An unofficial San Francisco landmark is disappearing soon

One of San Francisco's most beloved art installations is ending soon.

It's not a museum exhibit, and it isn't in a gallery or part of a series of sculptures that dot the waterfront. It's not even approved by the city. The canvas of sorts is a security gate in the middle of Hayes Valley, dressed up in rotating colorful designs that have delighted neighbors and passersby for more than a decade.

The metal gate in front of artist Todd Young's apartment at 222-220 Page St., between Laguna and Octavia streets, has been transformed with a new image each month for the past 13 years. Also known as the Gate Guy, Young has gained thousands of followers over the years and has become a fixture of the neighborhood. But he said it's time for him and his partner to downsize. He plans to move soon and finish his last decorated gate in June.

The project began in June 2013 after Young was laid off and planned to spend some of his newfound free time to fulfill his mother's wish for a wall calendar. He had recently rescued a red plastic tablecloth before it ended up in the garbage after a birthday party, and he decided to reuse the material to create something. Before long, he was collecting trash bags full of plastic tablecloths and threading them through his gate every month. The murals have spanned genres and themes over the years, ranging from re-creations of famous artworks to optical illusions to a series replicating popular neighborhood dogs.

They take around 44 hours to create on average, he said, and during most years, he'd use the designs to make a calendar at the end of the year that he'd then distribute to neighbors, friends and, obviously, his mom.

When he was a year or so into the project, he said he was approached by a publisher that asked if he'd ever be willing to create a coffee table book featuring his works. They said they would need about 100 designs before it could be greenlit, though. He laughed at them.

"When they said, 'Call us when you've done 100,' I was like, that is insane. There's no way I'm doing 100," Young said. "I just figured I'd keep doing it until people got tired of it."

He's done at least 156 designs since 2013, though he knows it's more than that since he wasn't happy with his results a few times, leading him to change the image mid-month. He's not sure that publisher would still want to make a coffee table book, but he said he'll probably give them a call.

The best part of it all has been using the art as a way to meet his neighbors. He said he thinks it's incredibly rare to know everyone for at least two blocks in every direction. In the past 13 years, he's also come home to handwritten thank-you notes tacked to the gate, and he's had visitors from everywhere from Finland to Germany. "It just amazes me that essentially trash on the front gate can introduce you to people from all over the world," he said.

Neighbors are also eager to help when they can, and he's opened his door to find plenty of tablecloths thrown over the gate. Even if he didn't have a use for them on the gate, he always found a way to reuse them.

The cheap plastic has made its way into depictions of Oscar the Grouch, the Golden Gate Bridge and the "Mona Lisa." Halloween designs were some of his most-loved to design. He's navigated theft, arson and vandalism, but the immense support of the community always brought him back to his craft, even when he thought he was finished.

Young said his favorite gate was probably his recreation of the "Girl with a Pearl Earring." He said he loves that painting and always wanted to replicate it, but it isn't common to find brown tablecloths. Finally, this year, a stranger who knew he had that dream found him a brown tablecloth and dropped it over his gate.

"I love how the gate has touched as many people as it has," Young said. "With a gate meaning to keep people out, it's amazing that it's pulled that many people in."

The neighborhood has known of his impending move for a while, Young said, and he's been overwhelmed with well wishes. People he doesn't know have approached him on the street to tell him that they're sad he's leaving. He's thrilled to create his last gate during Pride month. "Pride is always so fun because I get to use every single color I have," he said.

He and his partner hope to stay in the city if they can, and if their new home happens to have a gate out front, Young plans to continue the project. He loves creating the images, but he also sees so much value in meeting his neighbors and creating community that way.

Young said when he moved to San Francisco in 1990, he fell in love with the city, especially the quirky side that was full of characters. "I thought that I wanted to do something that would get me somehow in those annals of San Francisco," Young said. "And I think I actually did it."

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