Gate: the entrance to Cohen Alley in the Tenderloin. Cohen Alley is part of an arts community in the city that is comprised of the Luggage Store Gallery, 509 Cultural Center & the alley. I wish I could have taken better pictures of it since it's got a pretty fascinating story:

The 509/luggage store commissioned artist KEVIN LEEPER to design and build a sculptured gate. This was a lengthy process as we met with many neighborhood organizations and tenants groups for input. Finally, when we were ready to install the gate, a Supreme Court decision was passed that stated you could not gate off a City Street (Bel Aire, CA).

After years of bureaucratic red tape and technical glitches and needing to fundraise more and more, the gate was finally installed in January 2002. The gate contains several detailed sculptural elements referencing feng shui symbology; and microscopic organisms. The gate encloses the alley, approximately 3425 square feet, which was formerly used as a dumping grounds for EVERYTHING.

The sign behind the gate says

Lives
A painting presented by the 509
Cultural Center in assoc with the
Golden Gate YMCA. The conset of TNDC
and residents of the Aarti Hotel.
Funded by the San Francisco Grafitti
Clean up and Butification Fund

This past weekend I was there for the 7th annual In the Streets Festival. See also...

And more info. & pictures here & here.

This is the week's Thursday Challenge.