© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 94114, 94131
Another choice neighborhood, Noe (no-ee)
Valley nestles on east slope of Twin Peaks and is bordered on the south by
Diamond Heights and on the north by hills (Twin Peaks). You can reach it by driving west on
24th street. www.mccormacks.com
About
45 years ago, it was a working-class neighborhood with fading Victorians, many
of them subdivided into apartments.
Since
then the homes have been generally and nicely refurbished, adding to
the beauty of the neighborhood, and many of the apartments turned into condos.
Click for regional or detailed map
Small
stores — meat, fish, produce — some saloons and highly rated
neighborhood restaurants. Bookstores and coffee houses. Sidewalk benches.
Library. Window boxes filled with brightly colored flowers adorn many of the
homes and the yards are landscaped with mature trees and shrubs. The smell of
eucalyptus trees graces the air in some sections.
Residents
are famous or, depending on your point of view, notorious for fighting stores
and projects they dislike. When restaurant odors displeased residents, they
lobbied to close the eateries.
In
the streets near the Mission District, door grills suggest crime may be a
problem. Noe Valley is sometimes included in Eureka-Castro District. www.mccormacks.com
Easy
commute. BART station at 24th Street. Buses to downtown. Some Noe streets
narrow traffic to one way. If you're energetic, you can walk to downtown or
peddle a bike. About 25 blocks to city hall.
Glen
Park is a small, hilly neighborhood south of Noe Valley, just east of Diamond
Heights. Homes old but well tended. Lawns and shrubs also show much care.
Glen
Park blends into Diamond Heights and Twin Peaks, upper-income neighborhoods
with great views of the Bay. Highway 280 defines the east side of Glen Park and
kind of buffers it from the Mission District. Playground and recreation center
in Glen Canyon Park, in the hills.
Small
shopping section on Bosworth, near a BART station.
The hills
to the west of Noe Valley block out much of the fog but on many days cool air
drifts into Noe. Picturesque. Many visitors can’t resist taking out a camera
and shooting the ghostly fog moving between the homes. www.mccormacks.com
Mission
District, which has crime problems, starts at the east border of Noe Valley.
Noe is considered a safe neighborhood, low in crime. One of the seeming
contradictions of urban life that shows up in many cities. High crime can
switch to low crime within a few blocks.
A lot has
to do with demographics and intangibles, such as neighborhood stability and
income, keeping up appearances and keeping out the disruptive (loud saloons,
etc.).
