Lombard Street (San Francisco, California)

San Francisco famously boasts some of the steepest streets in the country. Whether you’re walking or driving, the varying gradient of the road is sure to catch your attention and give your heart rate a healthy boost. Lombard Street is one of the most unique of the vertically endowed roads and is a great stop to add to any itinerary.

Lombard Street in San Francisco is one of America's crookedest streets and found on many tours. The steep, hilly street was created with sharp curves to switchback down the one-way hill past beautiful Victorian mansions. If not for the byzantine curves, easing out this treacherous slope, people could be killed rolling down. For an idea of how steep this street really is, go two blocks up, to Filbert Street and peer down over the ridge. Lombard is even steeper.

Some of San Francisco’s most expensive real estate sits on Lombard Street. This Russian Hill neighborhood possesses stately mansions even with the endless array of tourists pouring down the street every day. In the spring and through the entire summer, Lombard Street is alive with color, as the many beautiful flowers are in bloom.

People are often puzzled as to why this street is so crooked. The answer is safety. The naturally steep grade of the street posed a severe safety hazard. In the 1920’s a property owner in the area suggested the scenic switchbacks to add aesthetic appeal while increasing safety for pedestrians.

See also, Vermont Street wikimapia.org/#y=37758419&x=-122403866&z=18&l=0&m=a

Vermont St. (below 20th St.) has 7 turns while Lombard St. (below Hyde St.) has 8 turns.
 streetinteresting placetourist attraction
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombard_Street,_San_Francisco
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:  37°48'7"N 122°25'7"W

Comments

  • Who designed this street?
  • I went down--it isn't as fun as it looks
  • A man in the 1920's who owned several lots on it wanted to make it easier for cars to go down it.
  • About 20 years ago, my wife and our 2 children were taking a whirl-wind tour passing through S.F. and drove down this crooked road. We enjoyed it very much, but we had a little compact car, which made it easy. I would hate to try it in a full sized automobile. There were many tourists there as well and it was bumper to bumper, all the way down. Never once got my foot off the brake, until we left the stop sign at the bottom.
  • Would love to zip down this thing at 40 MPH.