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Hayes Valley is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, between the historical districts of Alamo Square and Civic Center. Victorian, Queen Anne, and Edwardian townhouses rub shoulders with hip boutiques, excellent 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. Hayes Valley is centered along the commercial district of Hayes Street from approximately Laguna Street in the west to Franklin Street in the east. 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 Street in the south, Gough Street in the east, and Webster Street (north of Fell Street) and Divisidero 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 (or the Upper Haight if the former is included in Hayes Valley) and Alamo Square in the west, the Fillmore District/Western Addition to the north, and small parts of the Duboce Triangle and SoMa in the south. At one time the Central Freeway ran though the neighborhood, but it was closed after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and eventually demolished. In an aerial photograph the path of the highway can easily be seen running through the neighborhood in the form of empty lots and surface parking lots, many of which are now slated for development of new senior and affordable housing. As of 2005, a section of the freeway has been rebuilt to exit at Market Street, with a boulevard running north from the exit at Market Street through the Hayes Valley along Octavia Street to Fell Street. Between Fell Street and Hayes Street, Patricia's Green replaces the middle lanes of this new Octavia Boulevard. Patricia's Green provides seating, green space, and a play structure for the neighborhood. In 2005, it was the showcase for a temple structure for the renowned artist David Best. The green named after neighborhood activist Patricia Walkup, who co-led the campaign to tear down part of the Central Freeway. 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), and the #22 (which runs north-south along Fillmore Street). Source: Wikipedia |