San Francisco - Alison Bing [84]
Since the ’60s, the hedonist Haight has cultivated a surprisingly serious rep for leftist politics (the Green Party candidate for supervisor is usually the incumbent), and the Upper Haight specializes in skateboarding, potent coffee, radical literature and retail therapy for rebels. The neighborhood’s upwardly mobile strivers seem to be mostly sequestered in Cole Valley, where you’ll find upscale restaurants and brunch joints, baby-carriage traffic jams, sidewalks that are actually cleaned up after dogs, and residents who can get testy before downing their first double nonfat latte and brioche in the morning. The Lower Haight has better bars, more economic and ethnic diversity, and a pot-club kind of mellow occasionally disrupted by recent gang activity northeast of Fillmore and Haight Sts.
Whether you’re a hippie born too late, punk born too early, or a weirdo who passes as normal, the Haight is here to claim you as its own. But like any leftist entity, the Haight has its splinter factions. Alamo Sq is the Lower Haight/Fillmore hilltop park bordered by Hayes, Scott, Fulton and Steiner Sts, and fringed with Victorians seemingly made for postcards. The Upper Haight blends into Western Addition from Divisadero St to Stanyan St north of Fell St – but hipster eateries and nightspots are attempting to rebrand the corridor around Divisadero St south of Geary Blvd as ‘NoPa,’ before Divisadero ascends uphill and upscale north of Geary into Pacific Heights.
The Haight runs from Haight and Octavia Sts up to Golden Gate Park at Stanyan St. West of Divisadero St, the Upper Haight features head shops, cafes, vintage clothes and used CDs. Across Divisadero, the Lower Haight is big on hairdressers, bars, skater gear and, um, gardening supply shops, south of Alamo Sq. Cole Valley is south of the Upper Haight along Cole St, up towards 17th St. The Panhandle, a narrow strip of park between Fell and Oak Sts, forms a handle to Golden Gate Park’s long pan and forms the northern border to the Haight.
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top picks
THE HAIGHT
Alamo Square
Red Vic Movie House
Haight Ashbury Food Program
Buena Vista Park
Magnolia Brewpub
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UPPER HAIGHT
Weekends are quite a scene in the Upper Haight, what with oldsters reliving their glory days trailed by teenage relatives pretending not to know them, suburban punks who smell far too strongly of daddy’s aftershave to panhandle convincingly, and Harajuku hipsters dragging suitcases full of prime vintage attire for resale in Tokyo. But also in the mix are a few locals, cafe regulars who greet one another by name, and street musicians who play a mean banjo. Brave the crowds for used CDs and free concerts at Amoeba Music, radical comics at Bound Together Anarchist Book Collective, your own signature vintage look at Wasteland, and surreal T-shirts featuring stir-fried shrimp shouting ‘Party like a wok star!’ at Loyal Army Clothing.
BUENA VISTA PARK Map
Haight St btwn Central Ave & Baker St; 6, 7, 24, 33, 71
True to its name, this park founded in 1867 offers sweeping views of the city beyond century-old cypresses to the bay and even Marin County, depending how far you’re prepared to hike up the steep hill. When SF went up in flames in 1906, this was the safe spot where San Franciscans found refuge, and watched the town smolder; on your way downhill, take Buena Vista Ave West to spot Victorian mansions that date from that era. Technically the park closes at sunset, but the romantic views sometimes inspire after-hours cruising.
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TRANSPORTATION: THE HAIGHT
Bus The 6, 7 and 71 lines all connect the Haight with Downtown along Market St. Bus 43 connects the Upper Haight with the Presidio and the Marina, and 33 runs through the Upper Haight en route between the Richmond and the Mission. The 22 links the Lower Haight to the Mission and Potrero Hill to the south, and Japantown, Pacific Heights and the Marina to the north.