It’s rare to see the Richmond District mentioned in local news, let alone on the front page of the paper. But that’s what happened today when the Examiner published a story Visit SF for the beautiful … Richmond district?.
The story details an effort that is underway to attract more tourists to our northwest corner of the city. We don’t get much of the tourist traffic or money according to the SF Travel Association. In a 2010 survey, they found that just 17.6% of tourists visit the Richmond or Sunset, compared to 65.2% who went to Union Square, 56% to Fisherman’s Wharf and 38.4% to Chinatown.
They shouldn’t be surprised at their own survey results, since their SF Travel website doesn’t even include the Richmond District in their list of neighborhoods. Et tu, SF Travel?
But we all know that the Richmond District has great attractions for visitors including two world class museums, beautiful coastline and beaches, nearly every variety of cuisine imaginable, city landmarks and gorgeous parks.
According to the article, the “Neighborhood Partners Program — which awarded nine other grants to businesses or organizations in The City for 2014 to 2016 — will add shops, restaurants and other places in the Richmond to its online and print publications, and provide networking and mentoring opportunities for merchants.”
A two-year grant for an undisclosed amount was given to the Greater Geary Boulevard Merchants and Property Owners Association, led by David Heller.
He told the Examiner that the money will be used for things like stringing lights along stretches of Geary, hanging banners to promote shops and destinations in the Richmond, and beautifying storefronts.
What would you do to attract more tourists to the neighborhood? When you have friends visiting, what do you encourage them to see and do in the neighborhood? Leave a comment to let us know.
Sarah B.
sorry to troll, but a way to get in and out of Richmond easily, such as Bus Rapid Transit, would be awesome. amiright, NIMBYs?
Parking, as always, is a trick (same goes for other neighborhoods, of course), but it’s available if you’re willing to look for it and/or walk a few blocks. A special transit down Geary (talking aside from the 38 and its variations, which are busy to begin with) would help. And a centralized parking garage or two that isn’t owned by the store below, like OfficeMax and Ross’ on Geary.
When I have my friends and in-laws in, I make sure we hit both the famous and not-as-famous spots: Land’s End (especially now that the new lookout is FANTASTIC when Karl the Fog isn’t around!), upper Clement’s stores and restaurants, Baker & China Beaches, Sutro Heights, etc. We also like showing them the offbeat and the untouristy things as well, like the many and varied churches hiding everywhere, the tiny but wonderful restaurants, and so on.
It’s also a very walkable neighborhood, so that should definitely be pushed as well. See the sights and get some exercise while you’re at it! 🙂
To help raise the volume, yeah, fast public transportation. Why can’t we get a subway like North Beach did? Or buses that do not seem to serve the union but the residents and tourists.
To make it clear, I LOVE the outer Richmond and have been here since the earthquake. (Not the 1906 one).
As a native of San Francisco and having traveled all over the world I can attest to greatest thing about visiting a new place as a tourist is when you are not surrounded by tourists.
I have lived all over this city and I can further attest to the fact that the best part about the Richmond District is that is mostly locals and there is a quiet and culturally significant vibe to it that is its own. The Outer Richmond is fantastic because of what it is: the funky dim sum place that no one has heard of, but is delicious, the quiet cafe that is far from pretentious, the organic butcher shop, the Legion of Honor hidden on a hill like a sentinel of awesomeness as it overlooks the District, or watching a film on a foggy night at the 4-star. These are all hidden gems and the Richmond District as a whole is a gem for that very reason, IT IS HIDDEN!
For, crap sake, show a little initiative, do a little independent research if you are coming to San Francisco. You don’t need banners or lights in trees to get tourists. And the tourists that would be attracted by that gimmicky schlock are not the kind of people we want visiting our neighborhood.
As for transit, There are a number of ways to get to the Outer Richmond that are amazing rides and very fast. Take the 2 Clement, or 1 California, take the 43 or better yet take the 29 out of the Presidio. Hell take the L-Taraval out to the zoo and get a bite to eat at John’s and then catch the 18 and ride all the way to the Legion of Honor and wander around the Outer Richmond if you want.
Point is, use some damn imagination. Coming to San Francisco means experiencing San Francisco, and we shouldn’t want everything spelled out for us. What kind of interesting trip does that make for? Ride MUNI and discover the hidden gems that come with getting off the regular prescribed touristy path and discover something for yourself.
Any of you that agree with this faster transit nonsense or backwards concepts to get tourists out to the Richmond District are the kind of people that go to Europe or anywhere else and want it spoon fed to you rather than immersing yourself in the culture and speaking the language. Hell do it here. The next time you are in the Richmond try ordering your dim sum in Mandarin and see how the whole experience changes for you it something more full and detailed that you thought was possible.
