Lower Haight, San Francisco, California
Encyclopedia
The Lower Haight is a neighborhood, sometimes referred to as Haight-Fillmore, in San Francisco, California
.
, which is also known as the Upper Haight. The name derives from the significant elevation change as Haight Street climbs steeply from Scott Street to Buena Vista Park
.
The area straddles a shallow valley between Mint Hill and Upper Haight, sloping down from Oak Street (north) toward Duboce (south). Duboce Park
, toward the corner of Duboce and Scott, is a grassy park containing a children's playground and the Harvey Milk
Recreational Arts Building.
Adjacent neighborhoods include the Western Addition/Alamo Square
to the north; Duboce Triangle
to the south; Hayes Valley
to the east; and the Upper Haight
to the west.
The San Francisco Association of Realtors defines the area more narrowly as the "Haight-Fillmore" neighborhood, bounded by Steiner Street on the west, Webster Street on the east, Fell Street on the north, and Waller Street on the south. The Association considers the neighborhood to be a subset of the Hayes Valley (District 6B). http://www.propertiessanfrancisco.com/Neighborhoods/district6.htm
, The United States Mint, Duboce and Koshland parks, and the abandoned UC Berkeley Extension.
Lower Haight differs from Upper Haight by having a more diverse population and a smaller number of retail businesses. The Victorian
and Edwardian
houses tend to be less ornately painted and maintained in the Lower Haight than in the Haight/Ashbury neighborhood, and rent can be lower. The neighborhood has been referred to as having a "grungey, post-punk bohemian" atmosphere.
It can be at times a dangerous place, but the efforts of local residents, a public nuisance lawsuit in the 1990s against the crime-ridden Hayes Valley housing project, a Federal RICO case against inhabitants of the subsequent housing development http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/27/BAGQQCVLAU1.DTL&type=printable, and shootings among local gang members http://lawfuel.com/show-release.asp?ID=3344 gradually reduced the crime rate.
In response to crime, a moratorium was placed in 2006 on new liquor licenses in the neighborhood http://www.examiner.com/a-89657~Supervisor__No_more_bars_in_Lower_Haight.html. In 2008, the San Francisco Planning Commission decided that the same historic pattern of crime is no barrier to having multiple Medical Cannabis
Dispensaries there http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=20&clip_id=4826http://groups.google.com/group/lowerhaightorg/browse_frm/thread/adc9cfc51e7ce37e/ecc39fe9608670ee#ecc39fe9608670ee.
The San Francisco Zen Center
is at the northeast edge of the neighborhood in an elegant brick building designed by famed architect Julia Morgan
in 1922.
The area is served by several San Francisco Municipal Railway
(MUNI) bus lines and it is a few blocks away from all of the MUNI Metro lines. The heart of the neighborhood, at the corner of Fillmore and Haight, is six blocks away from the subway stop of Church and Market, which is also the location of the city's largest supermarket
, a Safeway
. Surveys show that this neighborhood has one of the highest number of daily trips by bike per capita of any San Francisco neighborhood, and walking is also very popular.
The geography of the Lower Haight lends itself to the most efficient bicycle routing from the Mission District towards Golden Gate Park and surrounding neighborhoods, and the popular bicycle route termed The Wiggle
zig zags through this neighborhood.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Location
The Lower Haight lies generally along Haight Street east of Divisadero Street, and between Oak Street (or Fell Street) on the north, and Duboce Avenue on south. The eastern boundary is variously placed at Webster Street, Laguna Street, or even Market Street. It is east of the more famous Haight-AshburyHaight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California
Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight.-Location:...
, which is also known as the Upper Haight. The name derives from the significant elevation change as Haight Street climbs steeply from Scott Street to Buena Vista Park
Buena Vista Park
Buena Vista Park is a park in the Haight-Ashbury and Buena Vista Heights neighborhoods of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the oldest official park in San Francisco, established in 1867 as Hill Park and renamed Buena Vista in 1894. It is bounded by Haight Street to the north, and...
.
The area straddles a shallow valley between Mint Hill and Upper Haight, sloping down from Oak Street (north) toward Duboce (south). Duboce Park
Duboce Park
Duboce Park is a small urban park located between the Duboce Triangle and Lower Haight neighborhoods of San Francisco, California. The park is less than one block wide from north to south, and two blocks wide from west to east...
, toward the corner of Duboce and Scott, is a grassy park containing a children's playground and the Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
Recreational Arts Building.
