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
The Richmond District single-family median home prices finally took a dip after rising 10 years in a row, with prices declining by 8.9% and the number of sales by 9.3% in 2022. But these numbers do not tell the whole story as the market was a tale of two halves.
On Jan. 3 and 4, a series of bank robberies occurred in the City of San Francisco. In each incident, the suspect was reported to enter the bank, approach an employee, and demand money. One incident occurred in the Richmond District.
Ben Davis, who is responsible for bringing us the Bay Lights, is looking for more money. $11 million is needed to keep the lights on and he’s out there trying to raise it. Davis and his organization, Illuminate, put lights up all over the place, especially in Golden Gate Park.
It’s not well known but during the early 20th century dozens of neighborhoods were planned with picturesque streets, landscaping, detached houses and setbacks to convey the feeling of living in a park – rare in San Francisco.
Photos of the gates and gardens of the Richmond District, by David Romano.
Photos of the results of flooding on Crossover Drive and Park Presidio Bypass on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.
Recent police activity in the Richmond District.
As I pondered what to write about for this month’s column, I met up with an SF police officer for coffee at the coffee shop at the corner of 26th Avenue and Geary Boulevard.
Cartoon by Paul Kilduff
Richmond District photographer Yameen has basically lived his entire life in pursuit of creativity. His passion for creative expression began at the tender age of 6 or 7 with a Fisher-Price 110mm film camera, a hobby that would eventually develop into music and video production in his teen years and into adulthood.
Comparing photos of Clement Street and Eighth Avenue, 76 years apart.
For the next three years, the Upper Great Highway (UGH) between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard will remain closed to cars from noon on Fridays to 6 a.m. on Mondays, despite pushback from two westside supervisors.
Announcements for the Richmond and Sunset districts, January, 2023.
The November election is over and the final results have been certified. From now on, the eastern end of John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park will be closed to vehicle traffic, except for deliveries to the de Young Museum, first responders and the park shuttle. The Upper Great Highway will also be closed on weekends starting at noon on Fridays, per a vote of the SF Board of Supervisors in December, until a study can be completed and final action taken.
As my passion for film grew and I was blessed to write movie reviews and feature stories, I became aware that each year, there’s an award season that begins with a fall film festival circuit, followed by a series of award ceremonies (Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards [SAG], British Academy of Film and Television Awards [BAFTA], among others), culminating with the Academy Awards.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 