Grumpily yours,
Mr. Foggy
How about the City make an effort to pick up all the trash residents are dumping on almost every other street corner? How about the City ensure that all MUNI kiosk digital displays (for next bus information) actually work? How about filling in all of the potholes? How about doing something positive concerning empty store fronts and abandoned buildings? How about stepping up police patrols at night to prevent car break-ins? How about pointing the sidewalk skateboarders and bike riders to GG Park? How about filling in all of the potholes? How about filling in all of the potholes? How about filling in all of the potholes? How about filling in all of the potholes? How about filling in all of the potholes? How about filling in all of the potholes? How about filling in all of the potholes? How about filling in all of the potholes?
I think this is awful. The beauty of the Richmond is that it exists in it’s natural state. We don’t need more tourists and traffic tromping through our neighborhood. The rest of the city is getting over run, changing by the day for the worse. Please don’t let out little piece of San Francisco suffer the same fate as the Mission, turning into a tacky, overpriced, trendy neighborhood, forcing out long time residents in favor of people who “just moved here to work at Google two weeks ago”. If those people thing the Richmond is foggy and boring, I say good.
I hope there will be some sort of quality control, consistency and spell check on the banners. As far as store front improvements go, the Supes approved waiving permit fees every year in May for small businesses wanting to redo their awnings and signage. I miss the B car.
What Cee said. Also what ‘Mr. Foggy’ said.
I hate that new turd of a place on Balboa, what’s it called? Jicama? Melange Root Café? That pretentious blue café with all that al fresco seating and pompous clientele that sit outside? Stop driving the rent prices up. Go get a store front in the contaminated Mission District. Leave the Richmond alone.
omg! noooooooooo! Outer Richmond is crowded as it is. Can’t we have just one neighborhood to ourselves, just one neighborhood in San Francisco that isn’t inundated with tourists!? San Francisco is bursting at the seams with tourists, to the point of making the City unlivable for those of us who actually live/work here. It’s already quite difficult to get out of here on weekends because the City and the GG Bridge District are doing NOTHING about the 19th Ave. back up due to a gazillion cars/buses trying to access the overlook at the north end of the GG Bridge.
This is greed talking.
Alexandria Theatre…
it’s a spectacle all right.
Mr. Foggy you have some great travel guide suggestions. But I totally disagree with your apparent argument that better transit is not needed in the Richmond District, because, according to you, by using the current system, tourists will have a deeper more fulfilling experience.
Frankly, its hard to make sense of your arguments. No disrespect, but apparently you pride yourself on living on a higher plain than the rest of us; you have totally immersed yourself in the glory of the Richmond District, exploring all its nooks and crannies and hidden gems, and you have concluded that it is perfect the way it is. If only we could just be more like you we would stop our whining and complaining.
According to your logic, the Richmond District needs to remain generally unappealing to the typical tourist, because if it was more appealing, it would attract more visitors, and that would be a bad thing for the real tourists who really commit to their adventures. ????!!!
Foggy you seem like a cool dude, but you appear to live in a Lonely Planet-inspired alternative universe where governance and town planning just kind of take care of themselves.
Here’s a reality check…successful businesses market and advertise in order to attract customers and make money. Effective local governments engage in marketing campaigns to attract customers to spend money with the local businesses. Here’s another reality- if you have better transit options, more tourists will visit, resulting in more money spent in the neighborhood, creating demand for better and more diverse goods and services, and improving the lives of the residents. Apparently Foggy you don’t want the tourists or locals in the Richmond District who might fall prey to such marketing, or better transit? Those kind of people are just a bunch of shallow-minded, unimaginative wimps! Go back to Fisherman’s Wharf, you losers!
Hey Richmond you missed the whole point.
My argument and one that seems to have generated some if not more than some support is that the Richmond District as a whole is actually perfectly suited for tourists as it is and in actuality we don’t really need a bunch a tourists running around!
More Importantly, we do not need improved transportation nor the ridiculous kakamami scheme to hang lights and banners to be appealing. As I showed, there are many great transportation alternatives to the 38 which seems to the bane of so many peoples existence for some reason.
My argument good sir, is that what makes the Richmond District appealing is that it is a hidden kind of overlooked spot with great things happening as is. Is it perfect? No, but neither are a lot of places in the world. A tourist comes to experience SF and that means all the good and all the bad that this city has to offer. Sure some things need improving, but that’s not my argument. My argument takes umbrage with this idea bandied about in this SFExaminer article.
