Tonight, walking back towards Market Street from a friend's going away party in Hayes Valley, I decided on a slight detour that skips a slightly questionable block in favor of a walk through the Hayes Green and up Octavia Boulevard.

Something just felt wrong as I rounded the corner and saw it, or rather didn't see it. The Hayes Green Temple had been removed. Not a surprise since it was only meant to be up until August, but has been so well received and such an immediate part of the neighborhood that the community and merchants lobbied to keep it longer.

There was more than just the temple missing though, the green was empty of people as well. The green has always had at least a few people passing through or just taking a walk around it for some fresh air or a cigarette before going back into Marlena's (a local bar at located at the one end of the green) but tonight there was just a half dozen people across the street clustered around the door to Marlena's, and just me walking along across the green.

A friend told me a while back the neighborhood was working with the city to ensure when the temple was removed it would be replaced with something else because they didn't want to loose the neighorhood square they've only just gained.