San Francisco Neighborhood Map

We live in a city that has a diversity of different neighborhoods. They differ in character, topography, architectural styles and weather. The information below is intended to give you an introduction to each of the areas.

 

District 1

 

Realtors Map
The official Real Estate map for San Francisco is broken up into numbered districts. This makes it easier for realtors to search for listings by district number code and sub-code, rather than by each individual area name. Please click on the areas that are of interest to you and see more detailed information on the different neighborhoods.

Alamo Square
Named for the four block long park and playground, along Fulton, Scott, Steiner and Hayes Streets is home to a famous row of Painted Ladies (Victorians) on Steiner Street, the Imperial Russian consulate building at 1198 Fulton and the French American School at Steiner and Grove. This was once a very famous area and today a large number of the beautiful old properties have been restored.

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.

Anza Vista
Clean streets without overhead wiring, this neighborhood includes homes dating mostly form the 1930s and 40s. Many homes are in the modern Bauhaus architectural style. It is known as a quiet area and fairly traffic free. Its principal institutions are Kaiser Hospital, and The Irwin Memorial Blood Bank.

Ashbury Heights
This beautiful section uphill from the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood includes a small secluded park, Mt. Olympus, at its summit, as well as quiet residences. Some contemporary apartment houses can be found here also. According to city archivist Gladys Hansen, the area is part of a tract called Ashbury Park, developed in 1911.

Balboa Terrace
This area has the respectability and location of St.Francis Wood, at a lesser scale and price. Its homes are set back from the street and wiring is underground. Streets are landscaped.

Bayshore
The Bayshore area includes the south easternmost district of the City. It includes the warehouses and residences you see along Highway 101, north of the San Francisco airport. Candlestick Park, Portola, Visitation Valley, Hunter's Point and Bret Harte neighborhoods are here.

Bayview
The Bayshore area of San Francisco, was originally granted to Jose Bernal in 1834. In the 1850's The Hunter Brothers bought the hill now called Hunters Point for a town site that was never developed. Home to the historic San Francisco Opera House and the Waden branch of the public library, the Bayview includes hills and winding streets, Victorian homes, the estate-like structures of the former St. Joseph Home for Girls and the Bret Harte tract.

Bernal Heights
The properties here vary from Victorian, Edwardian houses, to some architect designed spec house to modernistic stucco flats. Many homes here have views of downtown and the Bay. Lot sizes are smaller than other areas of the city. A wide range of people live here, from artists to blue collar. Rolling and narrow streets add to the character of this area.

Buena Vista
Baroque mansions and the old St. Joseph's Hospital (now upscale condominiums) circle a steep hill topped by the beautifully-wooded Buena Vista Park, with great city and bay views.

Castro Village
This area houses a number of great restaurants and stores including funk shops and gay bars. A center of gay life to the city. The Castro Theatre shows some great movies. The houses are beautifully maintained and restored, many of the Victorian and Edwardian styles.

Cathedral Hill
The New St. Mary's Cathedral tops this hill and is surrounded by finely crafted apartment buildings and retirement residences. The imposing presence of the First Unitarian Church, St. Mark's and St. Paul's help to explain the name of this neighborhood.

China Basin
Originally dockyards, China Basin is home of the new Pacific Bell Park, a downtown ballpark to replace Candlestick Park. The neighborhoods include warehouses and a hangar like structure, home to design studios and offices.

Chinatown
The heart of the Chinese community downtown since Cantonese immigrants came as workers during the Gold Rush, Chinatown is filled with colorful produce shops, herbalists, fish and meat markets and continues to be one of the City's most popular tourist destinations. Despite severe discrimination and the Oriental Exclusion Act in the 1880s, Chinese Americans persevered in this neighborhood. Its wooden buildings were destroyed by fire following the 1906 quake and replaced by stone and brick structures.

Civic Center
This is an area of great architectural, social and historical interest. The San Francisco Civic Center, City Hall, the new City Library, Herbst Theater and the War Memorial are all found in this grand area which also contains some failed attempts at urban renewal. The open civic spaces are sometimes home to many of the city's underprivileged and elderly poor. The Tenderloin neighborhood is one of the City's poorest. Community groups work to stabilize the area today, which seems still in the flux of economic pressures and change.

Clarendon Heights
The city's second highest mountain offers a perch for large homes with great views. Tiled roofs and Spanish arches are common in this area, which still has the luxury of plenty of open space.

