: After the 120th commemoration on April 18, 2026, 5:12 a.m., of the 1906 Earthquake at Lotta’s Fountain on Market Street, a procession led by SF Police and Fire Department representatives walked or rode to the “Little Giant” at 20th and Church streets, where people took turns gilding the hydrant that helped save parts of the Mission from fire. According to a 2026 Facebook post by SF City Guides, the Dolores Park hydrant survived 1906 “because it used a different internal design. Most hydrants of the era
relied on rubber gaskets, which melted or failed in the intense heat. The Greenberg hydrant used metal-to-metal compression fittings instead, which held up under the extreme conditions. It drew water from a separate, isolated cistern system fed by the high-elevation reservoir in the Mission, which also helped—that water supply wasn’t disrupted the way the main city mains were….” Thank you to retired Police Captain Al Casciato for sending this image, taken by Bernie Murphy, photographer for the Guardians of the City (guardiansofthecity.org).
Vol. 50, No. 5
May 2026
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THE NOE VALLEY VOICE The Sound of the Oscars Lives on Clipper Street
D8 Hopefuls Make Their Case In Noe Valley
Neighborhood Sound Designer Earns Fourth Academy Award Nomination, for Sinners
Four Candidates Respond to Questions on Housing and Mental Health at April Forum
By Matthew S. Bajko
By Matthew S. Bajko
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teve Boeddeker makes cacophonous career choices as a sound engineer for Hollywood blockbusters starring Alist celebrities. In order to work from home, he set up a studio for his sound boards, computers, and other equipment in the basement of the Clipper Street house he bought in 1997. “It is very loud what I do,” he acknowledged while giving the Voice a tour of the place last month. Yet, the noise he makes while working on a movie is contained within the space. Passersby on one of the main routes in and out of Noe Valley have no idea what movie magic Boeddeker is conjuring up at the property. “I worked on Sinners here,” he noted, referring to Ryan Coogler’s 2025 vampire epic that picked up a recordbreaking 16 Oscar nominations at the 98th Academy Awards held this past March. One for Best Sound went to Boeddeker, who served as the film’s rerecording mixer and sound designer. He shared the Oscar nomination with the film’s supervising sound editor Benjamin A. Burtt, re-recording mixer Brandon Proctor, production sound mixer Chris Welcker, and music editor Felipe Pacheco. Although the Sinners sound crew didn’t win—the Brad Pitt racecar movie
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A former corporate events planner, Holder puts her skills to use overseeing Boeddeker’s social calendar. Boeddeker admits he can be disorganized in his personal life. “My friends joke I need to be his
everal of the candidates have called Noe Valley home. One opened his campaign headquarters in the heart of the neighborhood’s commercial corridor on 24th Street. Another chose a park up the street to kick off their candidacy. And all four of the declared candidates to date took part in their second candidates forum in mid-April at the Noe Valley Ministry. Not since the city reverted to electing supervisors by district in 2000 has Noe Valley featured so prominently in the contest to represent it at City Hall. That November, incumbent supervisor and Clipper Street resident Mark Leno won the election for the newly created District 8 seat. Besides Noe and Eureka valleys, the district encompasses Glen Park, Diamond Heights, Twin Peaks, Duboce Triangle, Corona Heights, and after a 2022 redistricting, most of Cole Valley. But because it also includes the historic LGBTQ Castro neighborhood, D8 has long been dubbed the “gay seat” on the board. Over the last 26 years, five consecutive gay men have served as its supervisor, two of whom lived in or near the Castro. Yet the center of attention is shifting
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Making Noise: Sound wizard Steve Boeddeker—frequently cheered by his partner Dionne Holder and dog Benny—has helped bring more than 100 Hollywood films to life, many from his Noe Valley home studio. Photo by Art Bodner
F1 took home the Oscar—Boeddeker said he enjoyed being feted at the various ceremonies over the roughly sixweek award season this past winter. Accompanying him at the events was his partner of four years, Dionne Holder. “It’s fun. I love it,” said Holder.