Hayes Valley, San Francisco, California
Encyclopedia
Hayes Valley is a fashionable neighborhood in San Francisco
, California
, between the historical districts of Alamo Square
and Civic Center. Victorian, Queen Anne, and Edwardian townhouses rub shoulders with boutiques, restaurants, and public housing complexes.
Although its boundaries are ill defined, Hayes Valley is generally considered to be the area north and south of Hayes Street between Webster (near Alamo Square
) and Franklin (near Civic Center) streets.
The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association considers the neighborhood as a whole to be bound by Webster Street in the west, Franklin Street in the east, Fulton Street in the north, and Hermann Street and Market Street in the south, with an extension as far west as Fillmore, between Haight Street and Hermann Street. (The latter definition overlaps considerably with the Lower Haight.)
The San Francisco Association of Realtors considers the Hayes Valley to be synonymous with "District 6B", and extending from McAllister Street in the north, to Market Street and Duboce Avenue in the south, Gough Street in the east, and Webster Street (north of Fell Street) and Divisadero Street (south of Fell Street) forming the western boundaries. (This definition includes the entire Lower Haight within Hayes Valley.)
Adjacent neighborhoods include the Lower Haight and small parts of the Duboce Triangle and SoMa
in the south, Alamo Square
in the west, and the Fillmore District/Western Addition to the north.
In 1776, local people came under the control of the Spanish empire with the de Anza expedition, which established Mission Dolores just south of Hayes Valley. After the 1849 gold rush, Italian immigrants from around Genoa developed produce farms on the sandy soil of the Hayes Valley neighborhood.
The Western Addition was developed in the 1850s to expand the city to the west of Van Ness Avenue. Michael Hayes, who, in 1856, was on the committee which named the streets of this development, may have been instrumental in naming Hayes Street after his brother, Thomas, a large landholder in the neighborhood, who was then serving as country clerk. Hayes Valley was built out with many grand Victorian residences, as well as the smaller residences built to house the craftspeople at work on the mansions. Primary streets with big houses were named after influential local citizens (Hayes and Gough) and families (McAllister), while streets with the smaller houses carry botanical names such as Ivy, Linden, and Hickory.
Hayes Valley south of McAllister Street was spared the fires that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was a multi-ethnic neighborhood, becoming, with the blossoming of the Fillmore district after World War II, an African American
neighborhood. The elevated Central Freeway
was built in the neighborhood during the 1950s and brought with it urban blight and decay. Damaged during the Loma Prieta earthquake
, it was closed afterward and eventually demolished. In 2005, a section of the freeway was rebuilt to end at Market Street, with the new, tree-lined Octavia Boulevard
running north through the Hayes Valley along the previous path of Octavia Street, to Fell Street. Between Fell and Hayes streets, at 37°46′34.43"N 122°25′27.92"W, a neighborhood green terminates the boulevard
, providing seating, green space, a play structure for children, and a changing exhibition of public art. The green is named for the late Patricia Walkup, a local activist who volunteered her time for many years to fight neighborhood crime, and co-led a campaign to tear down the part of the Central Freeway that ran through Hayes Valley. The destruction of the freeway has spurred gentrification
which has revitalized the neighborhood, and has made one of the trendier sections of town with eclectic mix of boutiques, high-end restaurants, and hip stores on Hayes Street.
The city-owned lots between Fell and Oak, Laguna and Octavia, where the previous on- and off-ramps for Highway 101 were situated, are being transformed into an urban farm by Hayes Valley Farm — an education and research project with a focus on urban agriculture. The project is founded on an interim use agreement between Hayes Valley Farm and the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development until the City moves forward with other development plans for the site.
Hayes Valley is served by several San Francisco Municipal Railway
(MUNI) buses, including the #21, which runs through Hayes Valley on its east-west route between Golden Gate Park
and the Ferry Building
, the #5 (also east-west), the #22 (runs north-south along Fillmore Street) and the #6 and #71, which both run east-west along Haight.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, between the historical districts of Alamo Square
Alamo Square
Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California, in the Western Addition, a district of the city's fifth Supervisorial district, and are served by several Muni bus lines including the 5, 21, 22, and 24...
and Civic Center. Victorian, Queen Anne, and Edwardian townhouses rub shoulders with boutiques, restaurants, and public housing complexes.
Although its boundaries are ill defined, Hayes Valley is generally considered to be the area north and south of Hayes Street between Webster (near Alamo Square
Alamo Square
Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California, in the Western Addition, a district of the city's fifth Supervisorial district, and are served by several Muni bus lines including the 5, 21, 22, and 24...
) and Franklin (near Civic Center) streets.
Location
Hayes Valley's commercial center is made up of the section of Hayes Street running from approximately Laguna Street in the west to Franklin Street in the east, with extensions on perpendicular Gough and Laguna Streets.The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association considers the neighborhood as a whole to be bound by Webster Street in the west, Franklin Street in the east, Fulton Street in the north, and Hermann Street and Market Street in the south, with an extension as far west as Fillmore, between Haight Street and Hermann Street. (The latter definition overlaps considerably with the Lower Haight.)
The San Francisco Association of Realtors considers the Hayes Valley to be synonymous with "District 6B", and extending from McAllister Street in the north, to Market Street and Duboce Avenue in the south, Gough Street in the east, and Webster Street (north of Fell Street) and Divisadero Street (south of Fell Street) forming the western boundaries. (This definition includes the entire Lower Haight within Hayes Valley.)
Adjacent neighborhoods include the Lower Haight and small parts of the Duboce Triangle and SoMa
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
in the south, Alamo Square
Alamo Square
Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California, in the Western Addition, a district of the city's fifth Supervisorial district, and are served by several Muni bus lines including the 5, 21, 22, and 24...
in the west, and the Fillmore District/Western Addition to the north.
History
Native people in many small bands, now referred to collectively as the Ohlone tribe, lived in San Francisco part of the year, gathering food in the Mission Creek area, which included seasonal Hayes Creek, and other parts of today's city. Hayes Valley would have been thickly covered with wildflowers every spring. When it was running in the winter, Hayes Creek cut diagonally through the current Hayes Valley. It is now underground year-round.In 1776, local people came under the control of the Spanish empire with the de Anza expedition, which established Mission Dolores just south of Hayes Valley. After the 1849 gold rush, Italian immigrants from around Genoa developed produce farms on the sandy soil of the Hayes Valley neighborhood.
The Western Addition was developed in the 1850s to expand the city to the west of Van Ness Avenue. Michael Hayes, who, in 1856, was on the committee which named the streets of this development, may have been instrumental in naming Hayes Street after his brother, Thomas, a large landholder in the neighborhood, who was then serving as country clerk. Hayes Valley was built out with many grand Victorian residences, as well as the smaller residences built to house the craftspeople at work on the mansions. Primary streets with big houses were named after influential local citizens (Hayes and Gough) and families (McAllister), while streets with the smaller houses carry botanical names such as Ivy, Linden, and Hickory.
Hayes Valley south of McAllister Street was spared the fires that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was a multi-ethnic neighborhood, becoming, with the blossoming of the Fillmore district after World War II, an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
neighborhood. The elevated Central Freeway
Central Freeway
The Central Freeway is a roughly one-mile elevated freeway in San Francisco, California, United States, connecting the Bayshore/James Lick Freeway with the Hayes Valley neighborhood. Most of the freeway is part of US 101, which exits at Mission Street on the way to the Golden Gate Bridge...
was built in the neighborhood during the 1950s and brought with it urban blight and decay. Damaged during the Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
, it was closed afterward and eventually demolished. In 2005, a section of the freeway was rebuilt to end at Market Street, with the new, tree-lined Octavia Boulevard
Octavia Boulevard
Octavia Boulevard is a major street in San Francisco, California that replaced the Hayes Valley portion of the damaged two-level Central Freeway. Once a portion of Octavia Street alongside shadowy, fenced-off land beneath the elevated U.S...
running north through the Hayes Valley along the previous path of Octavia Street, to Fell Street. Between Fell and Hayes streets, at 37°46′34.43"N 122°25′27.92"W, a neighborhood green terminates the boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
, providing seating, green space, a play structure for children, and a changing exhibition of public art. The green is named for the late Patricia Walkup, a local activist who volunteered her time for many years to fight neighborhood crime, and co-led a campaign to tear down the part of the Central Freeway that ran through Hayes Valley. The destruction of the freeway has spurred gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
which has revitalized the neighborhood, and has made one of the trendier sections of town with eclectic mix of boutiques, high-end restaurants, and hip stores on Hayes Street.
The city-owned lots between Fell and Oak, Laguna and Octavia, where the previous on- and off-ramps for Highway 101 were situated, are being transformed into an urban farm by Hayes Valley Farm — an education and research project with a focus on urban agriculture. The project is founded on an interim use agreement between Hayes Valley Farm and the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development until the City moves forward with other development plans for the site.
Hayes Valley is served by several San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...
(MUNI) buses, including the #21, which runs through Hayes Valley on its east-west route between Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
and the Ferry Building
Ferry Building
The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. On top of the building is a large clock tower, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city...
, the #5 (also east-west), the #22 (runs north-south along Fillmore Street) and the #6 and #71, which both run east-west along Haight.
Notable residents
- George W.C. Baker, Los Angeles City Council member, 1931–35, attended Hayes Valley Grammar School
External links
- Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association
- WikiTravel: Hayes Valley
- San Francisco's Irrepresible Hayes Valley
- San Francisco Neighborhood Guide: Hayes Valley, SFGate.com.
- SFStation: Districts: Hayes Valley
- "A changing Hayes Valley wants to retain funky vibe" by Joe Garofoli, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, March 28, 2004. - "Hayes Valley: Cruise a revived city scene for smart design and indie shops", by Deborah Franklin, Via, November 2005.
- Koshland Park
- Hayes Valley Chiropractor, Dr. David B. Sundy, DC