Cole Valley
Running through the Haight area and Ashbury Heights, Cole Valley boasts great shops, a bakery, bars and restaurants. Tree lined streets, architecturally interesting properties, public transportation and good weather make this area very popular.

Corona Heights
A rocky hill that juts upward in the eastern side of Buena Vista Hill. Surrounding this hill there is a park and a playground, a museum as well as duplexes and houses.

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.

Diamond Heights
A steep ridge, south of Twin Peaks. Mostly developed in the 1950's, with apartment buildings and single family homes by Eichler. In the 60's an elementary school, shopping center and several churches were built, and in the 70's some town houses.

Dog Patch
Factories and new loft developments stand beside old Victorian homes. Some soul food restaurants can be found here. Packs of dogs apparently inspired the name.

Dolores Heights
Beautiful homes, many mansion like in scale. Perched on the hill and offering great gardens and views.

Duboce Triangle
This centrally-located neighborhood surrounding Duboce Park contains restored Victorians, California Pacific Medical Center-Davies Hospital and many upscale new and established restaurants. Easy access to all the City's MUNI lines and just off Market St., Duboce Triangle borders the Mission, Castro, Buena Vista Park, Mint Hill and the Lower Haight neighborhoods.

Embarcadero Center
Bordered by Battery, Davis, Sacramento and Pacific Streets, Embarcadero Center is a large complex of residences, shops, movie theaters and offices surrounding landscaped plazas.

Eureka Valley
A mix of traditional families and gay and lesbian couples live in colorful Victorians or stucco fronted homes. The Castro Village shopping area reflects the contrasting tastes. House restorations are very popular here and many home owners have chipped off stucco facades to reveal Victorian house trim beneath. It includes Corona Heights and extends from Corbett Ave. to Dolores St. and from Market Street to 22nd St.

Financial District
Much of what is now the densest part of the city was once water. The shoreline was roughly at Montgomery Street and the east west streets ended in wharves. The Wall St. of the West, Montgomery St. and others downtown streets are the financial and corporate headquarters of the City. Some of the best commercial architecture can be found here including skyscrapers and modern condominiums. This area was originally part of the Bay, which extended to Montgomery St. At the time of the Gold Rush, the wharves that extended out into the bay became streets and buildings. Their foundations included the hulks of old sailing vessels! The opulent Sheraton Palace Hotel is here along Market Street which still has the spirit of the original Palace Hotel of 1873.

Fisherman's Wharf
Real fishing boats and restaurants serving fresh crab, historic sailboats and a new walk-through aquarium are here at one of the City's most popular tourist attractions. Go on, grab a boat to visit Alcatraz, or a ferry to Sausalito...

Forest Knolls
A newer home subdivision. Small front gardens with nice shrubbery compliment the neat houses found in this area.

Forest Hill
Some extravagantly landscaped curving lanes, plus a sprinkling of Bernard Maybeck architecture. Well maintained area, and the property owners make sure of it by paying for and owning the streets through the residents association.

Glen Park
Charming community with mostly older homes and carefully-tended gardens. The small shopping area is rather old-fashioned, with a local deli and baker. Great area for public transportation, because Bart has a station here.

Golden Gate Heights
This 725 foot high bluff offers great views of the ocean. The homes in its curving and steep lanes are mostly from 1950-1970 built, with the exception of a few quainter dwellings facing Forest Hill. Mostly single family homes, with a few duplexes and apartments.

Golden Gate Park
In 1871 William Hammond Hall, an ex-army engineer, was appointed as the parks first superintendent. Within 5 years, he designed the park, figured out how to anchor the sand dunes by planting imported sand grass and how to make the trees grow, and he had begun at the east end to landscape the barren waste. Uncle John McLaren later took over the work. The park that Hall designed and McLaren built is one of the great monuments of romantic landscape design. The park is perennially green, since most of the vegetation is not deciduous and there are beautiful gardens throughout. Also, the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum and the California Academy of Sciences occupy the park. The 'de Young' is currently being re-designed by noted architects
Herzog and de Meuron.

Haight-Ashbury
This famous neighborhood along the Panhandle of Golden Gate Park is changing from its druggie past to a middle class neighborhood. Prices have escalated accordingly for its many Victorian and Queen Anne style homes. At the exact geographic center of the City, it hosts a wide spectrum of cafes, bars, shops and restaurants.
Check out http://www.haight-ashbury.com/ for more information on this well known area.

