Filbert Street (San Francisco)

Filbert Street is an east-west street in San Francisco, California. It originates at Lyon Street on the eastern edge of The Presidio and runs eastward from there, intersecting major thoroughfares Van Ness Avenue and Columbus Avenue. When Filbert reaches the Telegraph Hill neighborhood, it terminates at Kearny Street near Coit Tower and continues as a pedestrian stairway known as the Filbert Street Steps. [ [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Filbert+St,+San+Francisco,+CA,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title The location of Filbert Street in San Francisco] , Google Maps.]

The Filbert Street Steps runs along a short section of Filbert Street. Along the steps is a garden tended to and paid for by the residents of the street. The steps lead from Telegraph Hill down to The Embarcadero. Many houses in this residential neighborhood are accessible only from the steps. Similar to paved streets, several fire hydrants and a solitary parking meter are located along the steps.

Filbert Street and 22nd Street in San Francisco are two of the steepest in the Western Hemisphere at a maximum gradient of 31.5% (approximately 17°). [ [http://www.aviewoncities.com/sf/lombardstreet.htm Lombard Street] , aviewoncities.com.] One section of Stanyan St, at Belgrave, hits 33% [SF Weekly, "Best Steep Hill Bike Ride", 2008 (now offline, temporarily cached at [http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:http%3A//www.sfweekly.com/bestof/2008/award/best-steep-hill-bike-ride-1033194/] )] .

Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand is steeper, with a maximum gradient of 1:2.86 or 35%.Fact|date=December 2007 There are also three streets in Los Angeles that are steeper—28th Street in San Pedro at 33.3%, Eldred Street in Highland Park at 33%, and Baxter Street in Silver Lake at 32%. [Pool. B.(August 21, 2003). [http://www.walkinginla.com/2004/Feb15/EldredSt.html "Getting the Slant on L.A.'s Steepest Street"] , "Los Angeles Times".]

Canton Ave in Pittsburgh is also steeper, with a 37% grade.

The wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, which were the subject of a 2005 documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill", may often be seen along the steps.

References

* [http://map.sanfranciscohiltonhotel.com/?bid=207&vid=30758 Lombard Street Interactive Map]