With awe-inspiring panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay, the Marina and Pacific Heights regions of San Francisco offer some of the city’s wealthiest a pricey but beautiful and seemingly peaceful place to rest their heads at night.
The Marina and Pacific Heights areas are upper-middle-class to exceedingly upper-class neighborhoods with a majority white citizen demographic. The residential neighborhoods are relatively quiet, each of them boasting a drastically different style of living. The merchant districts, on the other hand, are crawling with shoppers all too willing to overpay on vintage t-shirts.
Pacific Heights seems to be a rather active community, whether it be in community affairs or walking the nearly vertical streets. Community affairs are handled by the Pacific Heights Residents Association, which is run by Greg Scott (president of the association). The PCHA puts on community events as well as voice about key issues and problems that arise in the community.
The Marina district is a tourist hot spot, which boasts amazing views of the bay as well as the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. The district has its fair share of tourists roaming the streets but the sense of community is not lost in the onslaught of camera-wielding tourists. Crissy Field offers a picturesque park for family picnics as well as a great place to go for a jog.
From an architectural standpoint Pacific Heights is second to none. While walking throughout the neighborhood, I was left speechless at the sheer enormity of the mansions that lined the city streets. The Pacific Heights mansions are highlighted by the Haas-Lilienthal house, which is the headquarters of the San Francisco Architectural Heritage.
“The house is evocative of the neighborhood as it was in the 19th century,” explains Jack Gold, executive director of the Haas-Lilienthal house.
Instead of multi-million dollar mansions lining the streets, the Marina district offers its residents a bit more affordable but more compact housing options. Townhouses and quaint single- family homes give the marina district a middle class feel.
The merchant districts of both Pacific Heights and the Marina offer citizens and casual shoppers a place where they can shop amongst local-second hand shops and designer garment boutiques. I quickly realized that the shopping quarter of each district are where the highest volume of people flock to. Fillmore Street and Union Street have their sidewalks crowded on a regular basis with shoppers of all kinds.
Pacific Heights and the Marina are elegant community-driven neighborhoods. Both neighborhoods have a great mix of residential living and local merchant districts. They are great for walking and taking in the sights and the fresh air blowing in off the bay. I look forward to covering these neighborhoods during this year.
http://www.sfheritage.org/house.htmlhttp://www.phra-sf.org/
http://www.parksconservancy.org/our_work/crissy/
