Hayes Valley

About Hayes Valley

Hayes Valley takes its name from Thomas Hayes, a city official who began developing the area in the 1850s. He laid out a suburban resort called Hayes Park and ran a rail line to it from downtown, which opened the surrounding blocks to housing.

For most of the 20th century the neighborhood was defined by the Central Freeway, an elevated structure built in 1959 that cut through the area and held property values down. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged it. After a long campaign by residents, the freeway came down in stages: the northern section in the early 1990s and the stretch over what is now Octavia Boulevard by 2003.

The land the freeway left behind became Octavia Boulevard and Patricia’s Green, the small park at Hayes and Octavia that opened in 2005. The blocks of Victorian storefronts along Hayes Street filled in with shops and restaurants over the years that followed.

Filmed in Hayes Valley

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39 productions filmed around Hayes Valley, oldest first.

1924GreedHayes Street at Laguna1958The LineupWar Memorial Opera House1974The ConversationAlamo Square1978Invasion of the Body SnatchersPostcard Row1978Foul PlayPostcard Row1984The Woman In RedPostcard Row1985Maxie722 Steiner Street1988Patty HearstPostcard Row1988The Dead Pool710 Steiner Street1989Fat Man and Little BoyPostcard Row1992Vegas in Space422 Oak Street at LagunaHeart and Souls19931993Heart and SoulsWar Memorial Opera House1994JuniorPostcard Row1994Getting Even with DadWar Memorial Building1995JadeWar Memorial Opera House1995Nine MonthsAlamo Square2000Woman on Top312 Fillmore StreetNever Die Twice20012001Never Die TwicePostcard Row2004TwistedVeterans' War Memorial Building2008MilkLower Haight Street+19more on recordEvery film shot in San Francisco →