Russian Hill, San Francisco

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A view of Lombard Street and Russian Hill from Telegraph Hill. Centered in the picture is the famous "World's crookedest street" portion of Lombard Street.

Russian Hill is an affluent, largely residential neighborhood of San Francisco, California, in the United States. Views from the top of the hill extend in several directions around the Bay Area, including the Bay Bridge, Marin County, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz. Russian Hill is home to the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute, located on Chestnut Street between Jones and Leavenworth Streets.

Because of the steepness of the hill, many streets, portions of Vallejo and Green streets, for example, are staircases. Another famous feature of Russian Hill are the many pedestrian-only lanes such as Macondray Lane and Fallon Place, both with beautiful landscaping and arresting views.

Location

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The San Francisco Chronicle defines the Nob Hill and Russian Hill area as within Bay Street, Van Ness Avenue, Taylor Street, and Pine Street.^[1] The dividing line between the hills follows a notch between Broadway and Pacific.

Russian Hill is directly to the north (and slightly downhill) from the highly affluent Nob Hill, to the south (uphill) from Fisherman's Wharf, and to the west of the North Beach neighborhood. The Hill is bordered on its west side by parts of the neighborhoods of Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, and the Marina District.

Downhill to the north is Ghirardelli Square, which sits on the waterfront of the San Francisco Bay, Aquatic Park, and Fisherman's Wharf, an extremely popular tourist area. Down the turns of Lombard Street and across Columbus Avenue to the east is the neighborhood of North Beach. Down the hill to the west, past Van Ness Avenue, are Cow Hollow and the Marina districts.

History

The neighborhood's name goes back to the Gold Rush era, when settlers discovered a small Russian cemetery at the top of the hill. Although the bodies were never identified, the bodies probably belonged to Russian fur traders and sailors from nearby Fort Ross, an old Russian outpost north of San Francisco. The cemetery was removed, but the name remains to this day. There is no significant Russian presence here as the city's Russian community is located primarily in the Richmond District.

In the early 1900s, Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan, "the man who carried the message to Garcia," lived on Vallejo St. Also on Vallejo street at that time was Mrs. Mary Curtis Richardson, a portrait painter whose painting of the mother and child was copied a million times in postcards during the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915.

Life in the neighborhood during the 1970s was used as the base for the fictionalized series Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.

The neighborhood was also featured in the early scenes of the 1982 action-comedy feature film, 48 Hrs. The cast of The Real World: San Francisco, which aired in 1994, lived in the house at 949 Lombard Street on Russian Hill from February 12 to June 19, 1994.^[2]

Alice Marble tennis courts

Alice marble tennis courts.

The Alice Marble Tennis Courts are four hardcourt tennis courts located on top of the affluent neighborhood. The courts offer a view of the bay and North Beach and can be unsuitable for tennis on windy days. A basketball court is located adjacent to the tennis courts. The San Francisco Cable Cars serving the Powell-Hyde line stops nearby.

Famous Residents

• Mayor Gavin Newsom^[3]
• Cynthia Oti, radio show host and victim of Alaska Airlines Flight 261^[4]
• Brian Boitano

See also

San Francisco Bay Area portal

• San Francisco cable car system
• List of San Francisco, California Hills

References

External links

• The Chronicle's standing article about Russian Hill
• Russian Hill Neighbors association
• JB Monaco Russian Hill Photographs
• Chronicle's article "Russian Hill hike" from 1 Jan 2009

Coordinates: 37°48′06″N 122°25′11″W / 37.80175°N 122.41983°W / 37.80175; -122.41983