solpoman

People who know the city will tell you that the Sunset is an alphabetic grid once you get south of Lincoln, running from Irving to Wawona. Here's your chance to dazzle them.... Hugo street runs between Lincoln and Irving for a few blocks near UCSF and is the Sunset's missing H. It's almost exclusively residential, with none of the high speed traffic of Lincoln, or the heavy commerce of Irving. But, it's also located just a block off of Irving's excitement, and a block off of the southern side of Golden Gate Park. It dead ends at Arguello, practically kitty corner from Kezar Stadium (where the 49ers used to play back in the days before Candlestick) and starts at 7th Avenue. Hugo features a mixture of houses and apartments, typical of the Inner Sunset.

Although most people do not know it, Eucalyptus crosses 19th Avenue to run into Ocean Avenue and Junipero Serra Blvd. The key parts of Eucalyptus, though, are on the west side of 19th. Running alongside Stonestown Shopping Center, Eucalyptus continues south to where it is the home to one of hte most prestigious public high schools in the country--my alma mater, Lowell High School. Home, at one time or another, to Rube Goldberg, Pierre Salinger, Hewlett AND Packard, Justice Breyer, and me, Lowell contains the highest concentration of post-pubescent brain power this side of the Mississippi. Other than that, Eucalyptus is a quiet street, with larger homes and not a great deal of traffic.

Sloat's claim to fame may be that it is street on which reckless San Francisco teenage drivers go to set their in-town landspeed record. But there's a lot more than that to Sloat.

Let's go from west to east.... It starts at an access and parking area for Ocean Beach. In my experience, this end of the beach tends to be a little less crowded, but every bit as enjoyable as the accesses further north. Continue east to the San Francisco Zoo (grab munchies at George's Zoo, an awesome neighborhood market, right across the street). As you approach Sunset Boulevard, you'll find the opportunity to turn right and see Lake Merced and Fort Funston (famous for hanggliders). Continuing east, you'll find idyllic Stern Grove (home of the summer music festival) and across 19th avenue, the Masonic Rite Auditorium, home of a number of shows. Finally, Sloat runs into Portola, which connects you to Market to go downtown.

Sloat's a fast street and a great way to get across the south side of town quickly. It also offers access to West Portal and Saint Francis Wood.

Every city has its main street, although in San Francisco, it's called Market Street (and Main street is no big deal). Market is the main drag of downtown San Francisco and continues from the Embarcadero where it dead ends through the shopping district, through the Civic Center district, into the Castro, and finally out into the West Portal area (where it turns into Portola Drive). For the corridor from the water to Castro, Market Street is served by countless busses and both above and below ground trains and trolleys. However, the best kept secret is when you get out past Castro. As Market curves around the hills (and becomes Portola), it offers truly spectacular views of Downtown San Francisco.

Irving is another of the Sunset's neighborhood shopping streets, although, unlike Noriega or Taraval (or Judah), it does not have bus or train service and, as such, is a little easier to get around. Located only one block from Golden Gate Park, it can be a convenient place to get the necessities you need (or visit a clean bathroom) while enjoying the Park. The eastern end of Irving, centered around 9th Avenue, serves the UCSF population and has a number of particularly cool stores and restaurants. It almost has a mini-Noe Valley feel, but is almost undiscovered. It is also convenient to many of the major Golden Gate Park attractions which are located in the park's east side. If you stop at Pasquale's, think of me.

The Great Highway runs north-south along San Francisco's Ocean Beach. The streets of both the Sunset-Parkside and Richmond Districts all end either at the Great highway, or on a frontage road just a hair east of it (Great Highway features signals and limited access). Views of the beach are available along its length, as it connects from the Zoo on the south side (where it turns into Skyline) on past the Cliff House on the north (where it turns into Point Lobos ave). It is so close to the beach that it frequently gets closed due to blowing sand, and many of the houses along Great Highway need to be painted yearly due to the salt spray. That being said, it's a great place to run along the sunset, and dip off to visit the beach.

San Francisco's longest street, Geary encompasses just about everything that makes San Francisco, San Francisco. Coming out of downtown, it forms the south side of Union Square, in the middle of San Francisco's shopping district (and is crossed by Grant Street, right before Grant Street turns into the main drag of Chinatown). As it continues west, you see the Union Square Theatres, then it crosses into one of San Francisco's tougher areas, the Tenderloin. It continues, touching the Western addtiion, and running right past the infamous Fillmore as well as St. Mary's Cathedral. Just another couple of blocks out, you see Japantown on the north side of the street, and then Kaiser Hospital (America's first HMO) on the south. As you cross into the avenues, Geary becomes more of a shopping street, and crosses Park Presidio. As you approach the beach you pass through a Russian district, a Jewish district, and end up at Sutro Heights park, just a block over from the street to the Cliff House. Geary also enjoys double-length bus service and is a major arterial.

It's hard to park. It's a bit dirty. It's still crawling with hippie types. And Reckless Records is a distant memory. But Haight Street's still pretty cool. Running from Golden Gate Park (at Stanyan) to Market (letting out not too far southwest of Van Ness), Haight is a major artery for buses feeding the southwestern part of the city into downtown. It's also got a number of funky shops and restaurants, night clubs, and one of the best beer bars in the country (Toronado near Divisadero). Bring a cool attitude, wear your Doc Marten's, and have a good time.

A major east west street running through Sunset Parkside, Noriega offers a range of shopping serving the distinct populations of the Sunset. Home to supermarkets, laundromats, ethnic restaurants, Polly Ann Ice Cream, and houses and apartments, it is the epitome of San Francisco mixed use zoning. Noriega also plays host to a major Muni bus line which connects, via Haight avenue, to Market Street and downtown. It dead ends at the beach and at Laguna Honda. Finally, Noriega has a little slice of true crime fame, as the bank branch that the Symbianese Liberation Army robbed (with Patty Hearst's "help") is located at Noriega near 22nd Avenue.

Located right in between 19th ave and Sunset, 28th Avenue is one of many Sunset district streets. Lined with Doelger row houses, it is quiet and homey. There are a couple of things that make it unique on the Sunset side. First of all, it runs between two parks (Parkside square at Vicente and Golden Gate Park on the other side of Lincoln). Second of all, it has a number of intervening conveniences, as well with a park at Lawton and the covered reservoir between Ortega and Quintara. It was a great place to grow up.