Huntington Park

A young girl walks her dog. An older man stretches out on the grass basking in the sunlight reading a book. A twenty-something couple eats lunch side by side sitting on a bench. What all these people have in common is that they share a wide smile, perhaps all happy to be enjoying this unusually sunny San Francisco day at Huntington Park.

Nob Hill resident Cassla Peterson says Huntington Park is one of her favorite places to go to relax and have fun. According to Peterson, “This is just a really nice park. I usually come with my roommates when it is sunny outside. One of the best things about this park is watching all the fun happenings around the park such as the trolleys and weddings.”

Huntington Park has it all. Situated between Grace Cathedral and the prominent Fairmont Hotel, whatever this park lacks in size it makes up for in character. Located on California St. at the top of the hill, this park offers just about something for everyone. The park contains two gorgeous fountains, two separate playgrounds, lush green grass and benches galore to accommodate the many people who come to relax and take in the serene atmosphere.

“I used to come here three or four times a week, but I can only come about two or three times now. I like everything about this park, the swings, the fountains, but I especially like to walk around the park and meditate,” says resident Eileen C, adding, “This park is just absolutely beautiful!”

Getting a Feel for the neighborhood...

Nob Hill and Russian Hill may not be known to many San Franciscans for one specific entity such as the taquerias in the mission or the shopping in Union Square, but rather it seems this little gem of a neighborhood has it all. From coffee shops to bars to restaurants galore to shopping, a resident of the neighborhood could really survive without ever leaving the district. A young attorney who has called Nob Hill home for years can’t imagine living anywhere else. According to Andrea Smaxwell, “Nob Hill has a great social scene. It has a really great neighborhood feel that you can’t always find in other districts in San Francisco such as SOMA.”

Nob Hill has a large residential section with shops scattered in between. The largest commercial portion of the district is located on Polk St. On Polk St. one can find popular bars as the Bigfoot Lodge and Shanghai Kelly’s, along with great restaurants like Nick’s Crispy Tacos. However, not everyone in Nob Hill feels the same as Smaxwell. Aria Jalai, who works as a barista on Polk St. says he would prefer to live by Golden Gate Park and doesn’t enjoy living in Nob Hill for various reasons but mainly because of the location. “You can’t really ride your bike in this neighborhood and it isn’t as active as other neighborhoods I have lived in the past.” Although Jalai feels that way, many of the people who only work in Nob and Russian Hill would indeed chose to live there, if they could afford it that is.

According to Lyn Manangkil who works at Frame-a-rama which borders Nob and Russian Hill, “I would live here if I could afford it. There is a lot going on and I lot to do which I like.” Many San Franciscans who live in other neighborhoods frequent Nob Hill for the nightlife atmosphere that they can’t find in their own neighborhood. Student Ryan Mckenna says he comes to Nob Hill often at night with his friends, because it offers more nightlife than his home district of Pacific Heights. With the bustling atmosphere, friendly ambiance, and variety of restaurants and bars, I would have to agree with McKenna.