Alamo Square 

is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California, in the Western

Addition. Its boundaries are Buchanan Street on the east,Turk Street on the north, Baker Street on the
west, and Page Street Street on the south.
Alamo Square Park, the neighborhood's focal point and namesake, consists of four city blocks at the
top of a hill overlooking much of downtown San Francisco, with a number of large and architecturally
distinctive mansions along the perimeter, including the "Painted Ladies", a well-known postcard motif.
The park is bordered by Hayes Street to the south, Steiner Street to the east, Fulton Street to the north,
and Scott Street to the west. Named after the lone cottonwood tree ("alamo" in Spanish), Alamo Hill,
was a watering hole on the horseback trail from Mission Dolores to the Presidio in the 1800s. In 1856,
Mayor James Van Ness created a 12.7 acres (5.1 ha) park surrounding the watering hole, creating
"Alamo Square"

Attractions and characteristics[edit]

Alamo Square Park includes a playground and a tennis court, and is frequented by neighbors, tourists,
and dog owners. On a clear day, the Transamerica Pyramid building and the tops of the Golden Gate
Bridge and Bay Bridge can be seen from the park's center. The San Francisco City Hall can be seen
directly down Fulton Street. The area is part of the city's fifth Supervisorial district and is served by
several Muni bus lines, including the 5, 21, 22, and 24. In 2016 it was closed for a $4.3 million
renovation lasting seven months.[5]

Architecture[edit]
The Alamo Square neighborhood is characterized by Victorian architecture that was left largely
untouched by the urban renewal projects in other parts of the Western Addition. The Alamo Square area
contains the second largest concentration of homes over 10,000 square feet (930 m2) in San Francisco,
after the Pacific Heights neighborhood.[citation needed]

Alamo Square from the air

A row of Victorian houses facing the park on Steiner Street, known as the "Painted Ladies", are often
shown in the foreground of panoramic pictures of the city's downtown area. A number of movies,
television shows and commercials have been filmed in or around Alamo Square. The park features
heavily in the 1978 horror film The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and the 2012 romantic comedy The
Five-Year Engagement.[6] The opening sequence of the American sitcom Full House (1987-1995)
features a romp in Alamo Square Park with the famous row of Victorians in the background. [7]
 Alamo Square facing south

There are many architecturally significant mansions on the perimeter of the park, including the William
Westerfeld House, the Archbishop's Mansion, the residences of the Russian and German Imperial
consuls in the early 1900s, and the mansions on the block diagonally across from the Painted Ladies.
In 1984, the Alamo Square Historic District was created by the Board of Supervisors, stating: [8]
The Alamo Square Historic District is significant as a continuum of distinguished residential
architecture by distinguished architects spanning the period from the 1870s to the 1920s.
The towered Westerfield House, the renowned "Postcard Row" with its background of the
downtown skyline, and the neighboring streetscapes are as identified worldwide with San
Francisco as the cable cars and Coit Tower. With a variety of architectural styles, the
District is unified in its residential character, relatively small scale, construction type,
materials (principally wood), intense ornamentation (especially at entry and cornice), and
use of basements and retaining walls to adjust for hillside sites... With a high degree of
integrity to its original designs, the District clearly serves as a visual reminder of how
businessmen lived two to four generations ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamo_Square,_San_Francisco