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    Frank Chu

    4.6 (136 reviews)

    Frank Chu Photos

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    Frank Chu look alikes at B2B 2006
    Nikki M.

    I love Frank Chu. My friends who work in the Chinancial district say that they know it's gonna be a good day, when they see Frank Chu walking down the street. Five stars for this San Francisco icon! The frank chu tribute at bay to breakers was also a hit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixiegrrle/151900347/in/set-1085284/

    Frank W. Chu holding a more coherent sign.
    Tadashi Y.

    I never thought I'd Yelp a person, but if anyone deserves one, quirky (a major understatement) Frank Chu certainly fits the bill. Born March 24, 1960 is one of San Francisco's best-known eccentrics, protesting against US Presidents, corporations, individuals, & most importantly to him, the 12 Galaxies, since the mid-nineties. Most of his rants & signs appear completely nonsensical to the average person, but then again, Frank claims he's not from this planet. Regardless of how one finds him, he's garnered quite a sizable following that includes a restaurant being named after his signs (the now defunct 12 Galaxies on Mission Street), his getting free drinks & food at various establishments, a Wikipedia entry, maintaining MySpace & Facebook pages (w/ over 1,000 friends!), a Frank Chu Sign Party at 111 Minna Gallery, two female roommates (including aspiring local fashion designer & former Matt Gonzalez campaign worker Kristina Hoerler), & various media interviews. Not to mention a Frank Chu Protest Sign Maker page. (http://acme.com/chumaker/) Always carrying his trademark picket sign & usually dressed in slightly distressed business wear & shades, Frank's near daily routine is to take BART from his Lake Merrit home & prowls Market Street, usually between the Montgomery Powell Street stations, unless there is a more crowd/media-drawing event elsewhere. In which case he'll pop up there, regardless of the event. While generally polite & coherent, if one asks him about his protest of the day or anything 12 galaxies-related, you'll be inundated w/ gibberish that will hurt your head. Seriously. Typical signs include ones that highlight the benefits of "Cotsgrogrenigul Coverage", decry the "perils of Nexsrojrenikol", or bemoan "Qwintrozenikulled Suppression". And drawing attention to the 12 Galaxies, of course. The backside of Frank's signs have been sponsored by the likes of Blondies Pizza, Rasputin Records, Laughing Squid, Barbary Coast Consulting, Harputs adidas, Learn iT!, Quiznos Sub, Rasputin Music, Chris Daly's 2006 San Francisco Supervisor campaign, & Phil Angelides's 2006 California gubernatorial campaign for about $100.00 per week. Although he started w/ & stayed w/ ranting against the 12 galaxies, in mid 2007, he began to increase the number of galaxies he has a beef w/ & is up to over 8,685,000,000 galaxies. Frank has even had a legal dispute w/ the Zegna Group over the term & website zegnatronic.com. http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2004/d2004-0416.html On the more serious side, Frank suffers from a history of mental problems & had been prescribed medication. In early 1985, Frank took 11 members of his family hostage in his home in Oakland & fired a .38 pistol at a police officer who came to investigate, but missed. Police cordoned off a ten-block area for three hours. Chu eventually released his hostages & surrendered to the police. Santa's Yelper sez: "I hear Frank's looking for another roomie, preferably female that are willing to go on double dates. Any takers?...Heh." Really funny, SY, really funny. But true. And scary.

    Spotted walking down Market during the gay pride parade 6/24/12. We excitedly asked if we could take a picture of him.
    Christine A.

    I just happened to look away from the gay pride festivities for a second and spotted that multicolored, Impact font-covered sign in the sea of rainbows and stoned teenagers, making its way up Market. My heart stopped. I started excitedly patting the boyfriend's shoulder and excused us from our friends' sides as we ran after Frank, the Laughing Squid logo emblazoned on the back of his sign. After tapping on his shoulder and asking for a picture, which he posed for (photo: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/2tbN_rppko8MbwCj_v_APQ?select=sPlVT6m9H4hHugK31VD29g#D6unnXkbIPfeJOra1G44eA), we returned to our friends who looked at us bewildered. "It was like a chance meeting with a unicorn," I began. My best explanation a moment later was that seeing Frank is like encountering Rorschach, his "The End is Nigh" sign in tow, during one of his patrols through the city as his alter-ego. And while that fits (though I don't know how well Frank could be charged with upholding Kant's concept of categorical imperative), I later amended that Frank is pretty much a San Francisco institution much like His Imperial Highness, Joshua Norton I. He's just one of these so-called harmlessly crazy personages to which the city had just opened up its lovin' arms and embraced. And with good reason. Now ... when's Frank Chu going to start printing his own money?

    Frank Chu Crashes a Houseparty
    Padawan T.

    I was at a Carnaval party this past carnaval Sunday. A kind of underground houseparty by one of the main D.J. organizers behind Come-Unity. It was a pretty small party, not a ton of people yet. The D.J. was spinning skillfully, the urban-techno-hippie-hipsters were beating out good rhythms on the drums, and people were blissfully dancing. And in walks Frank Chu. He strolls into the kitchen, sets down his sign, and proceeds to serve himself food from the counter, go through the fridge looking for drinks. He sits down by the soundset, eats, gets up, serves himself again, eats some more. Leaves, comes back, bobs his head to the music once, eats some more. And then he leaves. Soon afterwards, loads of people started streaming in and the party really picked up. House party blessing by Frank Chu. Priceless.

    Frank Chu Rockin Qool!
    James M.

