Russian Hill-Vallejo Street Crest District
Also known as: Russian Hill
Why it's listed
Perched on the southeastern crest of Russian Hill in San Francisco, this small residential district feels like a country enclave inside the city. Walls, retaining structures and a steep bluff set it apart, and informal landscaping with many trees hides most of the buildings. The district includes 27 contributing buildings and 7 contributing structures, among them five major retaining walls, a park and a unified set of street improvements. Several houses are early examples of the First Bay Area Tradition, a shingled style with informal plans and redwood interiors. Along Florence and Jones Streets stand groups of Pueblo/Mission and Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival houses built around 1913 to 1915 for developer H.P. Livermore, designed by architects including Charles F. Whittlesey and Charles W. McCall. Willis Polk's work appears in interior woodwork and in related houses. Three houses predate 1860, including the Italianate Atkinson House. The area was recognized for its architectural quality and its preserved enclave character.
Significance in brief: The district is described as a rural-seeming enclave in the dense city, protected by walls and bluffs. It contains several pioneering First Bay Area Tradition shingle houses, and a group of Pueblo/Mission and Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival houses developed by H.P. Livermore with architects such as Charles F. Whittlesey, Charles W. McCall and Willis Polk. The form also notes the very high architectural design quality and the retaining walls and street improvements that unify the area.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 87002289, listed January 22, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly 1020-1032 Broadway, 1-49 Florence, 1728-1742 Jones, 1-7 Russian Hill Pl., 1629-1715 Taylor, & 1000-1085 Vallejo, San Francisco |
|---|---|
| County | San Francisco |
| Listed | January 22, 1988 |
| Reference number | 87002289 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Charles F. Whittlesey; Charles W. McCall; Willis Polk; Polk & Polk; Polk & Gamble; Joseph M. Atkinson (attrib.); Joseph H. Demerest (mason) |
| Architectural style | First Bay Area Tradition, Second Bay Area Tradition, Pueblo/Mission Revival, Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival, Italianate, Colonial Revival/Craftsman |
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Literature, Engineering, Art, Philosophy, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is rated excellent to good and the area is occupied, mainly as private residences. Some buildings have been altered, and one house was being reworked at the time of the form. |
| Acreage | 4 |
| Coordinates | 37.79784, -122.41431 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 87002289.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q49555033
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.