by CD Gozzi

Created on: October 18, 2008   Last Updated: November 17, 2011

A tourist's trip to San Francisco is not complete without a visit to Lombard Street's most famous section. Lombard Street proper extends from the Coit Tower to the Presidio. The twisting, turning, elegant portion of the street can be found between Hyde Street and Leavenworth Street slightly south-west of the Embarcadero in the North Beach area.

Lombard Street, having earned the title of "the Crookedest (Most Winding) Street" in America, boasts eight sharp hairpin turns in the one block distance of one of the loveliest neighborhoods San Francisco has to offer. The slope of the hill this beautiful neighborhood sits on is at 27 degrees—far too steep for anyone to want to walk or drive down in a direct down-the-hill fashion.

Back in 1922, the majority of the properties along Lombard Street were owned by Carl Henry, who happened to have founded the Owl Drug Company. He proposed the initial design of the street to City engineer Clyde Healy, who had originally designed the street with a 16 percent grade. Henry was able to convince the City engineer that the switchback style roadway would be more efficient especially since the road was being designed for automobiles.

The City Municipal District eventually paid for the grading and paving which was constructed of bricks, however the property owners that faced the street agreed to pay for the decorative brick steps and plantings along with the maintenance of the garden along the street. Most of the homes—stucco apartments and town homes—were actually constructed in the 1940's. These homes are beautifully maintained and elegant, reflective of the gardens and brickwork highlighting the stretch of property. This entire stretch of roadway reflects the San Franciscan style to the utmost degree.

As lovely as Lombard street is, the traffic flow had originally become a problem. Instead of allowing for two-way traffic, the street is better maneuvered in a downhill direction. The popularity of this unique and beautiful stretch of roadway has become its downfall. So many tourists choose to drive down its eight beautiful bends, that traffic backs up and often vehicles overheat.

If you choose to see the lovely homes, gardens and beautiful brickwork roadway that make up Lombard Street, take the scenic cable car. The Powell-Hyde line will pause long enough for the tourist to jump off at the top of Lombard and allow him or her to walk down the scenic drive. How better to appreciate the architecture, road construction and gardens than to see them up close and personal?

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