Hayes Valley
Upscale shops and restaurants line Hayes St., west of the opera house, in a 160 acre land grant section once owned by Col. Tom Hayes. Soul food, antique shops, bistros and art galleries have made this neighborhood trendy and popular in recent years. Many charming Victorians can be found here, as well as the newer lofts.

Hunter's Point
The Hunter Brothers bought the hill now called Hunters Point for a town site that was never developed. Formerly home to a naval shipyard, Hunter's Point peninsula now includes modern apartments and townhouses, Drake School, a wonderful playground, boat repair yards and an old stone brewery. At the top of the hill are great views of San Francisco Bay.

Ingleside Terrace
Circa 1936 homes are the newer of the properties here in this family area. Many have tiled roofs and stucco fronts, of the Spanish/Med style.

Inner Mission
This area has been a focus of many recent loft developments as well as office buildings. By some it is known as Multi-Media Gulch. Shops and restaurants with a Latino flair are mixed with the Victorians and lofts, interspersed between second-hand furniture stores, and two Bart stations. Mission St. is a bustling commercial street.

Inner Sunset
A middle class residential area, close to the Golden Gate Park and the University Of California's medical center. The shopping center on Irving Street offers a mixed array of stores and restaurants, with an international flair.

Jackson Square
The largest collection of mid-19th Century brick buildings still standing can be found in this historic district. Because the city was mostly destroyed by fire from the 1906 earthquake, these vital traces of local heritage have been designated an official historic district, with architect and sign control. You'll see interior design shops along with some advertising agencies, world class hotels and restaurants.

Japantown
Prosperous Van Ness St. was developed along with the Jewish community and the Japanese settled in an area once called "Little Osaka" between Post and Sutter Streets. And along Geary St., Japanese who had been relocated to internment camps were allocated an area which is now a thriving cultural center, Japan Town. A Japanese style bathhouse (Kabuki Springs), Japanese and Korean restaurants, grocery stores and shops are clustered around Japan Center, also home to the Japanese Culture and Trade center.

Jordan Park
An unpretentious area, filled with mostly detached homes, well designed and nicely landscaped. This area seems forever genteel. Utilities are underground. The closest shopping area is Laurel Village.

Lake Merced
A modern 13 acre tract of town houses and condominiums.

Lake Street
The Lake Street area runs parallel with the Richmond area and borders the Park Presidio. Most of these homes are detached and many of the cul-de-sacs North of Lake are traffic free and back up to the Presidio. The North of Lake homes are often the bigger in the area. A nice neighborhood.

Lakeside
Tucked behind San Francisco State University and Junipero Serra Boulevard. A clean neighborhood, characterized by white picket fences, window shutters and rose gardens. Despite its name, it is not beside the lake. Lakeside Village is the areas shopping center.

Laurel Heights
Developed mostly in the 1930's, this area is prosperous with neat houses and a great little shopping area. Like Anza Vista, this area used to be a graveyard until the 1930's when Laurel Hill, as it used to be known, began to develop. (The caskets were removed).

Lincoln Manor
A select corner of the outer Richmond, with old and gracious houses. Also known as Shoreview Terrace.

Lone Mountain
Close to the University of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Park, this handsome and neat neighborhood offers older and newer homes, with well maintained gardens and surrounded by greenery. There is also the newer USF sports center.

Lower Haight
The section of Haight St. heading into trendy Hayes Valley, the Lower Haight is home to new housing projects, beautifully-restored Victorians and a Japanese, Indian and several Thai restaurants. Some of the best prices for property can still be found here.

Lower Pacific Heights
The borders are California to Geary Presidio to Gough Streets. This area is slightly south of Pacific Heights and has many restored Victorian and Edwardian properties as well as duplexes, flats and condominums.

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.

Midtown Terrace
One of the newer housing developments of San Francisco. More than 800 families live on the south slopes of Twin Peaks. Saint John's, an Armenian church, hosts a popular annual food bazaar here. No shops in this area.

Mint Hill
Surrounding the imposing U.S. Mint, are many restored Victorian homes north of Market St. The eastern edge of the neighborhood includes a University of California campus. Bordering Hayes Valley and Market Street.

Miraloma Park
Detached homes with well kept gardens. Some of the homes back onto the heavily forested slopes of Mount Davidson.

Mission Dolores
The slopes and hills of Dolores St. lined by palm trees, include exceptional homes and gardens, historic Mission Dolores (dating back to1776), a sunny climate and easy access to the Mission and Noe Valley.

Monterey Heights
A handsome area, uphill from St. Francis Wood. The houses are quite large with 2 car garages.

