Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California

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This article is about the San Francisco neighborhood. For the 1990 film, see Pacific Heights (1990 film). For the Saskatoon neighborhood, see Pacific Heights, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. For the former town in Butte County, California, see Pacific Heights, Butte County, California.
Northern view from Alta Plaza Park. The Marina District and San Francisco Bay can be seen below.

Pacific Heights is an affluent neighborhood of San Francisco, California, on the north side of California Street in the city. Pacific Heights is located in one of the most scenic and park-like settings in Northern California, offering panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz and the Presidio. Its idyllic location provides a temperate micro-climate that is clearer, but not always warmer, than many other areas in San Francisco. The neighborhood extends from Presidio Avenue to Van Ness Avenue, and from California Street to Broadway. It is home to young urban professionals and some of San Francisco's wealthiest citizens.

Contents

[edit] Geography

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The Pacific Heights Residents Association defines the neighborhood as inside Bush Street, Presidio Avenue, Union Street, and Van Ness Avenue.[1]

Pacific Heights is situated on a primarily east-west oriented ridge that rises sharply from the Marina District and Cow Hollow neighborhoods, to the north, to a maximum height of 370 feet above sea level. The streets of Jackson, Pacific, and Broadway extend along some of the most scenic areas along the hill's crest. The section of Broadway Street extending from Divisadero to Lyon Street is known as the "Gold Coast." Pacific Heights features two parks, Lafayette and Alta Plaza, each with spectacular views of the city and the bay. Easily visible to the north, for example, are the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, and Alcatraz Island.

Lower Pacific Heights refers to the area located south of California Street down to Post Street. Though previously simply considered part of the Western Addition, this new neighborhood designation became popularized by real estate agents in the early 1990s.

Adjacent neighborhoods are:

ZIP Codes: 94109, 94115

Population (2000[1]): 33,115

Male: 15,947 (48%)

Female: 17,168 (52%)

Housing units: 18,422

Single-family owner-occupied homes: 1,293

Elevation / Land area: 370 feet above sea level and covers 130 square blocks.

Water area: zero

[edit] Real estate

The C. A. Belden House on Gough Street is a late Revival Style home with Queen Anne and Beaux Arts features. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco.

The neighborhood was first developed in the 1870s, with small Victorian homes built. Starting at the turn of the century, however, many were replaced with period homes. Still residential, the area is characterized by painted Victorians, chateaus and mansions. Today, there are also many consular residences in Pacific Heights, including the Consular Generals of The Kingdom of Norway (Normadie Street), Italy (Webster Street), Germany (Jackson Street) and France (Jackson Street). It also serves as home to many San Francisco's first families, as well as to successful entrepreneurs and artists.

The oldest building in Pacific Heights, located at 2475 Pacific Avenue, was built in 1853, though the majority of the neighborhood was built after the 1906 earthquake. The architecture of the neighborhood is varied; Victorian, Mission Revival, Edwardian, and Château styles are common.

[edit] Consulates

Consulate-General of Russia in San Francisco

Several countries have consulates in Pacific Heights. Countries include Germany,[2] Greece,[3] Italy,[4] Portugal,[5] Russia,[6] and Vietnam.[7]

[edit] Shopping

Most of the neighborhood's boutiques and restaurants can be found along Fillmore Street, south of Pacific Avenue. They include stores like Marc by Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Design within Reach, and Shu Uemura. Other businesses in Pacific Heights are located on California and Divisadero Streets, as well as on Van Ness Avenue.

[edit] Transportation

Van Ness Avenue, being a part of U.S. Route 101, is a very busy street which can be avoided by using one-way streets Franklin and Gough, with coordinated traffic lights for rapid travel northbound and southbound, respectively. Similarly, one-way streets Bush (eastbound) and Pine (westbound) can be used as faster alternatives to California Street for much of its path east of Presidio Blvd. As for public transportation, the following Muni lines service the area: 1-California, 1BX-California 'B' Express, 3-Jackson, 12-Folsom/Pacific, 24-Divisadero and 22-Fillmore.

[edit] Schools

Pacific heights is home to many schools, both private and public

[edit] Colleges, Universities and Graduate Institutions

[edit] Private Schools

[edit] Public Schools

  • Newcomer High School
  • William L. Cobb Elementary School

[edit] Famous movies filmed in Pacific Heights

[edit] Famous residents

The social elite includes many of San Francisco's first families, famous authors, business people, successful entrepreneurs, artists, musicians and even an actor or two who call Pacific Heights their home. Exclusivity, due to the prohibitively high rents in the district, leads many to refer to the neighborhood as "Specific Whites."

[edit] Current residents

[edit] Former residents

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Mission Statement." Pacific Heights Residents Association. Retrieved on February 1, 2009.
  2. ^ "Address, Contact and Office Hours." Consulate-General of Germany in San Francisco. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  3. ^ "Consulate General San Francisco." Embassy of Greece Washington, DC. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  4. ^ "Welcome to the web site of the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco." Consulate-General of Italy in San Francisco. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  5. ^ "Portugal Visa Information." United Nations. Retrieved on February 1, 2009.
  6. ^ Home page. Consulate-General of Russia in San Francisco. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  7. ^ "Welcome to Vietnam consulate-San Francisco,USA." Consulate-General of Vietnam in San Francisco. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.

[edit] External links

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