Exploring Russian Hill

One of the things that I really love doing is shooting for San Francisco Magazine. For the past year or so I’ve been shooting a different neighborhood for them for their “Street Detail” story that they run each month. “Street Detail” gives you the details on the hot spots to check out in a micro neighborhood within the Bay Area. I’ve shot Novato and Pacifica and San Jose and Bernal Heights and Piedmont Avenue and the Presidio and a few other places as well. The great thing about these shoots are that I get to photowalk in some new place each month and I find myself learning more and more about the various SF neighborhoods with these shoots.

For the current issue of SF Magazine I shot Hyde Street on Russian Hill. The photo above is where Hyde crosses Broadway as cars exit the Broadway Tunnel heading towards Pacific Heights.

Russian Hill is a great and classic San Francisco Neighborhood. I used to live in Russian Hill back when I lived in the City and it’s probably my most favorite place I’ve ever lived. I had a really great flat right next to the San Francisco Art Institute on Chestnut Street. It had great views of the Bay and Alcatraz with a deck off the end of it. Many good times were had there.

Anyways, Russian Hill has a lot of great spots. Za Pizza (some of San Francisco’s best), Swensen’s Ice Cream Parlor, and the romantic cable car line that runs up and down Hyde Street reminding you every time that you very much are in San Francisco.

Russian Hill was also home to beat writer Jack Kerouac. Jack lived with his best friend Neal Cassady and his wife Carolyn and their two kids at 29 Russell Street.

You can check out the article and my photos of the neighborhood in the current issue of SF Magazine. Here are all of the shots I took for the shoot including the outtakes.