Love Letters to Nob Hill and Russian Hill

posted May 06, 2009 9:18AM

Nob Hill and Russian Hill are home to both the upper crust and young-professional types looking for easy access downtown. The hood's lifeline, Polk Street, overflows with coffee shops, boutiques, restaurants and sports bars, while up on Hyde Street the cable car rattles by.

Submit up to a 300-word “love letter” to Nob Hill and Russian Hill in the comment box below. We'll publish the 10 best neighborhood letters in our upcoming Neighborhoods Issue and pick one to win Outside Lands tickets.

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luyisipp posted 06:45 AM Aug. 5th

Dear Russian Hill, I know I may complain when I hop off the 41-Union after work and discover how much windier you are than downtown, and that the billowy dress I wore was probably a bad idea. I can assure you, I'm usually not in the habit of exposing myself to wayward tourists on their way to "the crooked street." I know I can also give you a hard time for being so damn steep. You force me to carry my heels to work and wear sneakers on my morning walk downhill. There are also the nights when I'm about to fall asleep but jolt to consciousness due to the nearby clang of the Hyde Street Cable Car or that persistent fog horn. But then again, I adore the clang of the cable car. And the hill isn't so bad either. Especially once I figured out that taking Leavenworth up from Union isn't nearly as exhausting as taking Jones. It's easier to bask in your views and beauty while I'm not trying desperately to find my breath. Sometimes I watch the bay from the very top of Broadway and just sit. It's so nice. You're my first neighborhood in this city and I couldn't have been luckier to have found that little room in a house on Glover Street. You'll always be my first love in San Francisco. If I ever leave you for flatter pastures, I promise to visit often. After all, how am I supposed to go on living without Nick's Crispy Tacos? Thank you for taking such good care of a former country mouse. Love, Marissa

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comment posted 11:35 PM Jul. 29th

Slightly edgier than the Marina, Russian Hill has all the posh creature comforts a city dweller could ask for. For such a cozy neighborhood, there is no shortage of boutiques, restaurants or bars here. Hyde and Polk Street are teeming with delicious food and beverage, exploding with cafes and wine shops. Russian and Nob Hill are home not only to some of the city’s most exclusive establishments (La Folie, Le Club), but also crowd favorites like Nick’s Crispy Tacos, Bob’s Donuts, Swensen’s Ice Cream and Swan Oyster Depot. You will find a slightly Parisian feel, with lots of sidewalk cafes hosting diners sipping coffee or wine, or noshing on tasty treats. There are always stylish neighbors milling around the shops or taking in some of the breathtaking views, with just the right mix of young urbanites and families. Your restaurant options are limitless—Californian, Italian, Mexican, Indian, Mediterranean. On any given day, residents and tourists alike can enjoy curvy, brick-laid Lombard Street or the beauty of Grace Cathedral. Russian Hill is ideal for both sunny Sunday brunches and late night antics. With access to a surplus of public transit options, including the Hyde Cable Line, you are just a hop, skip and a jump away from other intriguing neighborhoods—like Chinatown and downtown. Russian Hill is my (almost) always sunny little neighborhood, where I can treat myself to the finer things in life, enjoy hobnobbing with my neighbors, and drift to sleep listening to the foghorns on the nearby bay.

sf20something posted 04:28 PM Jun. 12th

Lower Nob Hill or the Trendy-loin is my neighborhood, and I have been living here for almost five years now – time flies! I love my neighborhood because I can walk five blocks to Union Square to do all my shopping, people-watching, sight-seeing, plus catch all the latest events like the Nike marathon festivities, promotions for the likes of David Beckham, ongoing art shows and the annual Macy’s flower and plant sale. My favorite coffee shops, breakfast joints, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Vietnamese, Korean, sandwich, pizza, noodle restaurants are steps away! And neighborhood grocery stores have everything I need. The beautiful Grace Cathedral is one block up from me where I can find calm walking the Labyrinth or sitting in the pews looking up in awe at the stained glass windows, murals and arch ceilings. Huntington Park is across the street from the Grace Cathedral where families, friends and neighbors with dogs gather on benches around the fountain, grass and playground. San Francisco is made up of varying micro-climates, but lower Nob Hill is not as windy and tends to be warmer than even just a few blocks over. The view from my place to the Financial District cannot be beat, and the hills are just steep enough to give me a good workout. In addition, there is no need for a car in lower Nob Hill as both the Powell and California cable car lines are close as well as the MUNI 1, 2, 3 and 4 lines. I am near Russian Hill, Chinatown, Japantown, North Beach, the Fillmore district and SOMA – just a hop, skip or a jump on a bus, and I am there! But, really, I have little reason to leave!