The reality my friend, is that there are many tourists frequenting the Outer Avenues and the Richmond District already. The reason they come and the reason why we all like living in these areas of the city are the same, because these areas are kind of unheard of and not highly touted and hidden behind the wonderful veil of heavy fog. I am not saying you “losers” go back to Pier 39, I am saying use some ingenuity and don’t go to pier 39 but be adventurous and venture into the unknown sleepy fog of the Richmond or outer avenues, and yes take MUNI as it is, and NO you don’t need lights in trees and banners, because that is not SF or the Richmond District. That is the schlock created by marketing types and numbers people who want dollars, but don’t give a damn about the cultural capital of a neighborhood! You change the fundamentals of this neighborhood my friend, and you change the ethos of why the Richmond District is what it is and why people like visiting and living here.
My dear Richmond, that is my argument!
Yours Stubbornly,
Mr. Foggy
Muni is the Achilles heal of this plan. Most tourist stay downtown or fishermans wharf. Regardless of which bus you take, it’s 40 mins to get to outer richmond. If there was a rapid transit opinion, it would open up the possibility for tourists.
For those complaining about keeping Richmond a “secret” from the trendy techies….too late. You see all of the renovation of homes in the areas, it’s them. Within five years, Richmond will be a high priced “trendy” neighborhood. You cannot stop progress my friends.
i’m good with the 17.6%.
Like Egg said…the Alexandria.
For years I had friends that come into San Francisco to hang out with us in the Richmond and spend money in the Richmond at places like the Alexandria, the Coronet, and the Coliseum. A good meal and a movie in a “real movie house”. Basically something they no longer have in most small towns and suburban areas. These folks did visited our neighborhood several weekends a year. No longer.
When I asked one of those couples recently why they have not come into San Francisco as much and our neighborhood in particular, they answered that there is nothing special about it anymore….why fight the parking and the high prices if they can get the same entertainment experience and food out of the city.
The blowback from the “new San Francisco Economy” is with us and most do not realize it. All those high values for our property lead to an economic monoculture. There are plenty of beautiful coastal area to the north and south where one can park. There are now very good restaurants out of SF where one can park, the roads are good, and there are no homeless (visible) to step over.
I doubt that The City in general and The Richmond district specifically will pull in many more people than they are now in the future except the “one time bucket list tourists” and people coming to events that are primarily “Amusement Park San Francisco” like Outside lands.
The days of people coming into San Francisco outside of those two types of tourists is in decline. This is not good for the Richmond or the other less visited area of The City.
JD.
As a native Richmond D resident, I agree with those who don’t want ostentatious marketing ploys used to lure tourists out here from downtown (or wherever) . There are plenty of tourists here, visiting the museums, GG Park, Lands End, the beaches, restaurants. That said, we do need more small businesses to fill the empty storefronts (but stop the infestation of Hello Kitty- type schlock shops along Clement!). With all the newly arrived transplants moving into the Richmond, along with their significant incomes, the population here (even without tourists) will be able to sustain local commercial establishments. Give it a bit more time; the neighborhood is adjusting to the newest wave of residents, and a heartier economy. I know where to go for yuppy, I know where to go for hipster and techie. Why must every corner of the city be built to the hilt and stripped of the uniqueness that distinguishes it from the other neighborhoods?
Will eric Marred by taking credit for this too?
Y’know, I hate to say this, but for native/multigeneral Richmond District residents, the ongoing conversations here are kind of sad. I admit I’ve only been in this neighborhood since late 2009 (we lived in Tourist Central, three blocks from Pier 39 for 4 years before then), but come on…let’s stop with the negativity here. Let’s focus on what makes the Richmond a *positive* place to visit, like Green Apple Books, Mountain Lake, Lincoln Park, the de Young and the Legion, the family community, the friendliness. Sure, we have eyesores, but doesn’t any other neighborhood have the same thing? Hell, the Mission has hipsters up the wazoo, but the community vibe there works just as ours does.
Let’s stop complaining and whining and blaming it on Eric Mar and the techies and celebrate what we have. Not all tourists are idiots and horrible people; they just act differently than the locals. Not all the new transplants are techies–hell, my entire block has seen just as many college students and new families just starting out. It’s a big city–let it breathe a bit.
If we keep up with this cynical outlook on everything, this neighborhood will most certainly fail, because we’re all saying “what’s the point?” and doing nothing.
*edit* — make that “multigenerational” in the first sentence. 😉
When I resided on the Peninsula I was part of a commercial association that worked with the city to create more business. In doing so, I researched what other municipalities had done. Here is what I concluded from that experience.
These efforts are usually driven by a very small coterie of merchants (compared to the whole) – usually merchants who are the most innovative about driving new business through the door. Banners and lights (especially lights) do help to “warm up” the environment and create a more inviting atmosphere.
