Does the original lagoon, also known as the "laguna de los Dolores," still exist underneath San Francisco's Mission district? If so, what would its boundaries be?

-- Herbert Inestroza (hi@tabsales.com), August 14, 2001

Answers

I live right on the edge of the original lagoon, where the original mission was. We have a Cal. Historical marker. The lagoon fluxuated greatly over the last centuries and was surrounded by marshlands. The Rammaytush used to be able to row their canoes inland from the bay. It was fed by two streams, one down 18th the other from Duboce and 14th. I've heard that there is water in the basements of some buildings around 22nd and Mission.

-- Craig Smith (palmedo@aol.com), August 15, 2001.

I don't find anything on a Native American tribe by that name, but I do find these:

http://www.muwekma.org/history/tribe.html

Was that a misspelling?

I'm unsuccessfully trying to restrain myself from asking of that was someone's hamhanded idea of an innuendo-type joke. I found that spelling twice, using google, and neither site appeared to be serious.

-- Rosa Debonneheure (rosadebon@yahoo.com), August 15, 2001.

Herbert. Rammaytush is the name of the SF native people. There a new offical historical marker in front of China Basin Bld near Pac Bell park, that names them as such. Rammaj meant "inside" among the Mitsun people and "south" among the Awaswas. Tush is a suffix meaning people of. Their main village was near 5th and Mission.Richard Levy has put together a list of words they used, written down by Franciscan priests from 1777. A book was published in 1860. Robert Hass wrote an article for the Chronicle about this in 1996

-- Craig Smith (palmedo@aol.com), August 15, 2001.

I know somewhat about these boundaries because I knew an architect who knew about them because his great grandfather swam in the lagoon. There was a creek that ran along 18th street and the lagoon extended from about 19th street and Guerrero to 15th and Guerrero and cut somewhat diagonally over from 19th Street and Valencia to Mission and then to 15th Street and Cap. And by the way, that wasn't the only lagoon in San Francisco. There were about a dozen others that were also filled in.

-- Harry Murphy (harrymurphy*@bigmailbox.net), March 09, 2003.

I should check on this but am too lazy I seem to remember that Mission Dolores was named Our Lady of Sorrows (for Mary) due to the lagoon which would be as her tears...dolor being sorrow in Spanish. There were- and still may be- underground waters.lakes,lagoons in the area. I THINK that I was told as a child that the windmills at the ocean end of GG Park pumped some of the water.

-- rosemarie garman (cngarman@earthlink.net), March 06, 2005.