Neighborhood profile: Richmond District

Outer Richmond, image via About.com

Bordered by parks and the ocean, the Richmond District has a reputation of a comfortable and practical neighborhood with exquisite international restaurants. Named also Outside Lands, The Richmond, and even New Chinatown, it is flanked by Presidio and Lincoln Park (north), and Golden Gate Park (south).

In the 1800s, today’s Richmond was owned by Mexico, in 1848 got annexed by the US, and became part of San Francisco in 1866. Its earliest residents were… the dead. Cemeteries were placed east of the District and in the Outside Lands area. By 1888, it became a place for recreation at Land’s End and a few years later the famous Sutro Baths were opened.

Its name was given by the Australian George Turner Marsh who built his house there and named it after his birthplace outside of Melbourne. The history of the neighborhood is colorful, Richmond’s seen a lot: race tracks, boarding houses, beer houses, athletic venues and although the majority of its landmarks are gone, it’s a cozy place to live, stroll or shop, if you don’t mind the foggy summers.

Most of San Francisco residents divide the District in two major areas, the Inner Richmond (inland) and the Outer Richmond (closer to the ocean). The Inner Richmond is the busy part with a wide array of restaurants and businesses (and with the common parking problems) while the Outer Richmond has a more laid-back attitude, attracting the outdoorsy through its hiking trails and scenic beaches with amazing views of the Marin Headlands and Golden Gate Bridge.

Image via bayimages.net

The central destination for this District is probably the Sutro Cliff House, a landmark that today is a restaurant with breathtaking views of the Bay and excellent seafood. The distinctive cosmopolitan feel of the neighborhood is given not only by the different cultures that call this place home, but also by their cuisine, cinema, and bazaars. Here you can taste pretty much any cuisine you’d crave for and watch independent foreign films at the 4-Star Theater and Balboa.

Five residential neighborhoods form the Richmond District and its residents are warm and friendly, unlike the weather that made Mark Twain say the coldest winter he spent was a summer in San Francisco. The prices for a one bedroom start at $1700 and with the public transportation downtown is easy to reach.

Source: bayimages.net via Anca on Pinterest