Just how colorful is San Francisco? Data reveals the most colorful neighborhoods
The results revealed the most popular colors and which neighborhoods are the most colorful
ONE OF THE MOST COLORFUL BLOCKS TO GET SOME ANSWERS. WHEN YOU THINK OF SAN FRANCISCO, WHAT COMES TO MIND? THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, LANTERNS AND CHINATOWN, THE PAINTED LADIES. SURELY SOME POP OF COLOR FILLS YOUR MIND. I WORK FOR USPS, SO I’M IN ALL OF THESE NEIGHBORHOODS ALL THE TIME, AND EVERYTHING IS SO VERY BRIGHT, VIBRANT AND CRAZY KOOKY. LIKE THERE’S SO MUCH CHARACTER NICO RENTS ON MANCHESTER STREET IN SAN FRANCISCO’S BERNAL HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD. THE BLOCK HE LIVES ON BETWEEN BESSIE AND STONEMAN IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST COLORFUL BLOCKS IN THE CITY, ACCORDING TO SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE DATA. SO IT’S KIND OF MIND BLOWING THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST COLORFUL, VIBRANT NEIGHBORHOODS. SO I FEEL A LITTLE BIT PROUD. IT’S A STREET LINED WITH DARK AND PASTEL GREENS, BLUES WITH YELLOW TRIM, AND BROWNISH REDS. WE SAW THIS AND WE WERE LIKE, OH, IT LOOKS LIKE A WES ANDERSON HOUSE. HONESTLY, BECAUSE JUST LIKE THE COLOR SCHEME. BUT HOMES LIKE JENNIFER AKUZAWA SAYS WEREN’T ALWAYS SO COLORFUL. I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THE BEAUTIFUL, ELABORATE PAINTED LADIES, THE OLD VICTORIANS THAT NOW ARE PAINTED IN SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT DIFFERENT COLORS, THAT THAT’S THE TRADITIONAL PAINT JOB. AND IT’S REALLY NOT. THESE HOMES WERE PAINTED MUTED COLORS THAT WERE MEANT TO EVOKE THE CITIES OF STONE IN THE NORTHEAST. THE OLD VICTORIAN HOMES THE CITY IS KNOWN FOR WERE CONSIDERED CHEAP HOUSES. BUT IN THE 60S AND 70S, THE COUNTERCULTURE MOVEMENT BROUGHT COLOR TO SAN FRANCISCO’S STREETS. I THINK OF SAN FRANCISCO AS A PLACE THAT IS WELCOMING, THAT IS DIVERSE, THAT ENCOURAGES ART AND FREE EXPRESSION, AND HOMES ARE PART OF THAT. TO QUANTIFY JUST HOW COLORFUL THE CITY IS, SARAH FELDBERG TEAMED UP WITH CHRONICLE DATA VISUALIZATION DEVELOPER NAOMI SUMIDA. SO WE BUILT AN AI, A CUSTOM AI TOOL, AND FOR EACH HOME IT FOUND A GOOGLE STREET VIEW PHOTO OF THAT HOME. AND THE AI WOULD LOOK AT THE PHOTO AND PULL OUT THE THE DOMINANT COLOR OF THE FACADE OF THE HOME. WHAT THEY FOUND IS THAT ABOUT 30% OF HOMES IN SAN FRANCISCO ARE CONSIDERED COLORFUL. FOR COMPARISON, JUST 15% OF HOMES IN HOUSTON, TEXAS ARE CONSIDERED COLORFUL. THE DATA REVEALED THE MOST POPULAR COLORS ARE BLUE AND GREEN, AND ALONG WITH BERNAL HEIGHTS, SOME OF THE MOST COLORFUL NEIGHBORHOODS ARE HAYES VALLEY AND VISITACION VALLEY. BUT AS YOU’LL QUICKLY LEARN, WALKING AROUND MANCHESTER STREET, IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT’S ON THE OUTSIDE THAT MAKES THE NEIGHBORHOOD BRIGHT. IT’S THE PEOPLE INSIDE THE HOMES CREATING A COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, IT KIND OF LENDS ITSELF TO BEING MORE ECLECTIC, BEING A LITTLE BIT FUNKIER OR A LITTLE BIT MORE VIVACIOUS IN YOUR CHOICES. I THINK PEOPLE FEEL KIND OF AN EASE AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION WI
Hearst TV Multimedia Journalist
San Francisco is colorful. From the Golden Gate Bridge to lanterns in Chinatown and bright Victorians found on nearly every street. Chronicle reporters took it upon themselves to create a custom artificial intelligence tool to analyze the colors of more than 100,000 homes in the city. The results revealed the most popular colors (blue and green) and which neighborhoods are the most colorful (Bernal Heights, Visitacion Valley and Hayes Valley). The data also helped reporters pin down one of the most colorful blocks in the city: Manchester Street between Bessie and Stoneman. The people who live along the block were shocked to find out their homes contributed to the color of San Francisco in a significant way. Niko Hopson, who rents on Manchester Street, said the designation makes him proud.”I work for USPS, so I’m in all these neighborhoods all the time, and everything is so very bright, vibrant and crazy, kooky. There’s so much character, and so it’s kind of mind-blowing that this is one of the most colorful, vibrant neighborhoods,” Hopson said. “I think people feel kind of an ease and freedom of expression with their housing and then also with themselves.”See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SAN FRANCISCO —
San Francisco is colorful. From the Golden Gate Bridge to lanterns in Chinatown and bright Victorians found on nearly every street.
Chronicle reporters took it upon themselves to create a custom artificial intelligence tool to analyze the colors of more than 100,000 homes in the city. The results revealed the most popular colors (blue and green) and which neighborhoods are the most colorful (Bernal Heights, Visitacion Valley and Hayes Valley).
The data also helped reporters pin down one of the most colorful blocks in the city: Manchester Street between Bessie and Stoneman.
Sarah McGrew, Hearst TV
Manchester Street, between Bessie and Stoneman, in San Francisco’s Bernal Height’s Neighborhood is one of the most colorful in the city according to S.F. Chronicle data.
The people who live along the block were shocked to find out their homes contributed to the color of San Francisco in a significant way. Niko Hopson, who rents on Manchester Street, said the designation makes him proud.
“I work for USPS, so I’m in all these neighborhoods all the time, and everything is so very bright, vibrant and crazy, kooky. There’s so much character, and so it’s kind of mind-blowing that this is one of the most colorful, vibrant neighborhoods,” Hopson said. “I think people feel kind of an ease and freedom of expression with their housing and then also with themselves.”
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel