Residents of the Van Ness / Civic Center neighborhood can walk to it all. The cultural center of the city, including the War Memorial Opera House, Herbst Theatre, Davis Symphony Hall, Orpheum Theatre, Brooks Hall the Civic Auditorium and the new Asian Museum, is just steps away. The federal, state, and city government offices are a short walk. And for those working downtown in Financial District, public transportation makes the commute a matter of minutes from the Civic Center BART Station.
The neighborhood is defined by high-rise luxury condos, upscale apartment buildings, and live/work lofts. Independent cinemas, along with 14-screen multiplexes, bookstores, coffee shops and cafes throng the main corridor of Van Ness Avenue. Nearby, the neighborhoods of Hayes Valley, Russian Hill and China Town offer trendy restaurants boasting chefs working at the height of their powers. Hidden boutiques with one-of-a-kind treasures wait to be discovered. And nearby nightspots pulse with life until dawn.
For those in search of a low-maintenance urban lifestyle, this is city living at its best.
Once a gritty urban hub, today's Hayes Valley offers an eclectic mix of architectural styles, shops and restaurants, and a wonderfully diverse group of neighbors. Where the Central Freeway once roared into San Francisco, there is now a wide, tree-lined boulevard and little park called Patricia's Green, which offers a peaceful respite in the midst of a very vibrant street scene. Neighboring Duboce Park is a magnet for dogs and people. Hayes Valley can feel like two neighborhoods in one. Davies Symphony Hall and the War Memorial Opera House sit at the eastern edge of the neighborhood and attract well-heeled visitors from all over the world. The tony shopping and dining along Hayes Street can be decidedly upscale, while a few blocks north, Haight Street's dive bars and funky shops attract hip locals and curious tourists. The neighborhood offers all the transit options one would expect for such a centrally located area, and freeway access could not be easier. Flat streets and proximity to Market Street make the area especially appealing to cyclists. Victorian, Queen Anne, and Edwardian townhouses are bountiful here, along with the occasional new development. Urban explorers delight in finding hidden treasures in the quaintly named alleys that crisscross Hayes Valley, like Lily, Ivy, and Rose Streets. Like the neighborhood itself, they offer a glimpse of old fashioned charm in the heart of our booming metropolis.
Sunny, flat, and centrally located, the Mission represents the heart and especially the soul of San Francisco. Equally attractive to immigrants and a burgeoning herd of hipsters in ironic t-shirts, the Mission is still the melting pot of San Francisco. Here you'll find traditional Mexican taquerias and panaderias, pop up galleries, freshly minted block-long live/work lofts in former canneries, and a new generation of chefs determined to make their mark and earn a Michelin star. The neighborhood is highly walkable: a major urban shopping center at 16th and Potrero offers groceries, a gym, post office, office supplies, and a Peets Coffee. The museum district at 3rd and Howard is nearby, and the ball park is not far. Public Transportation is great. MUNI bus lines crisscross the neighborhoods and there are two BART stations at 16th and Mission and 24th and Mission which serve the neighborhood.
With the rise of the dot-coms in the mid-90s, the old industrial warehouses of the Mission district were converted into open air, open concept workspaces. These attracted a new kind of population: educated, highly-skilled, and eagerly looking for the next big thing: be it entertainment, dining, culture, or dance club. And they wanted to be able to walk to work, or at least ride their bike.
Housing was developed to match the taste and needs of this generation of newcomers. Many of the old warehouses preserved their old brick facades. Inside luxury interiors feature exposed brick walls, huge timbered beams, two-story high living rooms with airy ceilings, industrial kitchens, and of course, high speed Internet connections. Stately turn-of-the-century homes line the sunny blocks of this uniquely San Franciscan district. In between its main thoroughfares of Dolores, Guerrero, and Valencia, you can find many smaller hidden architectural treasures dotting the intimate cross-street alleyways.
San Francisco's oldest building stands at the corner of 16th and Dolores. Constructed in 1776, Mission Dolores draws the gaze of passersby with its clean, early-colonial Mexican style. It remains an active Roman Catholic church, and is open daily for services and to visitors alike. Just around the corner is Dolores Park, one of the city's great neighborhood hangouts, where you might be lucky enough to catch an outdoor performance by the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Time seems of no consequence on sunny afternoons while families recline along the comfortably sloping landscape. Daytime is for the sun-worshipping crowds, while warm nights are all about people watching.
Valencia Street is among the hippest nighttime destination on the planet. Throngs of young folks dropping into the trendy new eateries, filling the local watering holes for their fix of poetry and music, hitting the local performance spaces for inspired avant-garde happenings. You will find a cultural mecca, as well as a food experience beyond compare along these lively streets.
Public transportation is as good as it gets in the Mission. Two BART stations, at 16th and Mission and 24th and Mission, complement a complete bus schedule to downtown and beyond.