Mount Olympus
This 570-foot bluff is topped with a mini park, developed with mostly apartments. There is an impressive platform that for many years (1887-early 1950's) supported a sculpted female figure until vandals encouraged its removal.

Nob Hill
Many mansions used to sit atop this hill, but most were burned in the 1906 fire. The well known Pacific Union Club (James C. Flood's brownstone mansion) still stands and hotels, co-operative and apartment buildings flank its slopes. Views from pent houses are exceptional. Grace Cathedral is here as well as the Masonic Auditorium and a few roof top cocktail lounges. No one knows for sure why the hill was called Nob, but the neighborhood has always been a prime residential area, which sprung up along with the City in the 1850s and 60s. One of the city's most homogeneous stands of apartment houses occupies the downtown slopes of Nob Hill.

Noe Valley
Great restaurants, bakeries, food stores and off beat restaurants along 24th Street add to this sunny, rapidly appreciating neighborhood. Many Victorian and Edwardian houses, with pretty gardens can be found here. Some steep streets, hills and hollows create a nice landscape.

North Beach
Encompassing Telegraph Hill and parts of Russian Hill, North Beach is known for interesting book stores, espresso bars, fine Italian and Basque food, night life and sausage, wine and cheese shops, as well as a few specialty clothing stores. It was the home of the Beat Generation in the 60s and remains a popular tourist neighborhood.

North Panhandle
The strip of green grass running between Fell and Oak Streets and up to the Golden Gate Park is called the Panhandle. The homes to the north are referred to as the North Panhandle. This area is close to the Haight and Hayes Valley, as well as Lone Mountain. Ther are many older Victorian style buildings in this neighborhood.

North Waterfront
The strip of land from the Ferry building to Fisherman's Wharf has always been considered prime real estate. The condominium complexes on the Northern tip are well maintained, offering excellent views, amenities and a convenient location, including the Golden Gateway which includes some hi-rise offices and condominiums, centered around some elaborately landscaped plazas. Most recently, many loft and condos have been built at is southernmost tip and more are in development.

Outer Mission
A culturally diverse area, less crowded than the Inner Mission. Mostly single family homes can be found here traditionally home to the working class. This district gave root to a large share of the city's leaders.

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.

Parkside
Runs along Pine Lake Park and Stern Grove. An area of single family homes, with neat little gardens.

Parnassus Heights
On the north-east slope of Mount Sutro and rising up over Haight Ashbury. The streets are tree lined and most of the houses are detached and wood shingled. There are a few especially gracious streets with larger gardens and beautiful view houses.

Polk Gulch
A valley built on an underground river, Polk Gulch includes an interesting mix of restaurants and coffee shops. The first gay neighborhood, it still includes gay bars among other shops and boutiques. Upper Polk Street runs through Russian Hill and houses many condominium buildings and small 2-4 unit buildings.

Potrero Hill
A large plateau within the sunshine belt of San Francisco, overlooking the eastern waterfront and downtown San Francisco. Artists and professionals live here. The housing styles range from older family style houses, to architect designed spec houses, to modern condominium complexes. The commercial area offers a few coffee shops and bakery, health food store, library and a few good restaurants.

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.

Richmond Area
An ethnically mixed area, where immigrant Russians and East European Jews settled in the late teens and twenties. Businesses, restaurants, bookstores and the Russian Cathedral on Geary still testify to their presence. The largest ethnic group is the Chinese, who, overflowing from Chinatown, found it easier to acquire property here than in the inner-city areas. The commercial strips along Geary and Clement are the new Chinatown. The residential boom in this area began in 1912 with the opening of the Municipal Railway line on Geary Boulevard, providing good transportation to downtown. The next boom followed World War II and succeeded in filling all of the blocks to the ocean.

Rossi Park
A flat area, names for its adjoining playground. The houses are well maintained and quiet.

Russian Hill
Steep hills, offering terrific views to the Bay and Alcatraz, houses and other buildings built on the hillside, tall co-op buildings and alley ways all add to the charm and character found on Russian Hill. From Pacific to Bay St. and from Polk Street to Mason. Polk Street is the main commercial street where you can find galleries, coffee shops, specialty stores, ice cream shops and corner groceries.

Sea Cliff
City living rarely offers a residential area as dramatically perched as Sea Cliff. It is high enough above sea level to be out of reach of the waves, yet close enough to the shore to share with its residents a sense of intimacy with the salt spray and the sound of the surf. Its winding landscaped streets, beautiful houses and no overhead wiring attract many sightseers. There are also two beaches here; China Beach and Baker Beach.

