West Portal is a small neighborhood in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. West Portal is a primarily residential area of the City. The neighborhood's main corridor, West Portal Avenue, serves as a principal

shopping district A shopping street or shopping district is a designated road or quarter of a city/town that is composed of individual retail establishments (such as stores, boutiques, restaurants, and shopping complexes). Such areas will typically be pedest ...

of southwestern San Francisco.

Location

West Portal is located at the southern edge of the hills in central San Francisco. The neighborhood is named for the western terminus of the Muni tunnel beneath

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...

that opened in 1918. The ride in the subway from West Portal Station to Castro Station is about seven minutes. By the West Portal Station, the

L Taraval The L Taraval is a light rail line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California, mainly serving the Parkside District. The line is currently suspended and replaced by buses through the end of 2024 for a road improvement project along T ...

goes west along Ulloa Street, and the

K Ingleside The K Ingleside is a light rail line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. It mainly serves the West Portal and Ingleside neighborhoods. The line opened on February 3, 1918, and was the first line to use the Twin Peaks Tunnel ...

and the M Ocean View go south along West Portal Avenue. The neighborhood is served by the and Muni bus lines.

Characteristics

Because of its small size and collection of

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stores, restaurants, and saloons, the neighborhood is often described as having a village-like atmosphere. The neighborhood is served by the West Portal Branch of the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as '' Library Journals ...

. Like Glen Park, West Portal is a San Francisco community that almost functions as a small city itself. Though small, the neighborhood has many banks, restaurants of many types, coffee shops, salons, post office, elementary school, drug stores, bakeries, ice cream shops, real estate agents, and spas. West Portal Avenue is dotted with locally owned and operated businesses which include a book store, toy and craft store, produce market, candy shop, and hardware store. West Portal Avenue also has many professional services such as dentists, lawyers, accountants, optometrists, and urgent care facilities. The frequent fog helps keep the area green in the usually rainless summer months, and on a clear day, West Portal Park, above the Twin Peaks Tunnel, provides a view of the Marin Headlands and the Farallon Islands in the

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Transit

The neighborhood is served by the Muni train lines L Taraval, M Ocean View, S Shuttle, K Ingleside and T Third Street.

References

{{Neighborhoods of San Francisco Neighborhoods in San Francisco Shopping districts and streets in the United States Streetcar suburbs