Things to do nearPacific Heights

Pacific Heights developed rapidly after the 1906 earthquake and fire, when wealthy San Franciscans rebuilt on the safer high ground north of the devastated downtown. The resulting streetscape is one of the finest concentrations of Edwardian architecture in the United States, with grand single-family homes, consulates, and private clubs occupying nearly every block between Divisadero and Gough.

The neighborhood's two anchor parks, Lafayette and Alta Plaza, offer very different moods. Lafayette Park is a shaded, sloping green used by dog walkers and picnickers. Alta Plaza rises in broad terraced steps on its southern face, a design that frames the skyline theatrically and draws photographers at almost every hour. From either summit the views across the rooftops toward the bay are remarkable. Nearby, the Palace of Fine Arts sits just over a mile away, and the grassy expanse of Marina Green lies at the foot of the hill.

Fillmore Street is the commercial spine of Pacific Heights, lined with independent wine shops, farm-to-table bistros, and specialty coffee roasters. The street has a long jazz heritage, earning the nickname the Harlem of the West during the mid-twentieth century, and occasional live music venues still carry that tradition forward.

Pacific Heights rewards visitors who slow down and look closely, offering a window into the domestic ambitions of a city that rebuilt itself with confidence and style.