Central Sunset

The Central Sunset is a study in contrasts. This windswept, foggy district is built on a stretch once covered in bleak sand dunes and marshes. And although it is still shrouded in marine layer on many days, on others it can be blindingly clear, its pastel homes brilliant against a blue sky. The linear layout and freedom from steep hills elsewhere in San Francisco make it a welcome refuge for more than 50,000 residents, many of them immigrants.

The neighborhood stretches south from the emerald expanse of Golden Gate Park in arrow-straight rows of low-profile houses that create the illusion, from above, of a colossal circuit board, the uniform grid interrupted here and there by a curved cluster of trees or an oval athletic field. The seeming anonymity of this vast neighborhood derives primarily from the Sunset's boom before and after World War II, when blue-collar workers and returning GIs sought affordable homes for their wives and kids, the Baby Boomers of today. Developers obliged them, plunking down modest stucco houses, one after the other, each floor plan invariably a Model T of efficiency: living room over garage, steps leading to a small covered porch, postage-stamp front yard. The resulting architectural monotony was relieved occasionally by whimsical homes designed by Oliver Rousseau in the 1930s, their facades inspired by storybook cottages and castles. Nearly all the homes came with mini-gardens in front that many owners cultivated ingeniously: sculpted junipers surrounding heirloom roses or exotic camellias, framed by perfectly trimmed knee-high hedges. That this greenery survived the oft-chilly and fogbound patch of ground near the Pacific Ocean and, moreover, that it thrives today, is one of San Francisco’s enduring puzzles.

Get there on a sunny day (not as rare as you may think; based on data from solar monitoring stations placed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the amount of bright sunlight, absent cloud and fog cover, is not far behind sunnier areas of the city); you’ll witness the rectangular symmetry of a neighborhood that seems at first glance neat, tidy, cute--and dull. But a noticeable lack of neon attractions (the area has no cinemas, theaters, or nightclubs to speak of) has its upside: tranquil nights. And there is, of course, more to this sprawling district than boxy two-story houses in shades of sterile white and beige. The well-ordered side streets offer a safe and quiet refuge from busy 19th Avenue. A preponderance of garages means that parking is relatively easy, even near shopping corridors, which harbor numerous owner-operated businesses, restaurants, and shops coveted by a city whose residents frown on franchises.

The area is also well served by numerous MUNI bus routes (including the No. 71, which travels to and from downtown; the No. 29, which traces a rectangle on the edges of the Central Sunset; and the No. 48, which goes from the Pacific Ocean crosstown to the Mission District), as well as two MUNI Metro lines, the L Taraval and the N Judah (both of which run along trolley tracks on those same streets).

Irving Street is the nerve center for most commercial activity, although it is considerably less animated (especially in terms of nightlife) than its antecedent in the Inner Sunset east of 19th Avenue. Here residents can find any number of Asian eateries, along with stalwarts of any San Francisco neighborhood, pubs and taverns (most of which attract a local—and generally friendly and quiet—clientele). Shopping for everything from food to shoes is also a snap; the stretch includes a couple of grocers (including Sunset Supermarket) and produce stores (like 22nd & Irving Market). There’s a U.S. Post Office on 22nd Avenue (near Irving) and a number of banks, domestic and foreign. Two other commercial strips front Noriega and Taraval Streets, which also cut east/west paths across the neighborhood, each offering a smaller selection of the same fare: Asian restaurants, pubs and bars, convenience and liquor stores, the odd bank, a big grocery (Safeway on Noriega), chain drugstores, and an assortment of coffeehouses, donut shops, diners, dry cleaners and specialty stores.

The Central Sunset is not especially known for its parks. Perhaps it is because most homes have a small backyard, perhaps it is because the district abuts Golden Gate Park, a marvel of urban parkland. But one often overlooked gem is Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, a 33-acre crescent of eucalyptus and pine that fronts Sloat Boulevard at the Central Sunset’s southern edge. Here, a series of summer concerts attract throngs from throughout the Bay Area. A onetime marsh and its surrounding slopes have been transformed into a performing arts amphitheater that rivals many outdoor venues for acoustics and close-up views of performers. Many performances are part of the free Stern Grove Festival series of concerts given on Sunday afternoons in the summer, from ballet to bluegrass and pop to opera. And the adjoining Pine Lake Park offers dog lovers in the neighborhood a chance to run their pups off leash.

The neighborhood schools and childcare centers are among the top reasons many families gravitate to the Central Sunset, especially its primary schools. Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary earned a 10 (out of 10) rating from GreatSchools, and the new Dianne Feinstein Elementary School, built in 2006, got a 9 rating. Private schools, most of them elementary and preschools, both parochial and nonsectarian, complete the educational picture for pre-kindergarten and grade-school students in the Central Sunset. Abraham Lincoln High School, with its Biotechnology Academy, draws students from grades 9 though 12 from throughout the city; it got a 7 rating from GreatSchools.

As the businesses along Irving and other strips imply, the Central Sunset population has a largely Asian component. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, residents of Asian race comprise about 50 percent of the total near Golden Gate Park to a bit more than 60 percent in the blocks farther south. (Non-Hispanic and Hispanic whites make up the rest, for the most part, with African Americans and people of two or more races representing a small percentage.)

Most people rent (54 percent) rather than own their homes (45 percent). Nearly 85 percent are high-school graduates, and the percentage who hold bachelor’s degrees or higher is almost twice the national average. In general, everyone contributes to a healthy economic base: More than 50 percent of Central Sunset residents earn $60,000 or more annually.

With a median home price of more than $700,000 and good resale prospects, as well as average rents below $1,400 for a one-bedroom, the Central Sunset offers all residents an affordable, stable neighborhood with low crime (the area is served by the Taraval Police Station on 24th Avenue; there have been no murders in the last year and assaults are rare, according to San Francisco Police Department statistics), explaining the mix of families, retired people, and single professionals over age 25. It’s an orderly place to live, and those who like a little variety with their order will like the Central Sunset.