1 Russian Hill

Russian Hill

San Francisco, CA 94109

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 San Francisco Bay Area, including the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Marin County, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz. Russian Hill is also home to the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute, located on Chestnut Street between Jones and Leavenworth Streets.

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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, Washington Street on the south, Columbus Avenue on the east (northeast), and San Francisco on the North. The portion of Lombard Street (between Hyde and Leavenworth streets), that is sometimes referred to as "the crookedest (winding) street in the world" is on Russian Hill, and the Powell-Hyde San Francisco cable car system 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, San Francisco Maritime National Historical 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, San Francisco. Down the hill to the west, past Van Ness Avenue, are Cow Hollow and the Marina districts.

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History

The neighborhood's name goes back to the California Gold Rush-era when settlers discovered a small Russian cemetery at the top of the hill. Although the bodies were never officially identified, it is assumed that the bodies probably belonged to Russian fur-traders and sailors from nearby Fort Ross. 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 in the 1970s was used as the base for the fictionalized series "Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin.

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