DISTRICT 10

• Bayview and Hunters Point consist of still-affordable, primarily owner-occupied, single-family homes, interspersed with manufacturing and warehouses. The closeknit community is known for its local activists, often found at Sam Jordan's bar, who have threatened to secede from the City and have saved and renovated historic buildings, such as the Ruth Williams Memorial Theater. The circa-1888 Bayview Opera House offers theater productions and classes, and the Bayview Hunters Point Foundation provides legal, mental health and youth services to residents.
• The middle-class Crocker Amazon area, formerly part of railroad magnate Charles Crocker's estate, features single-family homes with tidy front lawns and lovely, landscaped streets.
• Colorful murals can be found at the Excelsior Playground Courts in the Excelsior District, where you can play tennis or lift weights while your kids play in the rec center. Most residences in this neighborhood were built in the 1950s, and include single-family homes as well as duplexes and apartments. The BART station and highways 101 and 280 are nearby.
• In 1909, United Railroads opened the Visitacion Valley Streetcar line as an attraction to promote the sale of real estate in the valley. A wealth of historical information and local headlines can be found in the Visitacion Valley Grapevine, a community newspaper serving the southeast district. You can check it out online at www.home.earthlink.net/~visvalley/.
• The Portola area was named for Don Gaspar de Portola — an early explorer charged with finding Monterey Bay who overshot his target and stumbled upon San Francisco Bay instead. Residents can be found taking a stroll through McLaren Park or shopping at the Portola Shopping Center.