OTIS
Otis was a well-known bar/nightclub/lounge in San Francisco's Union Square neighborhood. I knew the owners and had been a patron there for some time. I opened the first "third wave" coffee shop (what most people now know as places like Blue Bottle or Ritual) inside the venue for daytime operation.
As part of establishing the coffee shop, I wanted to make a statement by painting the entire exterior. I chose red because many people don't know that Maiden Lane—those two specific blocks—got its name from the "maidens" who worked there. This area once housed all of San Francisco's brothels, where anything went behind those white gates. If you stepped inside, anything was permitted; if you stepped out, you had to clean up your act.
With that historical knowledge, and knowing this was one of the original buildings, I played on the "red light district" theme by painting the exterior in various shades of red. For those who understood the reference, it nodded to the area's history; for everyone else, it was simply a beautifully saturated red building that transformed the alley.