That said, look at this “beautification” effort as a serious prelude to more development in the Richmond. I can already see it coming. I walk the Richmond District, extensively; there are more-than-obvious signs of the beginnings of a near-long-term cultural, commercial and residential shift that is well on its way. btw, developers who are *already looking ahead, and who have staged early investments* are often in the mix of interested persons who happily support these programs.
Although I empathize with Mr. Foggy – feeling more aligned with his position – it’s also plain that there is no keeping the cultural, residential, and commercial shift that has already impacted the rest of San Francisco from realizing itself here. It WILL happen.
San Francisco, thanks to the stunning short-sightedness of our elected policy makers (over that last 20 years – and who WE elected, btw) have done squat to increase affordable housing stock in San Francisco. Middle class families, especially those who are starting up, can simply no longer afford San Francisco. the physical beauty of this place is outstanding – that beauty will continue to draw tourists and residents who are consciously willing to spend more to live here than it would cost them to live elsewhere.
I have seen my last resident city on the Peninsula, considered the most prominent of cities on the Peninsula – go from a small, cozy, friendly, and purely vernacular experience to a completely upper-middle-class, developer and high-end commercial location in the span of 30 years. That’s about how long it’s going to take to change things in the Richmond (San Francisco’s tonier neighborhoods are already 5-10 years into this process). Those changes happened over what I consider to be the most vocal, elongated, and well-organized anti-development campaigns (continuing, to this day) that I have ever witnessed. Nothing will stop this trend.
That said, I suggest enjoying the Richmond for what it is, today. Further, I suggest to those who have time and energy to continue to push for more affordable housing stock in San Francisco. I don’t want to take this off topic (re: housing), but affordable housing is THE key to maintaining local diversity. If San Francisco fails to deliver serious (and by serious I mean at least 100,000-150,000+ units) of affordable housing stock over the next 15 years, our city will become little more than an upper-middle-class enclave, devoid of the subcultural and commercial variety that makes it interesting, in the first place.
How do we make this happen? we need to get outside the box and innovate. Will that happen? It’s up to us.
@phil If they can knock out some Richmond specials and replace them with nicer units, godspeed. If they are knocking out houses and building cardboard condos, good riddance. I have seen some of each.
Don’t know if anyone else saw them, but a photo crew from Travel and Leisure was in my shop this week taking pics and saying that they are doing a piece on … wait for it… the Inner Richmond. I asked if they were doing other neighborhoods in the city and they said no – just us. So maybe we won’t be unknown for long.
The shop in question – Blondlogic at Arguello and McAllister right next to Velo Rouge.
@Sally, Right next to Mar’s meet for coffee spot. I wonder what political office he aspires to with “friends” in upscale travel and magazine industries, they’re certainly the antithesis of his totality of legislation and local supporters.
Egad, I hope they never find us!
Does anyone want the Richmond to end up like Lombard St. or Alamo Square?
Not me….
Derek, Once upon a time the 28 line ran on 25th Avenue on our side of Golden Gate Park all the way into Sea Cliff. During one of the first Muni reorganizations in the late 1970s/early 1980s which was based on the presumption that too much Muni service was downtown centric, it was returned to Park Presidio (the mid block green wood benches were the original Muni bus stops and also serviced Greyhound, the predecessor of Golden Gate Transit) and the 44 line created on Sixth Avenue replacing the 10 which went to Bernal Heights on Tenth Avenue and the 21 Hayes which went to California and Eighth via Sixth Avenue. The 18 Sloat took some of the old 28 route.
Once San Francisco became popular in the 1990s new home buyers complained that Muni service (and tour buses along the 49 Mile Scenic Drive) were impeding their enjoyment of already heavily trafficked 25th Avenue (one of two streets accessing 19th Avenue to the south) and demanded change. As a non-driver, my jaunts to both Baker and China Beaches were severely curtailed due to this first ever City Hall approved public and private transit exclusion.
From this cartographer’s perspective, for half the tourists who come to San Francisco, the Richmond and Sunset are in that twilight zone where the horizontal scale is compressed 50% and the ubiquitous free map looks totally untrustworthy. A good map that shows streets and transit (MUNI map), bike routes (SF bike map) or GG Park/Presidio/Lands End walking trails (my Walkers Map of SF) does a lot to let people wander with more confidence.
There is certainly no shortage of tourists glancing off our neighborhood, en route between the GG Bridge and Golden Gate Park — I would have said on MUNI (particularly the 5 and 28) but we seem to have fallen into the Hop-on/Hop-off circuit too. Most of our tempting commercial strips are not nearly as accessible to Golden Gate Park as, say, the Inner Sunset’s 9th and Irving. We’re barely a night-time district; it’s hard to say what good lights will do for the daytime businesses.