maile1n posted 03:20 PM Jun. 11th

When I moved to Nob Hill five years ago I was wearing another name emblazoned across the front of my neighborhoodie. Before leaving New York, I celebrated surviving ten years in Turtle Bay with an eponymous sweatshirt from Neighborhoodies.com. Over the intervening years I’ve gradually eased both into my one-bedroom Nob Hill apartment and the neighborhood. I never wore sweatshirts in New York, but my silver gray on charcoal hoodie soon became a staple of the freelance lifestyle I’ve been able to carve out for myself in San Francisco (although I generally wear the sweatshirt over dresses or a crinkled silk skirt with cute sandals). One of the primary reasons I moved to San Francisco was to find a refuge—the peace and quiet to write. Roaming the neighborhood in search of a caffeine jolt, I stumbled upon a cafe perfect for this, an inspired setting to write the novels I always wanted to write. It’s my habit to write my rough drafts longhand, and so it became a ritual to spend two or three hours each afternoon at the cozy café at the bottom of the hill and work. As the cable cars clank around the corner where the café is situated, my mind is easily transported into the stories I write. As I walk back up the hill, I’m revitalized. Climbing the steep hills is worth the effort. At the top, the 360 degree view from the corner of my world is spectacular—all coming together in one perfect pinnacle that is Nob Hill. This neighborhood has been an ideal incubator for my creativity, and I can’t imagine living or writing anywhere else. I feel at home wearing sweatshirts in San Francisco, and now I can wear my new Nob Hill neighborhoodie. It just arrived in the mail from Brooklyn.—Michelle Zaffino

djmez13 posted 03:46 AM Jun. 11th

Nob Hill and Russian Hill represent the heart of San Francisco. Toss all the other neighborhoods to the side. Cause that's where they are. On the side. When Tony Bennett sings "I left my heart in San Francisco," I always pictured the cable car on California Street, and only that Cable Car. Tony left his heart in San Francisco.....up on Nob Hill. No one can deny the classic beauty of the climb of California Street to the top of Nob Hill where it gently flattens out and runs past the grandest of San Francisco Hotels. Where else are there three classic hotels, boasting of their antiquity, all perched on one beautiful hill in the center of the city. The Huntington, Fairmont and Mark Hopkins. You are the grandest of them all. I want drink in their lobbies and make love in their penthouse suites. I want to drink champagne on their roof decks and breath in the same fresh air that Huntington, Stanford, Crocker, and Hopkins breathed. Now that I have savored the grand style of classic old Nob Hill. I want to roll down the hill to the place we call the Nob corridor. I live in that gray zone between upper and lower Nob Hill. Close to the place where California meets Polk. The great sweep of shops, cafes, and restaurants that range from Shalimar to Swan's. The Polk corridor's uniqueness and the fantastic variety of cuisine is hard to beat here in San Francisco, or anywhere for that matter. The great range of shops along Polk Street always makes for an entertaining walk. Come to this eclectic street to dine, drink and see the rebirth of the grand ole' Polk corridor. Then later on eat a fresh maple cake donut right out of the fryer at around midnight from Bob's Donuts. And savor the sweet convenience of it. Nob hill seductively curves down and across broadway to reach Russian Hill. Ah yes, Russian Hill we have named you, supposively after an old Russian cemetery was found there during the Gold Rush days. Probably some Russian fur trappers and whalers who didn't make it back to Fort Ross. Today there are not too many Russians left on Russian Hill. Mainly old San Francisco moneyed folks relaxing in their high rise condominiums. Your views are spectacular and your small city parks reach toward the sky. Hyde street passes Lombard and fishermen's wharf is nearby. There is one constant on Russian Hill, its the tourists at Lombard and Hyde. Thanks for coming by, rain or shine.

