Lombard Street

November 16, 2025 - Lombard Street is known for the one-way block on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth streets, where eight sharp turns are said to make it the most crooked street in the world. The design, first suggested by property owner Carl Henry and built in 1922, was intended to reduce the hill's ...

Known as the “Crookedest Street in the World,” Lombard Street is one of San Francisco’s most popular landmarks. Every year, millions of visitors walk or drive down its eight sharp hairpin turns. Surrounded by Russian Hill mansions and perfectly manicured landscaping and flowers, it is ...

Most of Lombard Street's western ... U.S. Route 101. The famous one-block section, claimed to be "the crookedest street in the world", is located along the eastern segment in the Russian Hill neighborhood.MoreLessMore on ...

September 5, 2025 - Between Hyde Street and Leavenworth Street, you’ll find one tiny section, just a block long, that has earned it the moniker “The Crookedest Street in the World,” and with it, worldwide fame. (It should be noted, though, that Vermont Street in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, about five miles away, is actually the crookedest street in San Francisco.) And yes, you can still drive down Lombard, though only in one direction—downhill.

Ever since its appearance on a 1961 postcard, Lombard Street’s crooked segment has become a tourist attraction (Saperstein). Enduring about 250 vehicles per hour, cars may have to wait in a line for 20 minutes to reach the beginning of the block (SFCTA). San Francisco has spent the last several ...

Just below the crooked block, in the next block down, is the house Alfred Hitchcock used as Scottie's home in the film Vertigo. Both the exterior and interior of 900 Lombard were used in the film, though the current owners changed the outside appearance in 2012, building a wall around the front (to avoid the tourists, they said). ... Tip: there is a free walking tour by SF City Guides that explores the San Francisco locations and history of Alfred Hitchcock's films, including Vertigo.

April 9, 2025 - Did you know that the crooked path was initially conceived as a way to make the steep slope navigable for vehicles? Or that Lombard Street has been featured in numerous films and television shows, solidifying ...

October 9, 2023 - According to a 2009 San Francisco City Guides newsletter, city engineer Clyde Healy designed this portion of the street as we know it today. The curves lessened the grade to 16%, but with one huge difference: It was then a two-way street.

Lombard Street's design is a testament to early 20th-century city planning and the ingenuity required to adapt to San Francisco's hilly terrain. The switchback design was implemented by architect Clyde Healy, who created a more navigable road ...

The ‘crooked’ design came about in 1922. The speed limit of 5 mph is the official recommendation to navigate the turns safely. Lombard Street is a one-way road, but it was not always so.

Lombard Street in San Francisco is one of America’s crookedest streets and found on many tours. The steep, hilly street was created with sharp curves to switchback down the one-way hill past beautiful Victorian mansions. If not for the byzantine curves, easing out this treacherous slope, ...

September 28, 2023 - Actually Lombard Street runs through 12 blocks but it owes its fame to a quarter mile stretch on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets. History has it that this road came into being in 1922 and it came to be what it is now because ...

Lombard Street, with its world-famous hairpin turns, is one of San Francisco’s most iconic attractions. Dubbed the “Crookedest Street in the World,” this beautifully landscaped, zigzagging road on Russian Hill offers stunning views, historic charm, and a one-of-a-kind driving or walking ...

August 30, 2025 - In 1922, a nearby property owner — Carl Henry — had the idea of implementing a series of sharp turns to reduce the hill's natural grade to a more manageable 16%. From there, Lombard Street as we know it today was born.

August 26, 2025 - Lombard Street in San Francisco’s ... and Leavenworth streets features eight sharp turns that were built in 1922 to reduce the grade of the hill for vehicles....

July 11, 2024 - These travelers then turn west on Lombard Street and start the steep climb up the hill that will take them to Hyde Street, at the base of the crooked part of San Francisco’s Lombard Street. Those who do walk up this way will pass by a couple of tourist attractions although many don’t know it. On the south side of Lombard Street, they will pass the Real World House San Francisco. On the north side, they will pass the reportedly haunted former home of author Pat Montandon. These homes are just plain old residences now but they make up part of the street’s history.

April 24, 2025 - As the world moved away from ... The crooked part of the street was designed in 1922 when switchbacks were added to combat the steep 27% grade, making it safe for vehicles....

Seven switchbacks, and more twisty-turny than the famous Lombard Street, which is several miles north.

The first surveyor in San Francisco, Jasper O’Farrell, named the street after its predecessor in Philadelphia, but we don’t really know why! It may come as no surprise that since this is such a beautiful tourist attraction, people over the decades have been trying to get the best shot of the entire 600-foot stretch of crooked road.