Russian & Nob Hills-Your Cardio For The Week

From the Powell Street station northward along Mason Street, as it gradually turns to a steep climb, visitors are treated to San Francisco’s finest shopping with Union Square only a couple of blocks east. My purpose here though wasn’t a new pair of pumps or some scissors that could effortlessly cut through the suspension cables on the Golden Gate, but to get to know Nob Hill and its neighbor to the north, Russian Hill.



Nob Hill is ripe with some of the finest shopping, dining, and lodging in the city. The Fairmont hotel, situated at Nob Hill’s picturesque summit near the Grace Cathedral, has been the location of fine symposiums and has served as lodging for the World’s most honored guests. It is also the first inkling I found to controversy in the neighborhoods after a conversation with the woman sitting next to me at The Fairmont's Tonga Room Lounge led me to a Facebook page for a group trying to save this unique lounge from being renovated into a high rise tenement building.



By the time my walk had taken me northward along Mason to Broadway at the foot of Nob Hill, my legs felt like jelly. It had been too long since I’d hiked.
Continuing northward, the grade began to again increase. Russian Hill, unlike its neighbor to the south, has considerably more residential zoning. The homes here are at a higher price point than most all of San Francisco, having first tipped over the $1 million mark in January 2004, and holding fairly consistently until significant spikes around January of 2008 and 2009. Meanwhile, the number of sales with respect to overall home sales in San Francisco held considerably lower, with slight price declines as Russian Hill’s median price went up. I've had contact with a couple of Real Estate Agents in the neighborhood, but I got the feeling they really just wanted me to buy a house.



Regardless, there is no blight in this neighborhood. Russian Hill market, near the hill’s summit, was the only store or home front that appeared abandoned. Russian Hill is still very much a lively neighborhood with community gardens and events being organized by leaders in the community.

Russian Hill has been a bit of a tough shell to crack, though. Given how residential it is, there are not so many storefronts and galleries to poke your head into. One thing that is true of Russian Hill for me so far is that its residents, being at home in their neighborhood, are very eager to strike up a conversation.



A huge number of people who travel up the hill are on their way to its sights, such as Lombard Street’s ‘crookedest’ section. “You can meet a lots of people just walking your dog, like, on any day.” Said one local traveling with her Labrador.



One tourist scoffed, "are you kidding? And people live here?" breathlessly as he reached the top of Lombard's crooked section at Hyde.

At the north side of Russian Hill along Bay Street at Ghiradelli Square is Russian Hill Park, where locals and tourists alike stop to relax. From Ghiradelli Square and Fisherman’s Wharf, I can cut across the Embarcadero back to Market Street, Embarcadero Station, and the 'M' train home. The first thing I did when I got home, after finding a helpful forum post on these hills’ grades, was sign up for a gym membership. I get the feeling I’m going to need it.