Sherwood Forest
On the south-western slope of Mount Davidson, elaborate ranch style homes can be found. Smaller homes on the south and east sides. Eucalyptus, pines and cypress in the gardens.

SOMA
South of Market is characterized by an abundance of lofts as a result of recent redevelopment, excellent restaurants and an active night life,. Warehouse spaces and extensions of downtown businesses give this area a real urban feeling, where artist live-work spaces can be found next to popular dance clubs and bars. Much of the city's history was written in this area.

South Park
In South Park, cool bohemian lofts and hi-tech companies have replaced the posh homes of the 1860s. Traces of the architectural styles can still be found, which were modeled around this park, on an oval street, on the terrace designs of Georgian England, by John Nash.

St. Francis Woods
An elite and sedate neighborhood, in the south part of the city. Large houses with street landscaping. The entry gates and fountain in the circular plaza, were designed by John Galen Howard, the noted Beaux Arts era architect.

Stern Grove
In the 1870's George M. Greene began what is now Stern Grove, by planting many eucalyptus trees to ward off the invading sand dunes. Sigmund Stern Memorial Grove, was given to the city by Mrs. Stern in 1932, as a place of natural and cultural refreshment through the medium of the summer music festival.

Sunset
The first homes were built in the Sunset, in the post-World War II decades. As streets multiplied, numerous small contractors and builders contributed by developing one lot or two at a time. A potpourri of styles emerged. Henry Doelger was known as a good builder. He used redwood for the frame and 'put on the architecture' last. A culturally mixed neighborhood, with many Irish and Chinese people. The area is mostly flat and runs all the way out from Stanyan to Ocean Beach.

Sutro Heights
Adolph Sutro acquired his estate in 1879. He passed away in 1898. The park named after him, offers fantastic views of the Ocean and is well landscaped. Surrounded by pretty houses in the outer Richmond area.

Telegraph Hill
Defined by the tall pillar of Coit Tower, Telegraph Hill has steep cliff-side homes and angled thoroughfares. Houses and smaller condominium buildings can be found here, as well as a secret park! Full of character and charm, it extends along Broadway, Grant Ave., Stockton, Francisco and Sansome Streets. A stones through from North Beach and Fishermans Wharf and a 10 minute walk to Downtown, this area provides a great location for many.

Twin Peaks
The most panoramic views of the City are found atop Twin Peaks, a 910-foot mountain. Apartment houses and large single family homes wind around this landmark.

Union Square
Union Square has been the heart of San Francisco's shopping and hotel district since well before the 1906 earthquake leveled its first commercial buildings. In 1942, the first ever underground garage, designed by Timothy Pflueger was built. The concrete structure was meant to double as a bomb shelter. Covering it is a landscaped square with pathways. Nieman-Marcus, The St. Francis Hotel, and the Saks building surround a central square where shoppers can enjoy the grand scale of Union Square. A side alley off the square was once a red light district. Now the modern shopping street is known as "Maiden Lane". Ticket outlets and cultural events can be found on the square itself. Street mimes and performance artists are here as well. The City's most popular cable car line passes the square up and down Powell St.

Union Street
This popular Cow Hollow street which defines the neighborhood is filled with specialty shops and restaurants. The 3/4 mile strip extends from Franklin to Steiner and includes the nearby blocks of Fillmore from Union to Greenwich. A social institution!

West Clay Park
A prestigious neighborhood, with two-story, square shaped houses of good size, pleasantly isolated by the Presidio and close to Lake Street.

West Portal
Nestled at the foot of Mt. Davidson, Forest and Edgehill Heights, this area has a nice appearance and location. A great shopping area and public transportation.

Westwood Highlands
Nice gardens, tiled roof houses. The higher you go up the hill the grander the dwelling. There are English style house as well as colored yellow, orange and white.

Western Addition
Historically, Western Addition was where the city grew westward. The Western Addition housing redevelopment projects west of Van Ness were begun in the 50s and 60s. African Americans who had come to work in the City's wartime defense plants found affordable housing there. Including the section of the City west of Van Ness Avenue, the Western Addition includes shopping and dining along bustling Fillmore St., and the Fillmore Auditorium, the center for rock music performances since the 1960s. There are many beautiful old Victorian properties that have been restored and others that are waiting to be.

See City Maps on-line http://www.sanfranciscoonline.com

 

 


Home   Contact   Sitemap/Search

© Copyright 2009 Sharon Kramlich - All Rights Reserved