Perhaps something could be done to promote 8th (or 6th) Ave. as a connection between GGP and Clement St. Nothing major, but maybe signage on Fulton or JFK pointing to the “Clement St. commerical district” or something, and some efforts to make it a more pleasant walk.
Another thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet is bike share. Currently it’s limited geographically, but it would be pretty ideal to have stations here so that tourists could get on in the downtown area, and ride out along the wiggle to the museums, the beach, etc– then put some stations in local commercial areas and you’ll have people stopping in for lunch and to check it out along the way. I bet that would be popular (plus it would be nice for locals going the other way).
I’m quoted in this article as being a neighborhood naysayer about increasing tourism to the Richmond, which does not reflect my position accurately. I had chatted with this reporter about my frustrations with the nightly Airbnb rental above our bedroom with a young daughter and our worries about the inherent changes in building security and character. I love the Richmond and feel like no visit to SF is complete without visiting Golden Gate Park, Land’s End, Baker Beach, and Clement Street. My frustration is not with tourists. I absolutely support increasing awareness of the great features of the Richmond. My frustration is with a company valued at 10 billion dollars not having any real way for neighbors and others to share their concerns about the inherent changes in a building with the nightly rentals they facilitate and an expensive city that makes neighbors need to turn to nightly rentals to make it. That’s where my concern lies. I was not the person to quote for this story.
As a 25+ year Richmond district resident I’ve observed a lot of changes. As I see it, tourism has not been a negative factor, nor does it impact the majority of local residents in our district. First unless you eat out, shop or reside primarily on certain busy areas on Geary Blvd, Clement, California or Balboa Streets, you can generally choose to avoid the congestion and crowds. I’ve lived in at least six locations within the Richmond and I find when I encounter tourist crowds, it is typically during the peak hours on weekends and street events. Otherwise, I rarely have to encounter tourists to the point I will actively avoid places. The Richmond is not Union Square and even with an increase of tourism, I do not necessarily feel that is a bad thing. It all depends on how businesses choose to evolve and develop their services to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Moreover, tourism does not make up the majority of foot traffic or income generated on Clement.
Many of the curious tourists I’ve met, usually find their way here by car because it is more reliable, efficient and convenient compared to public transit. Feel free to disagree but, imagine you are visiting one day from the Penninsula, East Bay or further from the South Bay. Would you really plan your day taking Caltrains or BART into the City, then Muni to reach the Richmond district and other destinations? Or would you take your car or even use Uber or Rideshare services? Now imagine how would a couple with a young child or visiting guests, get around our City if they were visiting for more than a few days. Would public transit be the most efficient form of transportation or would a car? The visiting “duration” is important to remember when factoring in Muni and other transit ridership. Also, consider where do visitors want to go to begin with? Some want the spotlight attractions (downtown, North Beach, Pier 39, Giants, Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, etc – notice most are within one short transit ride of each other), which others, prefer cultural and nature based activities. I feel we can stop living in fear on this topic. We can welcome all tourists to the Richmond because those that seek our community, will ultimately, still find it. Food lovers, golfers, families visiting the cultural sights, etc can easily learn about the Richmond district since was historically reviewed in nationwide publications like AAA.
On a related note, I wholeheartedly disagree that the City needs to create underground or even above ground mass railway transit. First fix what isn’t efficiently running before looking to other possible costly and unproven alternatives. Currently the main Richmond district bus lines 38, 1, 31 all going downtown during rush hour periods, are not efficient or maximized to accommodate the waiting crowds. If the peak rush hour passenger needs are not being met, what is the likelihood the non-peak hour riders needs are being met? Second, it makes no logical sense to close down and fill up with concrete two fully operational tunnels at Presidio/Geary and Fillmore/Geary! Where will all that traffic divert towards? Won’t greater traffic congestion result? There is a real environment concern that needs to be addressed since construction will last for many years. And, how will designated stops be selected? Lastly, who will foot the terrifying bill for a construction project along the longest corridor in our City?
@ Alai: Agreed Muni should consider greater transit use promotion and clarity. Online interactive maps linking Muni routes/schedules so people can plan in advance or even at a moments notice a day, weekend or longer visit in our lovely City. Banners help if tourists know where to look, right? Many tourists drive into the City and often begin their visit from downtown and work their way into other districts.
@ Jon C: Completely concur! Let’s appreciate all the splendors and opportunities our lovely City has to offer first, and focus on solutions that address the concerns, instead of placing blame.