Forest Hill, San Francisco, California

Forest Hill is an affluent neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It is located near the middle of the city, north-east of West Portal, south of the Inner Sunset and north of Dewey Boulevard. Construction on the neighborhood began in 1912, on land originally owned by Adolph Sutro that was purchased from his heirs by a private firm. Streets in Forest Hill were not built to San Francisco's specific standards regarding width, grade, etc., and therefore were never accepted by the City nor maintained by the City until 1978. Forest Hill is one of the only non-condominium developments in the San Francisco that has an active homeowners' association, requiring membership of all property owners and payment of an annual fee for maintenance of the planted common areas owned by the association [http://www.foresthill-sf.com/association/]

The area south of Dewey Boulevard is known as Laguna Honda or Forest Hill Extension. The extension is another section of Forest Hill, except with smaller homes and more moderate pricing. The name Laguna Honda means "Deep Lagoon" in the Spanish language, presumably referring to the Laguna Honda Reservoir, at the intersection of Laguna Honda Boulevard and Clarendon Avenue.

Laguna Honda Hospital and the Muni Metro Forest Hill Station are located between Forest Hill and Laguna Honda, near the intersection of Laguna Honda Boulevard and Dewey Boulevard. School of the Arts high school is on Portola Drive near Woodside Avenue, in the south-eastern corner of Laguna Honda. As the name implies, landscaping throughout Forest Hill is unusually lush for San Francisco: Magellan Avenue's elms make it one of the few streets in the city with a true tree canopy. Several homes and a community clubhouse designed by celebrated California Arts and Crafts Movement architect Bernard Maybeck add to the picturesque, rustic quality of the neighborhood. cite book | last =McCoy | first =Esther | authorlink =Esther McCoy | title =Five California Architects | publisher =Reinhold Publishing Corporation | year =1960 | location =New York | pages =6 | id =ASIN B000I3Z52W]

Forest Hill [http://www.foresthill-sf.com] is a community in which people can still know their neighbors, one which still holds large get-togethers several times a year, one that has a unique sense of identity and place. Located in the heart of the San Francisco, Forest Hill has the feel and tranquility of a small town.

The" Forest Hill Association", [http://www.foresthill-sf.com/association/] , has been serving the residents of Forest Hill for nearly one hundred years, and holds its Board meetings on first Monday evening of each month at the clubhouse.

The historic Forest Hill clubhouse [http://www.foresthill-sf.org/association/FHA-clubdesc.html] on Magellan Avenue is also home of the "Forest Hill Garden Club" [http://www.foresthill-sf.com/gardenclub/] , the neighborhood womens social organization founded in 1931 to promote the cultivating of flowers and gardens in the community. The Clubhouse is also the site of the "Forest Hill Musical Days", [http://www.foresthill-sf.com/musicaldays/] , an intimate neighborhood chamber music festival, founded in 2003 by pianist Mari Kodama and her husband, conductor Kent Nagano, both of whom are residents of the neighborhood. The festival is organized entirely by volunteers from the neighborhood, as music loving residents open their homes to host performing artists from all over Europe.

Forest Hill residents can visit the neighborhood website [http://www.foresthill-sf.com/association/] for a schedule of upcoming meetings and community events; to consider renting the clubhouse for a family celebration; or simply to learn more about their truly unique neighborhood. [http://www.foresthill-sf.org/association/FHA-wallcal-thismonth.html]

ee also

*List of San Francisco, California Hills

References