San Francisco Neighborhoods · Lower Pacific Heights
Lower Pacific Heights
also Lower Pac HeightsTransition zoneThe flat, walkable shelf below grand Pacific Heights, where Victorian flats meet the lower Fillmore's restaurants, jazz heritage, and a buzzing Japantown edge.
- Fillmore Street dining strip
- Historic jazz heritage
- Walk to Japantown
- Victorian & Edwardian flats
On the map
Open Lower Pacific Heights on the map →The story
Lower Pacific Heights is the flatter southern apron of Pacific Heights, blending into the Fillmore and Western Addition. Streetcar lines along Fillmore and Geary spurred dense Victorian and Edwardian flats in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Fillmore corridor became the heart of a thriving Black community and jazz scene mid-century, much of it razed during 1960s redevelopment. Today the strip mixes longtime shops, restaurants, and music venues just north of Japantown.
Things most people don’t know
Harlem of the West
The lower Fillmore was a renowned jazz hub in the 1940s and '50s, nicknamed the "Harlem of the West." Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday all played its clubs.
Fillmore Jazz Festival
Each July 4th weekend the street hosts the largest free jazz festival on the West Coast. It spans about twelve blocks and draws well over 100,000 visitors.
The "Full House" house
The Victorian used for exterior shots in TV's Full House sits nearby at 1709 Broderick Street. Built in 1883, it remains a private residence and a popular photo stop.
Streetcar-era flats
Much of the area is lined with Victorian and Edwardian flats from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Frequent transit along Fillmore and Geary made it an early streetcar suburb.
The Fillmore strip
The street is one of the city's premier shopping and dining corridors. Its southern end blends boutiques and restaurants with the neighboring Japantown commercial district.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- State Bird Provisions · 1529 Fillmore St
- Copra · 1700 Fillmore St
- Woodhouse Fish Co. · 1914 Fillmore St
Bars
- Harry's Bar · 2020 Fillmore St
- The Page · 298 Divisadero St
- Fly Bar & Restaurant · 762 Divisadero St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. The 1 California, 2 Clement, 3 Jackson, and 22 Fillmore buses all serve the area, with the 38 Geary rapid lines a block south on Geary Boulevard.
Nearest hospital. CPMC Van Ness Campus, 1101 Van Ness Ave (about 1 mi)
Thinking about Lower Pacific Heights?
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.