From freeway-bisected loser to urban renaissance pedestrian paradise winner. Sunny. Central. Flat. Where Victorians make friends with modern condos. Great shops, boutiques, and restaurants served by great transit. A San Francisco success story.
Hayes Valley Neighborhood Vibe
What was once a rough neighborhood, sliced in half by the elevated Central Freeway, is now one of San Francisco’s most coveted, quaint neighborhoods. Locally owned shops and eateries line leafy Hayes Street. Patricia’s Green is a focal point of the neighborhood, with a rotating art exhibit, shipping containers-turned-eateries, and a playground.
Popular Hayes Valley Home Styles
High rises are verboten here, with condos and unit buildings rising no more than five or six stories. Victorian and Edwardian homes nestle up next to new condos — the infill after the Loma Prieta earthquake that took down the Central Freeway. Condos in smaller buildings and TICs are common, too.
Getting Around in Hayes Valley
Homes on the south end of Hayes Valley are a short walk away from the N-Judah, and several bus lines serve the neighborhood as well. Bicyclists know Hayes Valley for the Wiggle, and those who are car-free appreciate the flat blocks of Hayes Valley making walks for errands a breeze.
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Hayes Valley: trendy, upscale, vibrant, and reinvigorated. What used to be a not-so-posh neighborhood, cut in half by the elevated Central Freeway in the 1950s, has been transformed in the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The elevated road was damaged in the quake, and neighborhood activists campaigned to have it removed.
When it came down, Octavia Boulevard was no longer a darkened tunnel — it’s now a wide, tree-lined boulevard. Infill housing has sprouted up on most of the lots left empty by the ghosts of on- and off-ramps gone by. Hayes Street is a mecca of trendy boutiques, bars, and restaurants, and Patricia’s Green (named for Patricia Walkup, a huge force in the neighborhood’s improvement) provides a place to play, display art, eat ice cream, and visit with neighbors.