Tucked between the chaotic hipness of the Upper Haight and the sleepy affluence of Sutro Forest and Buena Vista Heights, Cole Valley is a tiny, quiet neighborhood that feels more like a village than the big city. Populated partly by settles yuppies that seem to put a lot of time into gardening, flowers seem to be everywhere. For a bird’s eye view of the neighborhood, and one of the most spectacular views in the city, climb Tank Hill via the rickety, wooden staircase at the end of Belgrave Street of 17th. Locals frequent the spot for watching fireworks. What locals will not find in Cole Valley are banks, huge grocery stores, and that ever-present landmark, Walgreen’s. This is a neighborhood largely unpopulated by chains and franchises, and shoppers are likely to find the stores owner working behind the counter.
Photo courtesy of Robin Sloan.
Wild Parrots: For more than a decade Cole Valley has been a destination of choice for a flock of birds known as the "wild parrots of Telegraph Hill." Anywhere from late June to late August, usually just between 7 am and 8 am, a cluster of up to 20 birds makes its way from their nighttime nesting place around Jackson and Davis streets to one section of Cole Valley, around Willard, Belmont, Woodland and Edgewood streets. These parrots, most of which are cherry-headed conures native to South America, sport green bodies and red heads and tend to make a lot of noise, so they're hard to miss. First, they head for the pine trees, and then the hawthorne, apple and plum trees.
Though most visitors never make it past the commercial block in Cole Valley, there is one site worth visiting farther afield. In front of 1591 Shrader St. stands a carving in the trunk of an old Monterey cypress titled Angel of Hope. The tree had to be taken down after another tree on the other side of the driveway toppled during a windstorm in the mid-'90s, damaging nearby houses. The former owner of the house, philanthropist Pat Montandon, commissioned the carving of an angel.
At the corner of Shrader and Rivoli streets -- at 1401 Shrader St., to be exact -- sits a house designed by renowned architect Ira Kurlander. The first floor of the house was built in 1908 and was the home of Bernice Lane Brown, mother of former California Gov. and current Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Kathleen Brown.
On Halloween, the strip of Belvedere Street between Parnassus and 17th streets is blocked off as packs of kids gather to show off their costumes and celebrate the holiday. Another event takes place Easter Sunday in the park along Carl Street between Clayton and Cole streets, when many people from the neighborhood turn out in full Easter bonnets and other costumes.
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