REPOST
In 1889 a father of the bride was arrested in Noe Valley for aggressively threatening to shoot the groom. But other than this sensationaled story, Noe Valley has always been a relatively quiet community, making it a desirable location for young house-buyers. It is named after Jose de Jesus Noe (1805-1862), a 19th century rancher who, in 1845, was gifted what is today the Castro, Glen Park, Diamond Heights and Noe Valley districts when California was under Mexican rule. Noe was the last Mexican alcalde (mayor) before California became part of the United States. He named his 4,443 acres of land Rancho San Miguel, and his house was located at the corner of 23rd and Douglass. In 1854 he sold what is now Noe Valley to John Meir Horner, a Mormon immigrant who, with his brother William, created an urbanized neighborhood with a toll road that connected Noe Valley to Upper Market Street[1] and the Pacific Ocean. Irish immigrants originally settled there, opening boarding houses and dairy farms. After the 1906 Earthquake and Fires[2], a surge of San Franciscans relocated to Noe Valley because the district had been untouched by the fires. Today it has the highest concentration of row houses of Victorian and Edwardian design in the City. Because Twin Peaks shelters the neighborhood from the fog and cool breezes that come off the ocean, Noe Valley is usually sunnier and warmer than other parts of the City. Laidley Street is the site of an annual July 4th Parade and there are two bustling commercial strips: one on 24th and one on Church.
At the heart of Noe Valley is St. Paul’s Church, located at the corner of Valley and Church. The original church and rectory were built in 1880 and immediately served 200 families. In 1897, when parishionership outgrew church capacity, construction of the structure that remains today began. It took 14 years to complete because of the pay-as-you-go financial arrangement that the parish had with contractors. It was finally dedicated on May 29, 1911. The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake[3] caused severe damage to the church and the San Francisco Archdiocese considered closing it and selling the land. But by selling some of its adjacent buildings, there was enough money to seismically retrofit St. Paul’s. It was the location for the movie Sister Act, and was spotlighted in an episode of the TV series Streets of San Francisco[4].
