|
This privileged, elegant
neighborhood embodies
Hollywood's vision of San
Francisco, and its blocks of
Victorian mansions and its
Cinemascope views of the Bay
and the Golden Gate Bridge
make the area a perennial
favorite with visitors to
the city. San Francisco
locals tend to be a bit more
cynical about the exclusive
air of Pacific Heights, but
that doesn't mean you won't
catch residents of other
neighborhoods making a
special trip for the
eclectic, upscale shopping
opportunities that Fillmore
Street offers. Pacific
Heights Mansion
The neighborhood is loosely
bordered by Van Ness and
Presidio avenues and Pine
and Vallejo streets and was
first colonized by the
nouveau riche of the late
1800s when the construction
of a new cable-car line made
the area accessible. The
extravagant dwellings that
characterize the district
today stand as testimony to
the desire of those early
residents to impress their
Nob Hill neighbors.
That legacy of luxury has
persisted, and the
neighborhood remains
generally quiet and
residential, with the
majority of its activity
clustered around Fillmore
Street. For the most part,
the activity of choice is
shopping, with an emphasis
on costly women's clothing
and high-stakes luxury
items. The strip is also
peppered with nice gift
boutiques, bath-and-body
shops and consignment
stores. But if you don't
feel like spending money, it
can be fun to settle in at a
sidewalk café and watch
everyone else parade by. The
area draws a variety of
American and international
tourists and is always well
populated by impossibly
groomed and outfitted locals
who seem capable of
strolling through a
windstorm without having a
hair get out of place.
|
