Valentine Day Party for City’s Beloved Doggie Diner Head

For immediate release: Feb. 11, 2015

Contact: Rachel Gordon, 415-554-6045

The City’s beloved Doggie Diner head public art icon will serve as the centerpiece of a civic Valentine celebration on Thursday that is expected to draw dozens of school children, Mayor Ed Lee, District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang and other aficionados of San Francisco originality.

The gathering will take place at 45th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard, where the steel-reinforced fiberglass dachshund head sits upon a tall pole keeping watch over the Outer Sunset. It was just a year ago that merrymakers assembled at the same location to celebrate the much-needed restoration of the beloved pop art piece, a City landmark that once served as the symbol of the old Doggie Diner fast-food chain.

What: Doggie Diner head Valentine Party

When: Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, 4 p.m.

Where: Sloat Boulevard median at 45th Avenue

In 2001, high winds knocked the roadside advertising sign off its original perch at 46th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard, where for decades it stood outside a Doggie Diner outpost (and later a Carousel restaurant). At the urging of preservationists and directed by the Board of Supervisors, San Francisco Public Works stepped in to fix the 7-foot-tall battered dog’s head and to find it a new home. That day came on Valentine’s Day 2005, when the popular pooch was officially welcomed to its permanent location on a landscaped median just a block east from where it once stood.

“I am looking forward to taking part in what is becoming an only-in-San Francisco tradition – celebrating our beloved Doggie Diner icon during the Valentine season where we show our love and appreciation for San Francisco’s past,” said Mayor Lee. “Restoring the Doggie and preserving it over the years is a labor of love for the City, and it is a lasting Valentine gift for our residents and visitors.”

Added Supervisor Katy Tang, "The Doggie Diner head is an icon and one of the only designated landmarks in the Outer Sunset. I am happy to celebrate this great treasure and symbol of our neighborhood’s history once again with our mayor, San Francisco Public Works and students from nearby Ulloa and St. Gabriel schools.”

The three-dimensional Doggie Diner head, festooned in a natty chef’s hat and polka-dotted tie, was designed by graphic artist Harold Bachman in 1966. In 2005, after its days as a working advertising sign were over, the City officially designated it San Francisco Landmark 254, calling the rare mascot “iconic and flamboyant.”

“Make no bones about it, our agency loves being the caretakers of this whimsical piece of our city’s history,” said San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. “The dapper dachshund head is something we can enjoy and celebrate for generations to come.”