Get to Know: Pacific Heights
Photo by Dale Cruse on Flickr via CreativeCommons license.
One of the most renowned and storied neighborhoods in San Francisco, Pacific Heights is the city’s crowning glory for its opulent architecture. For the purposes of real estate, the San Francisco Association of Realtors® (SFAR) defines the area, Subdistrict 7b, as bounded to the east by Van Ness Avenue, to the north by Green Street, to the west by Presidio Boulevard, and to the south by California Street. The Presidio carves a small notch out of the northwest corner. This more or less lines up with the city’s SF FIND defined neighborhood. (More on districts and subdistricts here,)
The neighborhood was first developed in the mid-late 1800s, with relatively modest Victorian homes. After the 1906 earthquake and fire, which destroyed many of the grand mansions on Nob Hill, the wealthy relocated west to Pacific Heights, building new and even grander homes than the ones they lost. Rather than adhering to any one style, the residents dabbled in a hodgepodge of styles including Edwardian, Tudor, Mission Revival, Château, and Art Deco. Today, many of these mansions are consulates, including those for Italy, Greece, Vietnam, South Korea, China, and Germany.
Among the most impressive homes are along a three-block stretch of Broadway known as Billionaire’s Row. While these grand manses were built by the top tier of the early 20th century, such as former chair of the Pacific Stock Exchange Doug Engmann and oil scion William Getty, today many of the homes are owned by tech elite, including Oracle’s Larry Ellison, former Apply design chief Jony Ive, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, and others. Nearby, the grand Spreckels Mansion on the corner of Washington and Octavia Streets, is home to legendary romance novelist Danielle Steel.
Alta Plaza Park presides over the neighborhood, with panoramic vistas of the bay. The area enjoys a spritely commercial center along Fillmore Street, with notable businesses such as Jane the Bakery, Salt & Straw ice creamery, local bistro Chouquet’s, and Middle Eastern mainstay La Méditeranée, as well as many shops and boutiques. It’s also close to vibrant centers in the Marina/Cow Hollow, Japantown, the Western Addition, and Laurel Village.