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Fifteen years ago,
the thought of finding one
of San Francisco's
ultra-chic corridors in
Hayes Valley would have been
considered absurd. Like New
York City's Times Square of
old, the area, bordered by
the Van Ness performing-arts
district and the Western
Addition around Laguna
Street, was a seedy reminder
for opera and symphony
patrons of the city's
homeless and drug problems.
But over the past decade,
Hayes Valley has developed
into a haven for haute
couture. Where the terms
"ladies of the street" and
"gentlemen of the street"
once identified those who
conducted an illegal
exchange of various earthly
sins for money, today they
refer to the street's myriad
window shoppers and
restaurant-goers. Where the
crack houses and tenements
once stood, now there are
trendy fashion boutiques,
SoHo-style funky art
galleries, high-end
interior-decorating shops,
top-notch restaurants and
hip nightspots. RAG
Hayes Valley came to
prominence when film
director Erich von Stroheim
chose the corner of Hayes
and Laguna for the filming
of his 1924 epic "Greed."
His affections were for a
19th-century Victorian that
had been built in the early
1880s by Col. Michael Hayes
as an amusement pavilion,
though word has it Hayes
constructed the building to
lure an extension of the
streetcar line to Hayes
Valley. The building
survived the 1906 earthquake
and fire and at the time of
filming was occupied only on
the ground floor, by a
French laundry and the Hayes
Valley Pharmacy, which
remained in business until
the 1960s. Stroheim created
signs for a dentist's office
and a photographer's
workplace for the movie,
which fooled some locals
into believing they were
real. The film included
numerous shots from the top
floor of the building
looking down on Hayes
Valley. He also used 595-597
Hayes, a building that acted
as a storeroom in the 1920s,
as the site of the saloon in
the film.
The success of Hayes
Valley's current commercial
district was boosted in part
by the destruction caused by
the 1989 earthquake to the
Central Freeway, which had
entrance ramps on Franklin
and Gough streets. The
freeway was an eyesore and
created noise pollution that
kept businesses and foot
traffic away. Not long after
that part of the freeway
came down, the community
began to transform, and
commerce moved in.
Unlike some other parts of
San Francisco, Hayes Valley
has managed to retain a
sense of community and a
nonexclusive feel despite
the fast build-up and high
price tags. Some of the
businesses that braved the
less-than-savory days are
still around, such as the
Hayes Street Grill, now
twice its original size. But
many of the shops sprouted
up in the '90s, making Hayes
Valley a real destination
spot. The combination
results in a wide diversity
in clientele. While high-end
San Franciscans sip $7
cocktails at Absinthe, down
the street many are powering
down an entire meal for
around the same price at
Flipper's. Now, tourists
also head here specifically
for the shopping, for
one-of-a-kinds like a
buffalo-leather chair or an
exclusive Sue Wong Art Deco
gown.
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