San Francisco Neighborhoods · Polk Gulch
Polk Gulch
also the Polk StripSun zoneA low valley that became a high-energy strip — restaurants, dive bars, cocktail dens, and corner shops packed into a walkable stretch between Nob Hill and Russian Hill, with a queer history that predates the Castro.
- Dense, walkable restaurant-and-bar corridor
- Transit-rich on Polk and Van Ness
- Layered LGBTQ history
- Apartments and Victorians side by side
On the map
Open Polk Gulch on the map →The story
Polk Street was named for U.S. President James K. Polk, but the 'Gulch' comes from the low valley between Nob Hill and Russian Hill that once carried a creek. After the 1906 earthquake, the corridor grew into a busy commercial strip of shops, restaurants, and small storefronts. From the 1950s into the early 1980s, Polk Gulch was the center of San Francisco's gay life, home to dozens of gay-owned bars and businesses, and it hosted the city's first Pride march in 1970 before the scene's center shifted to the Castro.
Things most people don’t know
The original gayborhood
Before the Castro, the Polk Strip was San Francisco's main gay neighborhood, with dozens of gay bars and businesses by the late 1960s.
First Pride march
San Francisco's earliest Pride march stepped off along Polk Street in June 1970.
A creek under the street
The 'Gulch' name reflects the low valley and old watercourse that once ran through the area between two hills.
A true commercial strip
Polk Street remains a dense, independent corridor of restaurants, bars, and shops rather than a residential pocket.
Swan Oyster Depot
The family-run seafood counter at 1517 Polk has been a San Francisco institution since 1912.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- Swan Oyster Depot · 1517 Polk St
- Dunya Bistro · 1609 Polk St
- Karam · 1725 Polk St
- Bob's Donuts & Pastry Shop · 1720 Polk St
Bars
- The Cinch Saloon · 1723 Polk St
- Lush Lounge · 1221 Polk St
- McTeague's Saloon · 1237 Polk St
- Amelie · 1754 Polk St
- Bar Iris · 2316 Polk St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. Served by the 19-Polk and 1-California Muni buses, plus the 47 and 49 Van Ness routes (49 Van Ness BRT) and the 2 and 3 lines a block over. Van Ness Avenue carries north-south bus rapid transit.
Nearest hospital. CPMC Van Ness Campus, 1101 Van Ness Ave (about 0.4 mi)
Thinking about Polk Gulch?
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.