Noe Valley, San Francisco
Noe Valley is an upscale San Francisco neighborhood bounded by 21st St. to the north, Dolores Street to the east, Diamond Heights Blvd. to the west and 30th St. to the south. It is located south of the Castro (Eureka Valley) and west of Mission District.
Noe Valley was primarily developed as a working-class neighborhood and most of the streets the streets are lined with “classic” Victorian and Edwardian row houses of mostly single-family homes and two- to six-unit buildings.
Residents are a mix of mostly baby boomers who have raised their families back when Noe Valley was a middle-class neighborhood and young families moving in for the booming tech industry.
History
The neighborhood is named after José de Jesús Noé, the last Mexican mayor of Yerba Buena (the old name of San Francisco), who sold the land to a Mormon immigrant named John Meirs Horner in 1854; hence, the land was also called Horner’s Addition.
Schools
Noe Valley is one of the best neighborhoods for families because of its proximity to good schools.
Most students get to attend Alvarado Elementary School on Douglass Street, one of the top-rated schools in the city with above-average test scores. The San Francisco Unified School District gives preference to students with siblings also attending the school.
Priority is next given to children living in sections of the city with low test scores or those who have attended a district-run preschool in their attendance area.
After that, families living within the school’s attendance area (Grand View to the west, 22nd St. to the north, Guerrero to the East and 29th Street to the south) have the next-highest chance of assignment.
Students who live north of 22nd St. are placed in Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy on 19th St (between Collingwood and Diamond Streets in the Castro), while those living south of the attendance line are likely to go to Glen Park Elementary on Lippard Ave.
Mission Education Center (formerly Kate Kennedy School) on Noe St. is a school for newly arrived Spanish-speaking immigrant students.
These schools feed into James Lick Middle School, a comprehensive middle school on Noe St. with a diverse student population. It offers an extensive academic program, with an emphasis on the visual and performing arts, and a thriving Spanish Immersion program.
Learn more about the San Francisco Unified School District’s assignment process.
St Paul’s School is a private K-8 Catholic school and (St. Paul’s) Littlest Angel Preparatory Preschool is the parish preschool of St. Paul’s Catholic Church. All are located on Church St.
Another preschool is the Noe Valley Nursery School, a cooperative preschool located in the Noe Valley / Diamond Heights area. The school also offers summer camp for 3- to 5-year-olds.
Supermarkets
Noe Valley residents do their shopping on 24th Street, where there is a Whole Foods. There is also a Safeway at the Diamond Heights Shopping Center in nearby Diamond Heights.
1001 Castro Street is the neighborhood go-to for spirits, beer and wine. Mama’s Market at the corner of Dolores and 22nd St. also offers wine and food, along with flowers and other necessities.
Angel’s Market is an old-school corner grocery and deli that has been in the neighborhood since the 1960s, making it a San Francisco institution. Craving marzipan? Visit Lehr’s German Specialties for excellent European sweets and German food items, gifts and magazines.
Chuck’s Sun Valley Grocery is another mom-and-pop corner store that opens until late at night. Its well-loved proprietor, fondly called Uncle Chuck by the locals, has seen the neighborhood undergo changes through more than four decades.
For fresh fruits and vegetables, residents go to Church Produce at the corner of Church and 30th St. The small store not only carries a variety of produce, but also other grocery items and freshly baked bread.
The Noe Valley Farmers Market on 24th St. is a weekend habit. Every Saturday, vendors offer organic fruits and vegetables, along with nuts and honey, all fresh from the farm. Some stalls also sell street eats and give away free samples. Live music gives the atmosphere a chill weekend vibe.
Parks and green spaces
For recreation, residents go to the Upper Noe Recreation Center. Parents can let their kids romp in the fenced playground with a rubber floor specially designed for young children. Meanwhile, a large auditorium doubles as an indoor free-play area at certain hours each day.
The center also has an indoor and an outdoor basketball court, a tennis court and a baseball field. Residents can rent the functions rooms for parties, conferences and other social and sporting events.
The park is not only a place for kids, as dogs can have their fun in Joby’s Run dog play area, running around unleashed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Concentrations of commerce
The neighborhood is peppered with family-run corner stores as well as big-name supermarkets, bistros and upscales restaurants offering various cuisines, cafés, bookstores, flower shops and many other boutiques, mostly found on 24th, Church and Castro Streets.
Much of the foot traffic occurs on 24th St., between Church St. and Diamond St., where you can see the highest concentration of commerce in the neighborhood, especially on weekends.
In the daytime, you can see kids lined up outside Charlie’s Corner bookstore for story time. At night, the local bars and pubs can get quite busy on Fridays and Saturdays.
There is another, less dense, commercial strip along Church Street, between 24th and 30th Streets.
Moving to the neighborhood
Noe Valley is known for its rows of beautiful Victorian homes, which are the epitome of the world-famous San Francisco houses. Homes have a median sale price of $1,815,000.
The neighborhood is a great place for families with kids and dogs, and strollers are an indispensable part of the sidewalk traffic.
Public transportation include the J Church Muni light rail that runs along Church Street and the 24 Muni bus that runs along Castro St., 26th St. and Noe St. before exiting the neighborhood via 30th Street.
Some notable Noe Valley residents include Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and renowned sculptor Ruth Asawa, who was a passionate advocate of the arts, especially among children. The Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts (SOTA), named after her, is one of the most highly rated schools in the district and has a rigorous audition process.
