San Francisco Relocation Guide - Antevia

Geary Boulevard, looking eastward from 36th Avenue
The Richmond District (election district 1) is a neighborhood in the northwest corner of
San Francisco, California. Lying directly north of Golden Gate Park, "the Richmond" is
bounded roughly by Fulton Street to the south, Arguello Street and Laurel Heights to the
east, The Presidio and Lincoln Park to the north, and Ocean Beach and the Pacific Ocean
to the west. Park Presidio Boulevard, a major thoroughfare, divides the Richmond into
the western "Outer Richmond" and the eastern portion, called the "Inner Richmond."
Geary Boulevard is a major east-west thoroughfare that runs through the Richmond and
to downtown.
Originally an expanse of rolling sand dunes, the Richmond District was developed
initially in the late 19th century. After the 1906 earthquake, development increased with
the need to provide replacement housing.
In the 1950s and most especially after the re-structuring of US immigration law in 1965,
Chinese Americans began to replace the ethnic Jewish and Irish Americans who had
dominated the district before World War II. The area became known as the "New
Chinatown," particularly along Clement Street between Arguello and Park Presidio,
which is a bustling commercial strip of restaurants and shops. The Richmond District also
features a prominent Russian community with many stores catering to the Russian
community along Geary Boulevard and a high concentration of Eastern European
immigrants.
Adolph Sutro was one of the first large-scale developers of the neighborhood. He is
responsible for building the Sutro Baths, along with his mansion on the western end of
the district, near Ocean Beach.
The Richmond district was home to Anton Szandor LaVey, founder and leader of the
Church of Satan from 1966 until his death in 1997. His home on California Street, an
imposing Victorian known as the "Black House," was demolished in 2001.
The Avenues
The Richmond District and the neighboring Sunset District (on the south side of Golden
Gate Park) are often collectively known as The Avenues, because the majority of both
neighborhoods are spanned by numbered north-south avenues. The first numbered
Avenue is 2nd, starting one block west of Arguello Boulevard (which takes the place of