North Beach Neighborhood, San Francisco CA

About North Beach Neighborhood

North Beach holds a lot of history along its narrow, cramped streets, including the oldest street in San Francisco: Grant Avenue. This neighborhood was largely saved from damage during the 1906 earthquake and the tech boom has made much less of an impact on its aesthetic than in other parts of the city. It’s located in the northeast corner of city and is sometimes referred to as Little Italy.

The docks historically served as a gateway for immigrants new to the city, and little pockets of different nationalities popped up in the North Beach and Chinatown areas. Most are gone now, but the checkered tabled-clothed restaurants, cafes made lively by old-timers, and shops offering tailoring and shoemaking are a remnant of the large Italian population once present here.

Housing is mostly standardized post-quake walk-ups (up the hill are higher-end rentals and single family homes) from the 1910s and 1920s. It’s a very walkable neighborhood, connected to the rest of the city by a few buses. It’s less foggy and out of the way than the other seaside neighborhoods (although there’s no beach, so it’s a compromise).