San Francisco Neighborhoods · Inner Richmond
Inner Richmond
also New ChinatownFog zoneFoggy, food-obsessed and gloriously diverse: Edwardian flats above Clement Street's Burmese, Chinese, and Russian kitchens, with Golden Gate Park and the Presidio on its doorstep.
- "New Chinatown" food scene
- Iconic Clement Street strip
- Diverse immigrant heritage
- Between park & Presidio
On the map
Open Inner Richmond on the map →The story
The Richmond rose from the windswept "Outside Lands" sand dunes the city annexed in the late 1800s. Local lore credits an Australian settler with naming the district for Richmond, Victoria. Streetcars opened the dunes to development, and successive waves of immigrants gave it character: a large Russian community fleeing revolution, then Chinese, Burmese, and other Asian families whose markets and restaurants made Clement Street the bustling corridor known today as the "New Chinatown."
Things most people don’t know
New Chinatown
Clement Street and Geary Boulevard pack in Chinese, Burmese, Russian, and pan-Asian restaurants and markets, earning the area its "New Chinatown" nickname.
Gold-domed landmark
Holy Virgin Cathedral ("Joy of All Who Sorrow"), the gold-domed Russian Orthodox cathedral on Geary, was completed in 1965 and holds the relics of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco.
Green Apple Books
Open on Clement Street since 1967, Green Apple is one of the city's most beloved independent bookstores, famous for its creaky floors and labyrinth of new and used titles.
Fog factory
Wedged between the Pacific and downtown, the Inner Richmond catches the marine layer that rolls through the Golden Gate, keeping summer days cool and gray.
Green on both sides
The neighborhood is framed by Golden Gate Park to the south and the Presidio to the north, putting thousands of acres of trails and trees within a short walk.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- Burma Superstar · 309 Clement St
- B Star · 127 Clement St
- Good Luck Dim Sum · 736 Clement St
Bars
- The Plough and the Stars · 116 Clement St
- 540 Club · 540 Clement St
- Trad'r Sam · 6150 Geary Blvd
Getting around and getting care
Transit. Muni 1 California, 2 Clement, and the 38 Geary / 38R Geary Rapid carry the Richmond to downtown; the 44 O'Shaughnessy links to Golden Gate Park.
Nearest hospital. UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus, 505 Parnassus Ave (about 1.5 mi)
Thinking about Inner Richmond?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.