District 7

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Alta Plaza
Named after the park and playground, which it surrounds. Victorian houses and charming flats make up this area. Bordered by Clay, Scott, Jackson and Steiner Streets and close to Filmore Street, a thriving commercial area.

Cow Hollow
Large houses and apartments stand where cows once grazed. Only one small playground can be found here, but prices for properties and rents are still high in this popular neighborhood. Union Street is a busy commercial street and the center of the neighborhood. Cow Hollow borders Park Presidio and Pacific Heights.

The Marina
This area was originally the site of the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915. Beautiful sailing vessels line the docks and yacht club of the Marina. Just off the Bay, wide streets with large flats and homes (many in the Mediterranean stucco style) line quiet streets. First populated by Italian immigrants, modern residents of the neighborhood find easy access to the many restaurants, coffee shops and elegant home furnishing stores on Chestnut Street, as well as to the Palace of Fine Arts which hosts the Exploratorium Science Museum. From Lombard St. to the Bay and Laguna St. to the Presidio, there are many options of things to do in the Marina.

Pacific Heights
One of the city's most richly varied residential areas, with houses of all sizes and a remarkable collection of churches and temples. Many of the elegant mansions in Pacific Heights now serve as apartment houses, schools and international consulates. Condominium and Co-operative buildings offer great views and rise many stories. Lafayette and Alta Plaza parks and great bay views (of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and even Marin County) have added to the desirability of this prime San Francisco residential location. Its chief commercial strip, Union Street, has a variety of good shops and restaurants. The neighborhood extends from the Presidio to Van Ness and from Sacramento to Green Streets.

The Presidio
Originally a Spanish military stockade, the Presidio was later occupied by the U.S. Army in 1846 and then nearly abandoned (1849) when troops deserted to seek their fortunes in the Gold Rush. Some of the buildings were built in the 1930's to imitate the Spanish Mission style. Officers quarters and parade grounds still spread out along the beautiful wooded hills of the Presidio. The oldest intact building on the fort is the Army Museum, originally Wright General Hospital, built in 1863. Apart from its interest as a historic military post, the Presidio has some of the finest scenery in the Bay Area, with unmatched views of the Golden Gate Bridge and great windswept stands of Monterey Cyprus. A newly-restored wetlands area along the Bay provides a completely new outdoor landscape.

Presidio Heights
Architecturally known for works by Bernard Maybeck, Ernest Coxhead and an imitation of Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon, this beautiful area is known for its elegant mansions. There are no hi-rises here. Many of the houses have the Presidio in their back garden and others have fantastic views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge.

Presidio Terrace
A circular, one street neighborhood in which the houses and gardens are of significant size. Very attractive and prestigious. Originally created by Fernando Nelson, who also created Jordan Park.