Search Results for: transit ephemera

Transit Art: Can You Spot BART?

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Can you spot pieces of Bay Area transit in this piece of mixed media art by reader Tofu St. John? You might remember him from “Project Art a Day.” His newest piece incorporates pieces of transit ephemera from public transportation systems across the country.

Here’s what he has to say about the new piece (available at Society6):

I love public transportation. When I travel to different cities I always seek out the adventure of public transportation. There is something magical about emerging from a subway station in a strange city for the first time. This new piece is made up of public transportation maps from around the world. From the San Francisco Bay Area’s Muni, AC Transit and BART to DC’s Metro, to London’s Underground and many more.

How do other artists incorporate public transit into their work? Check out our Muni Art Pinterest Board!

Category: diaries

Limp Bizkit, Live 105, and Muni walk into a time machine…

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@pfungcollects shared a relic from when we partied like it was 1999 with Limp Bizkit and Live 105 at the Family Values Tour—founded by nu-metal sensation Korn—and a grumpy Muni bus headed to the Cow Palace.

Yikes. I challenge anyone to come up with a more “Bay Area in the late-’90s” sentence than that. ^^

I can’t say I’m surprised to see Muni sneaking into the mix; from “My Neighbor Totoro” Catbus t-shirts to a cameo in Sister Act 2, Muni has always found a way into the spotlight.

Speaking of the ’90s, it was also preserved and well in my family home in South City. Yes, that’s a pristine collection of KMEL and Wild 107 stickers hoarded carefully in a drawer for two decades.

Shout out to the Bay Area kids who remember pre-Wild 94.9, all the way on the far side of the radio dial.

From transit ephemera to relics of Bay Area gone by, we want to see it, hear it, and know about it. Tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Our email inbox is always open, too.

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs, San Francisco Diaries Tags:

Stilt-walking Muni transfers at Carnaval = antidote for SF ennui

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Carnaval this weekend offered up plenty of antidote for those of us tired of the “San Francisco is doomed/losing its soul/breaking your heart” meme. Our favorite is this group of young people who decided to turn their love for San Francisco up to 11. Not only did they dress up as old-school Muni transfers, they are also walking on stilts because, why not?

From the video, it looks like there is also a 14-Mission bus in costume at the parade. We would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the planning of this costume idea.

Thank you Rene and Cara on Twitter for pointing us to this latest ode to public transit! It’s certainly not the first bit of Muni transfer love we’ve gotten over the years. Alongside its Fast Pass cousin, the transfer is a well-established piece of transit ephemera, tattoo subject (the barometer for truly making it into the cultural canon around here), and source of existential outrage when news came about its environmentally necessary end.

Got other important news for your fellow riders? Tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Our email inbox, muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com, is always open, too.

Category: Aww: Cute on Muni, Funny: Muni LOLs Tags:

Muni transfers to undergo serious make-under

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Pic by Flickr user Christina B. Castro

They came for our Fast Passes, and we revolted by hoarding our local transit ephemera like Elaine Benes on her last box of sponges. In an attempt at modernizing the fare box experience, they are now coming for our Muni Transfers. SFist has the scoop on the uglier transfers set to replace our cheap-and-cheerful transit kaleidoscope.

I mean, I guess.

We wore Muni transfers. We used them as bookmarks. We turned the transfer into art. So excuse us for tipping our hats to another era gone by.

 

Category: News Tags: ,

Life imitates SF Municipal Railway tokens

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MissionComics

Art often imitates Muni — and how!

Pic above and token design by @teddyhose on Instagram, who says this pin was designed for Mission Comics & Art — $10 a pop.

Look familiar? If so, it definitely dates you, in a good way.

Like our beloved paper Fast Passes, San Francisco transit ephemera like SF Municipal Railway tokens warm even the most hardened local’s heart. You used them to get on the bus once upon a time, before the BEEP and EH-EH of Clipper machines rang in our heads.

Share and share alike on Muni Diaries’ social channels (FB, Twitter, Insta) if you’re itching to drop some local transit history.

Category: Photos

Muni DIY: Fast Pass Pillow from Just Crafty Enough

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Photo: Susi on Just Crafty Enough

When life hands you Clipper Cards, you make lemonade in the form of a Fast Pass pillow. (That’s how the saying goes, right?)

Beth alerted us to this DIY project by Susi on Just Crafty Enough. Susi’s friend designed and printed the Fast Pass-inspired textile, Susi made her own piping, and voila: a nifty modern accent.

Missing the Fast Pass? Check out the Clipper Card holders in our Muni Diaries Etsy store, each containing these real-life bits of transit ephemera.

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