List of neighborhoods in San Francisco
, in the US state of California, has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. While there is considerable fluidity among the sources, one guidebook identifies five major districts, corresponding to the four quadrants plus a south central district. These five broad districts, counterclockwise are: Central/downtown, Richmond, Sunset, Upper Market and beyond and Bernal Heights/Bayview and beyond. Within each of these five districts are located major neighborhoods, and again there is considerable fluidity seen in the sources. The San Francisco Planning Department officially identifies 36 neighborhoods. Within these 36 official neighborhoods are a large number of minor districts, some of which are historical, and some of which are overlapping.Some of San Francisco's neighborhoods are also officially designated as "cultural districts".
In addition to official neighborhood designations, broader regional terms such as the West Side are widely used by local media, residents, and city agencies. The term typically refers to areas west of Twin Peaks, including the Richmond and Sunset districts and surrounding neighborhoods. This region is generally more residential and less densely developed than the eastern side of the city, which contains most of San Francisco’s commercial core and older urban infrastructure.
SF Neighborhood Map -
Alamo Square
Alamo Square is a subset of the Western Addition neighborhood. Its boundaries are not well-defined, but are generally considered to be Webster Street on the east, Golden Gate Avenue on the north, Divisadero Street on the west, and Oak Street on the south. It is characterized by Victorian architecture that was left largely untouched by the urban renewal projects in other parts of the Western Addition. On a clear day, the Transamerica Pyramid building and the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge can be seen from the park's center. San Francisco's City Hall can be seen directly down Fulton Street. A row of Victorian houses facing the park on Steiner Street, known as the painted ladies, are often shown in the foreground of panoramic pictures of the city's downtown area.Anza Vista
Ashbury Heights
Ashbury Heights is a neighborhood on the hill to the south of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. It is at the base of Tank Hill and neighboring Cole Valley.Balboa Terrace
is a small residential neighborhood in southwestern San Francisco bounded by Junipero Serra Boulevard, Monterey Boulevard, Aptos Avenue and Ocean Avenue along the southern edge of the exclusive St. Francis Wood development.The Bayview
The Bayview stretches along Third Street south of Evans Avenue, west of the Hunters Point neighborhood. The neighborhood library was recently renamed the Linda Brooks-Burton Branch Library after a new and larger building was constructed at the same location on Third Street and Revere. Within a block or two of the library are three urban gardens and public art projects, developed entirely by residents, known as the Quesada Gardens Initiative. The Bayview is known for its friendly and diverse residents, warm weather and inviting vistas, community gardens, independent businesses, artists' community, and rich history as an African American and working-class neighborhood. During the 1950s it was largely an Italian, Maltese and French Basque neighborhood, centered on St. Paul of the Shipwreck Church and the Maltese American Social Club, both on Oakdale Avenue. The Bayview district was known as "Butcher Town" because of the slaughterhouse on Third Street. The area is served by the T-Third light rail line, and is home to the Bayview Opera House and City College Evans and Southeast Campus. The area is undergoing rapid development as the City tries to meet the demands of population growth and corporate investors have revalued the relatively large amount of buildable land. Hunters Point Shipyard and Candlestick Park areas are primary centers of development in the neighborhood. Despite its diversity, residents have a long history of coming together to create change and protect neighborhood assets. The Bayview Footprints Network maintains the neighborhood's longest-running blog, and the San Francisco Bay View is the local newspaper. Hunters Point Shipyard, a former Superfund site, and a polluting power plant have been focal points for environmental activists. The neighborhood was highly organized during the Civil rights movement, led by social justice advocates such as Julia Commer, Osceola Washington, Ruth Williams, Rosie Williams, Elouise Westbrook, Essie Webb, Espanola Jackson, Shirley Jones, and Alex Pitcher. Sam Jordan, boxing champion and tavern owner, was the first African American to run for Mayor of San Francisco.Belden Place
A small neighborhood near the Financial District, being the historical location of the French Quarter in San Francisco.Bernal Heights
Bernal Heights is a neighborhood perched on a hill in between the Mission district, Bayview, and the Portola district. The neighborhood is known for its community feeling and progressive vibe. The majority of the neighborhood is white, but there are significant Southern Italian, Latino and African American populations in the area as well. The main shopping area in Bernal Heights is Cortland Avenue, with a variety of storefronts that include a health food store, a community center, a yoga studio, bars, bakeries, and restaurants. Many of the quaint, hilly streets in the neighborhood are so narrow that two cars cannot pass in opposite directions without one car pulling over to the side of the road.Buena Vista
The Buena Vista neighborhood surrounds Buena Vista Park, south of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Market Street is to the south, and Corona Heights Park and neighborhood is to the east.Butchertown (old and new)
Butchertown is an industrial neighborhood in San Francisco that historically housed the city's slaughterhouses. It is one of the few remaining industrial sectors of San Francisco.Originally, Butchertown extended into the neighborhood now known as Dogpatch. Today's street borders are Cesar Chavez to the north, Interstate 280 to the west, Industrial Street and Oakdale Avenue to the south, and 3rd Street to the east. There are still two meat rendering plants in the neighborhood, and until pollution control measures were taken in 1995 the stench was still quite apparent. Butchertown is also headquarters to San Francisco's only active freight railroad, the San Francisco Bay Railroad, a Class 3 short-line carrier.
Old Butchertown was along the shores of Mission Creek on Mission Bay; this bay subsequently became the land-filled Mission Bay neighborhood.
The Castro
Cathedral Hill
Cathedral Hill is a small area in the Western Addition neighborhood surrounding Saint Mary's Cathedral on Geary Boulevard near Gough Street. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco and Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory are located in Cathedral Hill.The Cathedral Hill Hotel, a historic building previously named the Jack Tar Hotel, was closed on October 30, 2009, and was demolished in 2014 to make room for an expansion of the California Pacific Medical Center.
China Basin
China Basin is a neighborhood built on landfill along the San Francisco Bay. It lies north of Mission Creek and the Mission Bay neighborhood, and includes Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, numerous restaurants, and the Caltrain railroad station. It borders on the South-of-Market neighborhood to the northwest and the South Beach neighborhood to the north. The term China Basin also refers to the body of water from which the neighborhood takes its name. This inlet where Mission Creek flows into the bay, home to a number of houseboats, was once an active industrial waterfront, though in recent decades the shore has been developed with residential condominiums. The portion of the waterway adjacent to the ballpark is often referred to as McCovey Cove, named after Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants. The China Basin Heliport, used by the SFPD Aero Division until the division was disbanded, was located near the waterfront in the neighborhood.Chinatown
Civic Center
Clarendon Heights
The Clarendon Heights neighborhood is in the central part of San Francisco, to the north of Twin Peaks and east of Mount Sutro. It stretches down to Corbett Avenue or Market Street, and Clarendon Avenue borders the north and west side.Cole Valley
Cole Valley is a small neighborhood tucked into a u-shaped valley. Frederick Street is the northern boundary, Stanyan Street on the west, Clayton Street on the east, and the foothill of Twin Peaks on the south.Sometimes referred to as a subsection of the Haight district, Cole Valley's focus is at Cole and Carl streets, where Cole Hardware, Luke's Local and La Boulangerie cafe anchor the neighborhood, with Tank Hill in the southeast corner with views toward the ocean, Marin County and the eastern half of the City.