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Cow Hollow, San Francisco: Union Street, Homes & Real Estate Guide

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Cow Hollow is the sloping neighborhood between the Marina and Pacific Heights, roughly from Lombard Street up to Green Street and from the Presidio east to Van Ness Avenue, with Union Street as its main street. Its housing is a mix of Victorian and Edwardian houses, flat buildings and small apartment buildings, and its name comes from the cows that once grazed in the valley.

In the San Francisco Association of Realtors’ MLS map Cow Hollow is subdistrict 7D, part of SF District 7. Neighborhood groups do not all agree on the edges: some treat the western blocks as Golden Gate Valley, and the Cow Hollow Association claims some streets that others call Pacific Heights. This guide uses the MLS definition; our San Francisco guide covers the neighborhoods around it.

Cow Hollow homes for sale

Cow Hollow market report

Union Street: a commercial district inside a residential neighborhood

Union Street is zoned as its own Neighborhood Commercial District, the Union Street NCD, which Planning maps along the street through the middle of Cow Hollow. Its storefronts include older houses and flats whose ground floors have been turned over to shops, salons and restaurants, often with apartments or offices above.

For a buyer, living a block off Union means walkable errands and a busier street at night. For an owner of a mixed-use building on Union itself, the NCD controls govern which uses can occupy the ground floor, so check Planning’s rules before you assume a retail space can become a residence or the reverse.

Fillmore Street crosses Union and adds a second, shorter commercial stretch. The Metro Theater at 2055 Union Street, a 1924 movie house, is City Landmark No. 261.

The houses and flats: older than the Marina

Cow Hollow was built up earlier than the filled land to its north. It has some of the oldest designated houses on the northside, including the Octagon House (1861) and the Casebolt House (1865), and the typical block mixes single-family Victorians and Edwardians with two- and three-unit flats and a few larger apartment buildings.

Building	Landmark No.	Address	Built
Octagon House (Colonial Dames)	17	2645 Gough Street	1861
Casebolt House	51	2727 Pierce Street	1865
Sherman House	49	2160 Green Street	1876
North End Police Station and Garage	218	2475 Greenwich Street	1912
Golden Gate Valley Carnegie Library	300	1801 Green Street	1918
Metro Theater	261	2055 Union Street	1924

The Assessor’s 2024 roll for subdistrict 7D counts about 480 single dwellings, about 450 flats-and-duplex parcels and about 1,060 condominium parcels (one per unit), plus roughly 220 apartment buildings of five or more units and about 70 flat-and-store buildings, a mixed-use type found on commercial streets such as Union.

Owners of houses this old should expect questions about foundations, original framing and past alterations. Our Victorian and Edwardian homes guide lists what inspectors typically look for.

How Cow Hollow is zoned

Planning’s zoning layer shows RH-2, the two-family house district, as the most common designation on the residential blocks, with RH-1, RH-3, RM-1 and RM-2 parcels mixed in. Besides the Union Street NCD, Lombard Street carries NC-3 moderate-scale commercial zoning, and a few parcels are RC-3, a residential-commercial district.

RTO-C transit-oriented parcels also appear. The Family Zoning Plan, in effect since January 12, 2026, focuses added height on major transit and commercial streets, which in Cow Hollow points to the commercial corridors rather than the RH-2 side streets; the parcel map is the final word.

An RH-2 lot permits two units as a base, and state law allows accessory dwelling units on many residential lots. If you are buying a single-family house with an eye to a second unit, have an architect read the parcel’s zoning and any historic status before you count on it.

Ground conditions vary block by block

Cow Hollow sits between the filled Marina and the Pacific Heights ridge, and its ground is mixed. Planning’s copy of the state seismic hazard maps shows liquefaction-zone polygons reaching into parts of Cow Hollow on both its western and eastern sides, while other blocks lie outside any zone.

The practical step is the same as in the Marina: look up the exact parcel on the state’s EQ Zapp or Planning’s Property Information Map and read the Natural Hazard Disclosure. A zone designation triggers a soils study for new construction and certain additions, and a disclosure when the property sells; it does not by itself say anything about the condition of a particular house.

Older flat and apartment buildings of five or more units may fall under the city’s Mandatory Soft Story Program, and most multi-unit buildings from before June 1979 are covered by the Rent Ordinance. Our hazard maps guide covers the flood and seismic lookups in one place.

Transit and the U.S. 101 corridor

The 45 Union/Stockton is Cow Hollow’s own line: it runs on Union Street from its terminal at Lyon and Greenwich east to North Beach, downtown and the Caltrain depot, daily from about 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. The 22 Fillmore crosses the neighborhood on Fillmore, Broadway, Steiner and Union Streets toward the Western Addition and the Mission.

The 30 Stockton on Chestnut Street and the 43 Masonic are a few blocks north in the Marina, and the 49 Van Ness/Mission runs on Van Ness Avenue at the eastern edge. There is no BART or Muni Metro station.

Lombard Street and Van Ness Avenue together form the U.S. 101 corridor to the Golden Gate Bridge. That is convenient for drivers heading to Marin and a factor for houses that front Lombard or sit on the cross streets that feed it.

Selling a home in Cow Hollow

Buyers here usually shortlist Cow Hollow alongside the Marina and the lower blocks of Pacific Heights, so the comparison is less about the neighborhood and more about the property’s position: distance from Union and Lombard, slope and view, parking, and whether it is a house, a flat or a condo.

Explain the position. Note street noise and how the bedrooms are oriented if the house is on or near Union, Fillmore or Lombard. Buyers will visit at night either way.
Show the alterations. Many Cow Hollow houses were enlarged or converted over a century. Pull the Department of Building Inspection permit history and the 3R report early so the legal unit count is settled before buyers ask.
Disclose the ground. If the parcel is in a liquefaction zone, the disclosure will show it; have any foundation or retrofit records ready to put it in context.
Know the ownership form. Many two- and three-unit buildings are condominiums or tenancies in common, and the buyer’s lender will look closely at the documents; see our guides to condos and TICs.

The city’s own items, including the 3R report, the energy and water inspection and the transfer tax, are explained in San Francisco seller requirements. For a mixed-use building on Union Street, also gather commercial leases and any Planning approvals for the ground-floor use.

Questions people ask

Why is it called Cow Hollow?

The name comes from the cows that once grazed in the valley, before it was built up with houses.

Is Union Street in Cow Hollow or Pacific Heights?

Under the MLS definition, Union Street is in Cow Hollow (7D); Pacific Heights begins at Green Street. Some neighborhood groups draw the boundary differently.

Is Cow Hollow in a liquefaction zone?

Parts of it are. Planning’s version of the state map shows zones reaching into some Cow Hollow blocks while others are outside, so check the specific parcel.

Can I open a business in a Union Street building?

Permitted uses depend on the Union Street NCD controls and the specific space. Planning’s zoning rules and the building’s permitted use history decide what is allowed.

Which Muni lines serve Cow Hollow?

The 45 Union/Stockton runs on Union Street and the 22 Fillmore crosses on Fillmore and Union; the 30 Stockton and 43 Masonic are a few blocks north, and the 49 Van Ness/Mission runs on Van Ness Avenue.

Is Cow Hollow mostly houses or condos?

Both. The side streets are mostly houses and two- to three-unit flat buildings zoned RH-2, and many of the flats are owned as condominiums or TICs.

Thinking about selling a Cow Hollow house or flat? Ask for a home valuation that compares it with the right Cow Hollow, Marina and Pacific Heights sales, or read how we approach a San Francisco sale.

Sources & notes

Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.