Van Ness/Civic Center Neighborhood, San Francisco CA

About Van Ness/Civic Center Neighborhood

The neighborhood is defined by high-rise luxury condos, upscale apartment buildings, and live/work lofts. Independent cinemas, along with 14-screen multiplexes, bookstores, coffee shops and cafes throng the main corridor of Van Ness Avenue. Nearby, the neighborhoods of Hayes Valley, Russian Hill, Pacific Heights and JapanTown offer trendy restaurants boasting chefs working at the height of their powers. Hidden boutiques with one-of-a-kind treasures wait to be discovered.
Van Ness Avenue is a north–south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. Originally named Marlette Street, the street was renamed Van Ness Avenue in honor of the city's seventh mayor, James Van Ness.

The main part of Van Ness Avenue runs from Market Street near the Civic Center north to Bay Street at Fort Mason. South Van Ness Avenue is the portion of Van Ness south of Market Street, continuing through the city's South of Market and Mission districts to end at Cesar Chavez Street. This southern segment was formerly a continuation of Howard Street, having been renamed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors on August 22, 1932.