Twin Peaks

They say San Francisco (like Rome and Moscow and many other cities) was built on seven hills. If that’s the case, then Twin Peaks taken together are among the official seven (although modern geographers protest that the city is built on dozens more). These rounded mounts (the highest of the two measuring 910 feet above sea level, second only to nearby Mount Davidson, the loftiest in the city at 925 feet), offer the kind of views you’d think people would have fought for since the Gold Rush days.

But to look at the neighborhood today, you’d never think of it as having the same historic cachet as, say, Telegraph or Nob or Russian hills. In fact, much of the housing is from the mid- to late-20th century, hardly historic given the city’s 160-year history (though a few turn-of-the-last-century abodes dot Corbett Avenue). And even if the area lies at the geographic center of San Francisco (and commands 360-degree views of the bay on the east and the ocean toward the west, the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin County to the north, with the hills and coastal mountains of the Peninsula to the south), many of its streets feel decidedly apart from the city they overlook, like some impermanent collection of homes that are about to be moved and narrow streets about to be widened to accommodate the encroaching urban behemoth edging toward it.

Still, the record shows that Twin Peaks occupies its place in the history of the city, though not quite as dramatically as its sister hills. Once part of the Rancho San Miguel, the sprawling Mexican land grant from which much of San Francisco was carved in the mid-1800s, Twin Peaks (called “Los Pechos de la Choca”—Spanish for “breasts of the Indian maiden”) presented a formidable barrier between the eastern and western halves of the young city. Hence, for much of the late 19th century, it remained pasture, farmland, and pristine meadow (much as it appeared when the native Ohlones used it for hunting/gathering). By the 1860s, with the western side of San Francisco attracting visitors with beaches, wildflower fields, and a racetrack, entrepreneurs built a toll road along what is today Corbett Avenue and another along Portola Drive, offering access to the broad stretches that lie beyond the peaks. These roads, in turn, encouraged dairy and vegetable farmers to come and work the land on the eastern slopes, followed soon enough by real-estate developers. By the time a streetcar tunnel was built under Twin Peaks in 1918, the slopes were studded with homes and residences, many of them perched on stilts at the edge of narrow dirt roads.

It is this pattern of homes and apartment buildings built on extremely steep grades that has come to typify Twin Peaks today. Much of the land was so steep that it had to be terraced before it could be developed—hence the names of roads: Graystone Terrace, Villa Terrace, Perego Terrace. Building on such inclines required expensive new technology and materials (the back ends of some homes drop three and four stories from the street, necessitating some sturdy foundation work), but it also gave those who could afford the expensive construction wide-open views of the city. In time (especially after Twin Peaks Boulevard was completed in the mid-1930s, offering paved access to the summit of the peaks, and with the Market Street extension in place), Twin Peaks became a hotbed for residential development, much of it in the form of 1950s and ’60s boxy-concrete apartment complexes along the hillsides’ upper reaches (such as those on Gardenside and Crestline Drives). Though these buildings may lack the charm of their Victorian and even Deco counterparts elsewhere in the city, they claim unparalleled views—the top reason many choose to live here. Another reason is that much of Twin Peaks is now open space, off limits to further development—a state of affairs the Twin Peaks Improvement Association works to keep in place.

Because the neighborhood has a number of the city’s steepest inclines between its curving streets, it consequently has a number of its longest pedestrian stairways. The Pemberton Place Steps is one such walkway, much of it brick-paved, running from Clayton up to Crown Terrace. Adjoining homeowners have added landscaping; in spots it is even meticulously maintained. Not far away, near Corbett Avenue and Iron Alley, are the Iron Steps—a bit of a misnomer, as they are among the last remaining wooden steps in the city—and treacherous to boot, frequently closed after heavy rains when the slippery struts and rotting rails make using them dangerous. Farther south on Corbett, the Argent Alley stairway descends to Market Street; similar steps and spiral stairways link Corbett with streets on the other side of Market, in Noe Valley. Others run between Gardenside and Crestline, continuing (in one case) as a dirth path up to the Twin Peaks summit.

In all, about 10,000 people call the residential area of Twin Peaks home. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, they are overwhelmingly middle-aged (median age is 40) and white (75 percent), with about 10 percent Asian and the remaining 15 percent either African American or a mix of two or more races. Their median annual household income is $80,000, and they tend to rent (60 percent) rather than own their homes (40 percent).

Though there are no parks per se in the neighborhood (beyond small, private enclosures where residents have come together to plant flowers and tend the landscape), there is all that open space on Twin Peaks, which can be awash in wildflowers in the spring or cloaked in nippy fog during the summer. Fall and early winter are best times for driving up Twin Peaks Boulevard or hiking up the hills. It is then that the generally clear air affords the best views of not only the city on all sides but also the East Bay and the Marin hills. Most San Franciscans and countless visitors make this vista stop at least once during their time in the city.

For all its views and other high-life amenities, however, Twin Peaks is no place to go shopping—for anything. Perhaps the absence of commerce is because the streets are, for the most part, narrow, winding, and steep. Perhaps it’s owing to the fact that parking in some places is tight. Or that the city (heeding the improvement association's wishes) has not granted any business permits. But there’s not a café or shop to be found in the whole of the neighborhood, meaning residents have to drive or take a hike to buy groceries, grab a cappuccino, or find a piece of hardware for repair jobs around the house. As a result, many people drive—to the Safeway in Diamond Heights, to the numerous coffeehouses and shops in the Castro, the Haight, or Noe Valley, and to the suburbs for big-ticket items like appliances.

Because this is a car-oriented district, there is but a single option for public transportation: the No. 37 bus, which snakes up and over the hills and cramped, curving streets and connects with the crosstown No.48 on Portola Drive and with the subway along Market Street.

Parking, while difficult to manage on the steep streets of the area, is generally not difficult to find during the day, though it can be another story in the evening, when all the residents return home and are looking for a spot. In spite of these difficulties, the city’s Department of Parking and Traffic has not issued residential parking permits for the area.

Twin Peaks is known for one of the most desirable public schools in San Francisco: Rooftop Alternative on Corbett Avenue. This K-8 elementary emphasizes self-learning and incorporates art, music, and drama in the curriculum. It was rated 8 out of 10 by GreatSchools.

Although crime is generally light overall and in the quality-of-life category (noise nuisances and graffiti), there are occasional burglaries and robberies in any three-month period. Two criminal activities—vehicle theft and car break-ins—are becoming more common (following a trend in San Francisco), particularly along quiet streets. Though violent crime is not unheard of (with one or two a month), there have been no homicides reported in the last three years.

Real estate prices in Twin Peaks have weathered the recent downturn and are edging back up, with a 9 percent increase from mid-2009 to mid-2010, according to Trulia. Most of what’s for sale is condominiums and tenants-in-common units, which range from the low $400,000s for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom to $850,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit. Single-family homes come onto the market occasionally, and they can range from $850,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom on Corbett Avenue to $2.4 million for a four-bedroom, four-bathroom designer home on Market. Rentals are fairly numerous and reasonable, with one-bed/bath apartments going for $1,200 to $1,700 a month, and two-bedroom/two-bath units listing for $2,000 and up. The price can go up depending on the view—which is, after all, what Twin Peaks is all about. Life at the top should generally include a panorama.