The Mission district features plenty of cafés, thrift shops and used-book stores that cater to the college grads, artists, activists and other alterna-types. It also has a very strong Latino influence (taquerias, pupuserias, salon de bellezas... all evidence of the Central American and Mexican families that have been settling the Mission en masse since the 1950s). The first Spanish Mission was created in 1791 (Mission Dolores). It is San Francisco's oldest standing building.

There are lots of amazing murals initiated by the Chicano Art Mural Movement of the 1970s and inspired by the traditional Mexican paintings made famous by Diego Riviera. Some of the more significant mural installations are located on Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley.