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NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION
The Richmond District is located in the northwest corner of San Francisco, nestled in between Presidio National Park and the city’s Golden Gate Park. The neighborhood, which includes Sea Cliff and Laurel and Presidio Heights, is home to about 80,000 people. About half of Richmond residents are of Asian ancestry, primarily of Chinese and Korean descent. There is also a large Irish population and many recently arrived Russian immigrants.
Several vibrant commercial areas, including California Street, Clement Street and Geary Boulevard, serve the neighborhood. The 1,400 merchants and small offices in the Richmond District offer a wide range of goods and services.
Local landmarks include the Cliff House and the Beach Chalet at Ocean Beach, the V.A. Hospital at Fort Miley, University of San Francisco and numerous holy houses, including Temple Emanuel, St. John’s Orthodox Church and St. John’s Presbyterian Church. There are numerous attractions in Golden Gate Park, including an American Bison pen, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Strybing Arboretum, the oldest children’s playground west of the Mississippi River and a 9-hole golf course.
NEWSPAPER INFORMATION
Distribution by Neighborhood: Presidio and Masonic Avenues to the Pacific Ocean, Golden Gate Park to the Presidio, Sea Cliff
Distribution by Zip Code: 94118 and 94121
Circulation: 25,000
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Cartoon by Ralph Lane.
Cartoon by Paul Kilduff.
For decades, San Francisco’s west side was treated as the City’s quieter real estate bet: foggy residential blocks, family-run businesses, immigrant commercial corridors and rows of single-family homes that felt comparatively attainable by local standards. That old assumption is losing ground. In the Richmond and Sunset districts, limited housing supply, larger remodels, changing retail corridors and pressure for new housing along transit routes are altering both neighborhood identity and property values.
Proposition G on November’s ballot is for the Upper Great Highway, the scenic roadway near Ocean Beach where generations of San Franciscans have traveled to the Cliff House, V.A. Hospital, the San Francisco Zoo and numerous other points north and south.
September used to be the month I returned to school after being released in the middle of June. That’s gone with the wind. San Francisco public schools opened up for business on Monday, Aug. 17, two weeks before Labor Day. My Napa grandsons, Emmett and Brooks (16 and 12) reported for academic duty in their schools on Aug. 10. Naturally, football practice began even before that.
Shane Curnyn and Josh Lowe left the East Coast separately, chasing the same vision: a city dense enough to support an architecture practice and an ocean close enough to surf before work. Fifteen years after founding Juniper Architecture, the two principals run their firm in a former motorcycle repair shop on Balboa Street, blocks away from their favorite surf spot near the Cliff House.
Comparison photos of Clement Street and Funston Avenue 96 years apart.
As San Francisco students head back to school, families across the City are getting ready for a new year. Over the past few weeks, I’ve met families at backpack giveaways in the Sunset and Chinatown, and it’s been great to see how excited so many kids are to get back into the classroom.
Now that the 2026 legislative session has come to a close, I’m taking a moment to reflect on the work we’ve done together, and on the issues I hear about every day from neighbors across the City. When I go to Sacramento, I bring those conversations with me. Whether it’s concerns about public safety, the rising cost of living, access to healthcare or the well-being of our families and seniors, my goal is to turn those concerns into meaningful action.
Recent police activity in the Richmond District.
Along Judah Street in the Outer Sunset, steps away from the ocean, lies an unassuming establishment near the corner of 39th Avenue. This cozy spot has been a fan favorite to locals in the Sunset District since it first opened five years ago.
My Tofu House, the restaurant at 4627 Geary Blvd. between 10th and 11th avenues, closed after nearly 25 years, with its final day of service on Aug. 3. It was the only restaurant in San Francisco that specialized in sundubu-jjigae, a traditional Korean stew made with soft tofu.
Last December, San Francisco experienced a massive blackout that impacted the majority of the City and left us in the darkness for hours, and – for parts of San Francisco – for days. This impacted our street and traffic lights, causing autonomous vehicles (AVs) to stop in place, jamming up intersections and blocking emergency response vehicles.
Monthanus Ratanapakdee is challenging Stephen Sherrill for his seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing District 2, an area that includes the Presidio, Laurel Heights and a chunk of the Richmond District.