San Francisco's "Crookedest" Street

Every tourist who visits San Francisco knows of Lombard Street. One of the most photographed streets in the world is renowned as San Francisco's crookedest street. Well it isn't! It may be pretty and have some lovely gardens but it is not the crookedest street in San Francisco. Tucked away in a residential neighborhood rarely visited by tourists and locals for that matter is Vermont Street, San Francisco's truly crookedest street. Vermont Street is in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. What you have never heard of Potrero Hill; well that is just how the locals like it! Vermont Street and Potrero Hill are tucked away on the eastern side of the city and graced with beautiful views and something almost unheard of, sunshine. Potrero means pasture in Spanish and for many years that is what it was. Another old name for the neighborhood is Goat Hill as it was a goat pasture originally owned by the de Haro family. Potrero Hill was mainly a working class neighborhood undiscovered by developers and real estate speculators until the 1990's. The north/south streets in the neighborhood have state names ie: Texas, Missouri, Rhode Island and Mississippi while the east/west streets are number names.

On the western side of the neighborhood is a park running up a steep hill from the 101 freeway to Vermont street is a park called Mckinley Park. The edge of the park is Vermont Street the true crookedest street. There has been a long debate as to which street Vermont or Lombard is the crookedest. An engineering study was done and it was determined that the sinuosity of Vermont is more than that of Lombard. Lombard has its tourists but Vermont has its locals who actually use the street to get off the hill. One of the few celebrations of the street is the Big Wheel Race.

If you are travelling to San Francisco go and see Vermont Street but just don't tell anyone!