From empty lots to buzzing neighborhood: See how Hayes Valley has transformed over a decade

2007: Hayes Valley, between Fell and Oak streets A parking lot occupies a large chunk of the block. 2007: Hayes Valley, between Fell and Oak streets A parking lot occupies a large chunk of the block. Photo: Screen Capture Google Maps Photo: Screen Capture Google Maps Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close From empty lots to buzzing neighborhood: See how Hayes Valley has transformed over a decade 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

From its Gold Rush days to the tech boom of today, San Francisco is a city that's always changing — sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.

Many neighborhoods look almost nothing like they did 20, 30, 40 years ago, and in the past decade, Hayes Valley has seen one of the biggest transformations. (See the change in the gallery of images from now and 10 years ago.)

It all started when a group of locals convinced the city to tear down a portion of the Central Freeway crossing over Market Street, which was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

When the structure dividing this district adjacent to City Hall was torn down in 2003, it left a half-mile stretch of empty land, a blank canvas for urban planners and architects.

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Hayes evolved from a disjointed, gritty neighborhood of scattered shops and run-down Victorians into a hip, urban spot where the bars and cafes are always buzzing with activity.

Gleaming modern mixed-use buildings sprouted up in empty lots, providing more housing and more retail space for the chocolate makers, ceramicists, chefs and clothing designers who gravitate to the area.

The main drag of Hayes Street is now lined with upscale boutiques where you can buy a pair of $300 shoes, a box of authentic French macarons, or a set of dishes thrown on a potter's wheel. There's a German beer garden called Biergarten where you can order a sausage served in a pretzel knot bun, and the French brasserie Absinthe with perfectly crafted cocktails.

At the center of it all is a small strip-of-a-park known as Patricia's Green, where folks gather with their Blue Bottle coffee cups and cones of Smitten Ice Cream in hand. Kids crawl all over a spider-web shaped play structure and there's a rotating display of sculptures, often pieces that were at Burning Man. The freeway once ran over this narrow stretch of grass, and the park is aptly named after Patricia Walkup who led the effort to tear down the freeway.