Russian Hill

About Russian Hill

Russian Hill is a residential neighborhood on the hill north of Nob Hill, between Polk Street and the bay. Mostly known for Lombard St.

Macondray Lane is a wooden staircase walkway between Leavenworth and Taylor Streets. Armistead Maupin used it as the model for Barbary Lane in his Tales of the City novels. Ferns, flowering vines, and adjacent gardens line the railings.

The Vallejo Street steps cut between apartment buildings between Mason and Jones and offer views of the bay. The terraced gardens along the stairway are visible from the public walkway.

George Sterling Park is at Hyde and Lombard. Benches on the upper terrace face west toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Jack Kerouac stayed at 29 Russell Street, on the eastern slope of the hill, in the early 1950s. There he revised “On the Road” and worked on “Visions of Cody.” The building is a private residence; the street view is visible from the public sidewalk.

Filmed in Russian Hill

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32 productions filmed around Russian Hill, oldest first.

1952Sudden FearLombard Street1958Vertigo900 Lombard Street1972Play it Again, SamAquatic Park1972What’s Up Doc?Hyde Street Pier1978Attack of the Killer TomatoesHyde Street Cable Car1979Time After TimeGhirardelli Square1983Sudden ImpactBowles Franklin Galleries1993So I Married an Axe MurdererRocco's Corner1993Sister Act 2: Back in the HabitMaritime Museum, Building 2011993Mrs. DoubtfireHancock School1994When a Man Loves a WomanBuena Vista Café1994Junior2552 Hyde Street1997George of the JungleThe Tamalpais Building2000Boys and GirlsLombard Street2012On the RoadFilbert & Leavenworth Streets2014Murder in the First, Season 11201 Columbus Avenue2015The Diary of a Teenage GirlThe Royal OakSummertime20152015SummertimeBroadway and Taylor St Intersection2015Steve JobsCalifornia St. from Jones St. to Mason St.2015San AndreasHyde St. at Greenwich and Hyde St. at Lombard+12more on recordEvery film shot in San Francisco →