By Justine Sharrock

IT WAS SATURDAY night, and 14th Street was blowing up. People were spilling out of the MARS-1 art show at the new Low Gallery (487 14th St., S.F. www.lowgallery.com) and into the newly relocated Record Collector (485 14th St., S.F. 415-864-4243, west.recordcollectorinc.com) next door. Needles and Pens (483 14th St., S.F. 415-255-1534, www.needles-pens.com) was also packed, hosting an opening of its own. Across the street, Box Dog Bikes (494 14th St., S.F. 415-431-9627), formerly the Biketeria, was holding a fundraiser with bands. The electroclash kids were streaming in and out of the Hush Hush Lounge (496 14th St., S.F. 415-241-9944). Skaters, bike messengers, and indie rockers gathered under the neon sign of the evangelical church next door that declares, "God is not dead." It was just another Saturday night on 14th Street between Valencia and Guerrero, but it was also the beginning of something big.

Fourteenth Street is quickly emerging as the new epicenter of the Mission District arts and DIY scene, or a "hipster mini-mall," as Mike Green, manager of Record Collector, jokes. Realizing they couldn't afford rents in other parts of the Mission, these businesses followed the DIY spirit inherent in their stores. "We figured, 'Why don't we all work together and create our own little neighborhood?' " Breezy Culbertson of Needles and Pens explains. What's emerged is a stronghold of indie culture and a community of collaboration. It looks like the old Mission might be back.

Not that 14th Street has always been dead. Back when the Hush Hush took over Naps #2 in 1999, the Red Door Bearded Lady Café and the Black and Blue Tattoo shop were still around. The Biketeria was there – but it had odd hours and also sold odd parts. But by the time shops like Needles and Pens had moved in, it was still a skeleton of a neighborhood. Andrew Scott, co-owner of N&P and a Bay Guardian staffer, explains, "It seemed like there was tumbleweed scrawling down the street for a while. It took a lot of work, but now it's on the up-and-up."

In other parts of the Mission, business relationships aren't quite so neighborly. On 16th Street, a clothing store has been at war with Adobe Books. High rents have driven out gallery space and community-minded retail shop Mimi Barr, and the über-chic Sunhee Moon has moved in. "Fourteenth Street is a little oasis from all that," Scott says. "Hopefully it will encourage other people to find strings of blocks like this where you can create your own atmosphere," adds Chris Rolls, whose record label, Kimosciotic, is shacking up with Record Collector to help pay the rent. Gentrification certainly isn't news. But coming up with a successful formula to combat it, as has been established on this emerging block, is.

Needles and Pens can be credited with spurring this revival. With behind-the-scenes maneuvering and discussions with the landlord, Culbertson and Scott managed to finagle spots for Record Collector and Low Gallery next door. The used-record shop had previously been "in no-man's-land" on 21st Street off Mission for two years, Green explains. "The last store sucked. It was killing us." Now, in addition to sharing space with Kimosciotic, Record Collector also cohabits with Dave Benzler and Jonathan Runcio's Woodward Flats, a screen-printing shop that does custom prints, including the art for many of Kimosciotic's releases.

John Trippe moved Low Gallery in last November, after running Fecal Face Dot Com (www.fecalface.com) for five years. "[Culbertson and Scott] knew I was looking to open a gallery, so when that spot opened up, they convinced the landlord to rent it to me," Trippe explains. "I knew it would be an ideal spot because we cater to like-minded people. We know and appreciate what each other are doing."

Box Dog Bikes was opened last November by Angel Lowrey and Dan Thomases, a former bike messenger who used to work at the Biketeria. Now a collective with other former Biketeria employees, the shop keeps regular hours.