    You've probably seen Frank Chu walking around downtown holding his 12 Galaxies sign. Sometimes he gets paid to advertise on his sign. Once he advertised for 111 Minna Gallery, and another time he advertised for Y3! To some he's just plain freaky but not me. I've seen Frank a lot over the years. Most recently he can be seen dancing with his picket sign on stage at Qool on Wednesdays which is nice. Qool welcomes anyone because they're good like that. But this is about Frank Chu... Today I was walking down Montgomery Street to catch Muni home. There was a big protest between California and Sacramento. A lot of people were screaming and chanting, "Free Palestine! End The Occupation!". I'm chanting along as I walk through the protest which is really crowded on the sidewalk. I'm having a time getting through and then I spy Frank Chu ahead. I see him and smile and yell, "Hey Frank!". He sees me and waves at me and smiles back. In the craziness of that scenario, my "home base" was Frank Chu, the "crazy" guy with the 12 Galaxies sign. If you think someone is crazy or strange because they tread a different path away from the pack, think again. Give people the benefit of the doubt, don't judge...you just might get a smile and wave back when you could use it. Okay yeah, Frank Chu is definitely marching to the beat of his own drum but I admire him for that. If you treat someone like they're crazy they react to that energy...yes, I said energy. Show people the way you want to be treated by the way you treat others, crazy people and all. Rock On Frank Chu! http://12galaxies.20m.com/

    Frank at 850 Bryant St..
    Sherman L.

    Frank is the MAN... Thanks for picking the Hall of Justice and announcing my retirement.

    My friend and I with Frank @ 111 Minna
    Karen F.

    Frank Chu/Chiu is my homeboy. My friends and I saw him at 111 Minna and chatted with him for a bit. His beer of choice is Budweiser. He had an extra "12 Galaxies" sign in his bag and gave it to me. I felt like I won the friggin' lottery! Unfortunately, my drunk ass forgot it at the bar. The sign would have looked SO cool in my living room (beat *that* in the kitsch department, Urban Outfitters!). I even got my picture taken with him. I should've asked him to sign my boobs. http://www.topramen.net/krista_frank_me.jpg

    Frank Chu at Love Parade 04
    Roger L.

    Frank gets invited to ALL the parties and gets his drinks for free... hmm... I have a great photo from Love Parade 2004. I'll have to dig it up and post it here.

    Looking a bit worn out from a hard day's work.

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - Frank Chu

    Review Highlights - Frank Chu

    I saw Frank today and said "Hey Frank!", gave him a high-five, and asked him what the good word was.

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    The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps - Plaque

    The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps

    4.8(664 reviews)
    7.4 kmInner Sunset

    Who needs a stairmaster when there are actual outdoor steps all over SF?…read more The Moraga Steps ascend on beautifully tiled stairs to a tiny mountaintop with trees and vistas of the Sunset district and beyond. The reward is the view from the top!

    Up and ready to do something early, while the rest of the family was sleeping, my wife and I…read moredecided to go check out the 16th Ave Tile Steps, also know as the Moraga Steps. From what I've read, the project came together started in 2003 all thanks to some of the local neighbors that were tired of looking at 163 plain concrete steps to the top of the hill. They collected donations and raised money, selling tiles, which could be customized with names, dates, phrases, anything people wanted to add to make this project come to life. It took two years of raining money, and assembly, "opening" in 2005. The steps really are truly worth checking out, for being over 20 years old, they still have beautiful and vibrant color. I would have though the sun would have faded them, but i guess the color being baked in to the ceramic tiles really holds up. The design, is very stunning, going "from sea to the star", with so much detail, so much creativity. At the top of the steps, you can hike another set of steps up to an amazing 360 degree panorama of the city. Worth the extra 150 or so steps to go all the way up. If you're able bodied, I'd recommend checking this spot out. It's free, and in a residential neighborhood, so parking is also free and easy to find.

    Photos
    The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps - View from the top

    View from the top

    The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps
    The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps

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    The Wave Organ - Read the sign

    The Wave Organ

    3.9(200 reviews)
    3.9 kmMarina/Cow Hollow

    Very unique musical instrument and beautiful place to gaze the magical skyline of San Francisco…read moreplus enjoying the cooling breeze of the bay and the view of the ever famous Golden Gate Bridge. Free parking and nice walkways .

    Heads up before you make the trek: the Wave Organ was closed when we got there. A dredging barge…read morewas parked offshore and running, with a Safety Notice zip-tied to a barrier blocking the path. Nothing about this shows up on Google Maps or in recent Yelp reviews, so we walked all the way out for a locked gate. Save yourself the surprise and check before you go. We heard about this place on a Sunday Morning broadcast and the history sold us. So we walked from Embarcadero Pier out to the jetty, mostly because we wanted the steps. The path along the breakwater has good bay views the whole way, with the city skyline behind you and the East Bay hills across the water. That part of the walk was worth it on its own. The closure looked temporary on paper, but the barge has been sitting there a while and was clearly mid-job when we arrived, so I would not bet on it clearing up soon. No way to know how long the dredging runs. Logistics: if you drive, there is parking near the Marina and the St. Francis Yacht Club, which puts you much closer than we were. The jetty itself is exposed, so bring a layer for wind. Bottom line: I think the Wave Organ is worth a visit for the setting and the concept, but I would not hoof it out there again on foot. One bright spot, the Palace of Fine Arts is close by and that was the highlight of the day. If your trip out here gets blocked, walk over there instead.

    Photos
    The Wave Organ - 06.15.25 the acoustics of the wave organ are only active when the tide is in, and the music is best heard around high tide

    06.15.25 the acoustics of the wave organ are only active when the tide is in, and the music is best heard around high tide

    The Wave Organ - 06.15.25 Built in 1986 by Exploratorium artists in residence Peter Richards and George Gonzalez

    06.15.25 Built in 1986 by Exploratorium artists in residence Peter Richards and George Gonzalez

    The Wave Organ - View from the organ to the bridge

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    View from the organ to the bridge

    Frank Chu - localflavor - Updated July 2026

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