The Vibe

Edward Young was born in China before coming to the Richmond from Hong Kong with his parents in 1962. The Fair Housing Act was several years off. At the time, he said, his parents were regularly told by real estate agents that Asian families were not welcome in the Richmond District.

Image 795 EIGHTH AVENUE, No. 201 | A two-bedroom, one-bath condo, built in 1996 on 0.3 acres, is listed at $975,000. 408-483-1391 Credit... Peter Prato for The New York Times

“There have been so many changes,” said Mr. Young, 73, a real estate investor and retired electrical engineer who still owns several apartment buildings in the neighborhood. In the early 1960s, the Richmond was populated mainly by Russian, Jewish and Irish-American immigrants; today Asians make up close to half of its residents, according to figures compiled by city-data.com.

The area’s vibrant Asian heritage is on full display along Clement Street, which cuts through the district and in Inner Richmond becomes crowded with shops and restaurants. What it’s not crowded with, though, are tourists.

“Everybody knows about Chinatown in San Francisco, right?” said Heather Stoltz, a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway whose Irish and Norwegian family has had roots in the district since the 1800s. “When you think about where to go for authentic Chinese food or products, it’s either Chinatown or right here.”

Image 678 39th AVENUE | A three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house, built in 1924 on 0.07 acres, is listed at $1.695 million. 415-656-6779 Credit... Peter Prato for The New York Times

Sarah Bacon, 47, who owns a vegan cafe in the neighborhood and manages a local blog, richmondsfblog.com, says the mix of cultures in the Richmond is one of her favorite things about life there. “From both a resident perspective and a restaurant perspective, the Richmond District is very ethnically diverse,” she said. “You can always find something interesting in the Richmond District, but it’s definitely not pretentious. Some areas have really nice real estate, but it has working-class roots and the overall vibe is very down to earth.”