Nob Hill

Nob Hill refers to a small district in San Francisco, California. It is perhaps one of the most affluent districts in San Francisco (the other being Pacific Heights) and is home to many of the city's old money families.

Centered around the intersection of California and Powell streets (and the respective cable car lines), that intersection is also the home to some of the fanciest hotels in San Francisco: the Fairmont Hotel, the Ritz Carlton, the Stanford Court, the Huntington Hotel, and the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Views from the top of the hill (and especially from the tower of the Fairmont Hotel) extend in all directions around the Bay Area. At the center of the district lies the exclusive old guard, old money Pacific Union Club. In San Francisco, belonging to a club like this says a lot about who you are. Tell someone you're a member of the Pacific-Union Club, and you are saying you made it through a rigorous vetting to filter out the "not us". Also, at the top of Nob Hill enclave stands Grace Cathedral. As such, Nob Hill is often a San Francisco set-piece scene used in many movies, especially if a high-speed chase is called for.

The actual peak of Nob Hill lies slightly to the northwest in the area of Jones and Sacremento, Clay, and Washington Streets. From this area of the hill, all directions are downhill. South of Nob Hill is the shopping district of Union Square and then Market Street. To the east is San Francisco's Chinatown and a little farther, the city's financial district. Northeast of Nob Hill is North Beach and Telegraph Hill. North of Nob Hill is the Cable Car Museum and eventually, the tourist-centered areas of the waterfront.

Locals are referred to as "Na-bob-ers"

Movies featuring Nob Hill

• The Rock — "I'm only borrowing your Hum-Vee!" (from the Fairmont's parking valet)
• Bullitt
• Vertigo
• Magnum Force

  This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• Russian Hill

External links

• The Chronicle's standing article about Nob Hill
• The Fairmont Hotel
• The Mark Hopkins
• The Cable Car Museum site