Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California

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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.

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:

• Lower Pacific Heights, to the south, with California Street as the border.
• Japantown
• Polk Gulch, to the east, with Van Ness Avenue as the border.
• Presidio Heights and Presidio Park to the west, with Presidio Avenue (formerly Central Avenue) as the border.
• Cow Hollow to the north.
• Marina District, to the north of Cow Hollow (between Lombard Street and San Francisco Bay).

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

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 those of the Consuls General 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.

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]

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, Aveda, and Shu Uemura. Other businesses in Pacific Heights are located on California and Divisadero Streets, as well as on Van Ness Avenue.

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.

Schools

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

Colleges, Universities and Graduate Institutions

• Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, part of the University of the Pacific
• Academy of Art University

Private Schools

• San Francisco University High School
• Drew School (formerly Drew College Preparatory School)
• Convent of the Sacred Heart High School
• Stuart Hall High School
• Metropolitan Arts and Technology High School
• the Hamlin School for Girls
• Town School for Boys
• San Francisco Waldorf School
• Convent of the Sacred Heart Elementary School
• Stuart Hall for Boys

Public Schools

• Newcomer High School
• William L. Cobb Elementary School

Famous movies filmed in Pacific Heights

• Allison Sidney Harrison (1980)
• Around the Fire (1998)
• Basic Instinct (1992)
• Bullitt (1968)
• The Conversation (1974)
• Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
• Dr. Dolittle (1998)
• Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001)
• Foreign Correspondents (1999)
• Foul Play (1978)
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
• Guinevere (1999)
• Heart and Souls (1993)
• Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) shows two Pacific Heights properties. The family house is a white Victorian located at 2640 Steiner Street. From his apartment located at 1200 Washington Street, Robin Williams's character has a panoramic view of the city.
• The Navigator (1924)
• Nine Months (1995)
• Pacific Heights (1990)
• Pal Joey (1957)
• Portrait in Black (1960)
• The Princess Diaries (2001)
• So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
• Sudden Fear (1952)
• Sweet November (2001)
• The Towering Inferno (1974)
• The Wedding Planner (2001)
• What's Up, Doc? (1972)

See also

San Francisco Bay Area portal

• List of San Francisco, California Hills

References

External links

Coordinates: 37°47′30″N 122°26′08″W / 37.7917°N 122.4356°W / 37.7917; -122.4356

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pacific Heights

• Pacific Heights Residents Association
• The Chronicle's standing article about Pacific Heights
• The Perfect Pacific Heights Commute The Scene from Pacific Heights to Lucas Film in the Presidio
• Flickr Photos of the Pacific Heights Neighborhood