Cintenta posted 07:56 AM Jun. 16th

Over the hill? Past your peak? Let the rumors fly; I’ve scaled your heights and let me assure you, your peaks are as perky as the day we first met. Girls, you are so curvaceous; I feel like an over-testosteroned teenager, whose fantasy came true. Only in San Francisco can a guy live with two beauties and no-one gives a hoot. You are the perfect, classic pair; my Greek goddesses, you are perpetually young. Maybe Gavin can marry the three of us? Sure there are other hills, with higher rises, hipper restaurants, naughtier neighborhoods, but this is true love. Let those lesser Heights keep their vistas. I’m never tempted to stray. Why would I? You know our relationship is so much more than just physical. Nobbie, I love you for your variety: you take my breath away as I hike up Hyde, pausing to take in your sweet street talk, then your fancy airs and graces. Russiana, you’re mellow Mason ways keeps me grounded. I don’t need a night on the town, I simply want to come home to you. When my luck is in, I do the double, and mount both of you, one right after the other. Does it turn you on if I take Taylor up one side, down Jones on the other? It needs stamina as I age, but I’m in for the long haul – there ain’t no mountain high enough. I promise as long as my heart keeps beating, and my toes still wiggle, I’ll be there for you. I will not choose between you, so I nuzzle on Pacific Avenue, where your curves come together. Within sight of the cable car on Taylor and Angelo’s on Broadway, the three of us live together, as one.

iluanmdl posted 06:59 AM Jun. 8th

Dearest Nob Hill, As I am about to leave you, I have a confession. I used to be ashamed of you, maybe because so-called hipsters would turn their noses up when I told them where I lived. “Tendernob?” they would ask hopefully, no sorry, I live up the hill from Grace Cathedral, not down. I always felt like you and I didn’t fit well; walking down your streets I saw families, and well, people with money. Walking past Nob Hill Café and breathing in the heady scent of garlic, I would catch a glimpse of the famous San Francisco twins eating in the front window and think, this just isn’t my crowd. And yet, here we are, three years later and the idea of leaving you makes me weep. How will I sleep without the constant hum of your cable car to put me to bed? How will I know what time it is without Grace’s bells tolling every hour? Will my butt become flabby without your steep hills to keep it somewhat toned? But most of all, and I know this is shallow, I will miss your height. After a bad day, I step onto my fire escape and the whole bay stretches out before me and I feel right again. Because of that feeling, I am no longer ashamed of you. I love that tourists are so enamored of your view that they jump in front of my car to take pictures, I love that on sunny days I can see everyone on their roofs, I love that you are made of solid rock so I won’t slide into the ocean during the next big earthquake, but most of all I love that you made me love you despite myself. Thank you Nob Hill, you will be dearly missed!!

MoonyPie90 posted 05:05 PM Jun. 4th

My Dearest Nob Hill: It’s true - we both know I’ve been around the block a few times before (pun intended), but you will always be my first City love. You complete me. It may sound cliché, but it’s true. Your generosity and diversity are truly unparalleled and without you, I never would have known what love really is… Love is walking two blocks to the Cable Car and feeling “so San Francisco” on an otherwise dreaded morning commute – thank you for helping me maintain my sanity. Love is not dreading (and hesitantly speaking, enjoying) a heap of dishes because my apartment’s humble kitchen boasts enviable views of the Golden Gate Bridge – thank you for sharing your Hill with me. Love is opening a menu with seemingly endless pages of imaginative martinis at Top of The Mark…all while overlooking views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge & Alcatraz – thank you for your superb creativity and your thoughtful architecture. Love is daydreaming of cheese and walking a total of four blocks to heaven, Cheese Plus. Then Love gets even better when you’ve crossed the street to The Jug Shop because what goes better with cheese than a bottle of wine? That’s right…nothing - thank you for recognizing the fact that smart women know great pairings. Love is craving pot-stickers and knowing it only takes one phone call, two blocks and ten minutes to more than satisfy that craving at U-Lee’s – thank you for maintaining small, family owned businesses. Love is accepting the fact that you tend to be foggy, your hills can be steep, and you’re incredibly stingy when it comes to parking. Simply put: Love is by no means perfect, but Nob Hill, you are by far the closest to perfect I could ever imagine. Love Always, Alison

asandman posted 04:09 PM Jun. 3rd