Adjacent neighborhoods include the Western Addition/Alamo Square
Alamo Square
Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California, in the Western Addition, a district of the city's fifth Supervisorial district, and are served by several Muni bus lines including the 5, 21, 22, and 24...
to the north; Duboce Triangle
Duboce Triangle, San Francisco, California
The Duboce Triangle neighborhood is located near the center of San Francisco, just below the hilly slopes of Buena Vista between the neighborhoods of the Castro/Eureka Valley, the Mission District, and the Lower Haight....
to the south; Hayes Valley
Hayes Valley, San Francisco, California
Hayes Valley is a fashionable neighborhood in San Francisco, California, between the historical districts of Alamo Square and Civic Center. Victorian, Queen Anne, and Edwardian townhouses rub shoulders with boutiques, restaurants, and public housing complexes....
to the east; and the Upper Haight
Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California
Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight.-Location:...
to the west.
The San Francisco Association of Realtors defines the area more narrowly as the "Haight-Fillmore" neighborhood, bounded by Steiner Street on the west, Webster Street on the east, Fell Street on the north, and Waller Street on the south. The Association considers the neighborhood to be a subset of the Hayes Valley (District 6B). http://www.propertiessanfrancisco.com/Neighborhoods/district6.htm
Attractions and characteristics
A mixture of restaurants, small nightclubs, cafes, drinking establishments, residences, galleries, and hair salons characterizes the Lower Haight. Neighborhood institutions include John Muir Elementary School, San Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen Center
San Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu...
, The United States Mint, Duboce and Koshland parks, and the abandoned UC Berkeley Extension.
Lower Haight differs from Upper Haight by having a more diverse population and a smaller number of retail businesses. The Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and Edwardian
Edwardian architecture
Edwardian architecture is the style popular when King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was in power; he reigned from 1901 to 1910, but the architecture style is generally considered to be indicative of the years 1901 to 1914....
houses tend to be less ornately painted and maintained in the Lower Haight than in the Haight/Ashbury neighborhood, and rent can be lower. The neighborhood has been referred to as having a "grungey, post-punk bohemian" atmosphere.
It can be at times a dangerous place, but the efforts of local residents, a public nuisance lawsuit in the 1990s against the crime-ridden Hayes Valley housing project, a Federal RICO case against inhabitants of the subsequent housing development http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/27/BAGQQCVLAU1.DTL&type=printable, and shootings among local gang members http://lawfuel.com/show-release.asp?ID=3344 gradually reduced the crime rate.
In response to crime, a moratorium was placed in 2006 on new liquor licenses in the neighborhood http://www.examiner.com/a-89657~Supervisor__No_more_bars_in_Lower_Haight.html. In 2008, the San Francisco Planning Commission decided that the same historic pattern of crime is no barrier to having multiple Medical Cannabis
Medical cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...
Dispensaries there http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=20&clip_id=4826http://groups.google.com/group/lowerhaightorg/browse_frm/thread/adc9cfc51e7ce37e/ecc39fe9608670ee#ecc39fe9608670ee.
The San Francisco Zen Center
San Francisco Zen Center
San Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu...
is at the northeast edge of the neighborhood in an elegant brick building designed by famed architect Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
in 1922.
The area is served by several San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...
(MUNI) bus lines and it is a few blocks away from all of the MUNI Metro lines. The heart of the neighborhood, at the corner of Fillmore and Haight, is six blocks away from the subway stop of Church and Market, which is also the location of the city's largest supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, a Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
. Surveys show that this neighborhood has one of the highest number of daily trips by bike per capita of any San Francisco neighborhood, and walking is also very popular.
The geography of the Lower Haight lends itself to the most efficient bicycle routing from the Mission District towards Golden Gate Park and surrounding neighborhoods, and the popular bicycle route termed The Wiggle
The Wiggle
The Wiggle is a one-mile, zig-zagging bicycle route from Market Street to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, that minimizes hilly inclines for bicycle riders. Rising , The Wiggle inclines average 3% and never exceed 6%...
zig zags through this neighborhood.
See also
- Haight-AshburyHaight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CaliforniaHaight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight.-Location:...
External links
- Lower Haight Neighborhood Site
- WikiTravel: Haight-Fillmore
- SFStation: Districts: Lower Haight
- Lower Haight group, Tribe.netTribe.nettribe.net is a website that hosts an online community of friends, similar to other social networking sites. The site name is always spelled in all lower case.-History:...
. - Friends of Duboce Park