Russian Hill, San Francisco, California

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

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.

The boundaries of Russian Hill are generally considered to be Van Ness Avenue on the west, Pacific Avenue on the south, Columbus Avenue on the east (northeast), and San Francisco Bay on the North [http://hood.theory.org/map.html] . The portion of Lombard Street (between Hyde and Leavenworth streets), that is sometimes referred to as "the crookedest street in the world" is on Russian Hill, and the Powell-Hyde Cable Car line passes directly over Russian Hill on its way to Fisherman's Wharf.

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.

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

See also

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

External links

* [http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/russianhill.shtml The Chronicle's standing article about Russian Hill]
* [http://www.rhn.org Russian Hill Neighbors association]
* [http://www.jbmonaco.com/russian_hill/index.html JB Monaco Russian Hill Photographs]