This Week's Top Stories

arts

Illuminate's 'Grace Window' Turns Nob Hill Into a Light Show — Final Night Is Tonight

Twenty-five laser cannons have fired nightly from the Fairmont's roof straight into Grace Cathedral's Rose Window all week; the free installation closes after midnight tonight.

For five nights running, Nob Hill has served as the canvas for one of the city's most dramatic public-art installations. Illuminate — the San Francisco nonprofit behind the Bay Lights on the Bay Bridge — returned to Grace Cathedral September 21 through 25 with Grace Window, directing 25 Laser Space Cannons from the roof of The Fairmont San Francisco roughly 720 feet across the neighborhood, over Huntington Park and the Pacific Union Club, into all 25 panels of the cathedral's historic Rose Window.

real-estate

Two Russian Hill Apartment Buildings Sell for $6.25 Million After More Than 50 Years in One Family

A pair of Union Street multifamily properties that had never been publicly listed traded to a single buyer this week in one of the neighborhood's rarest ownership transfers in decades.

Two adjacent apartment buildings on Union Street in Russian Hill changed hands September 24 for a combined $6.25 million — the first time either property had come to market in more than half a century. Marcus & Millichap arranged the transaction, bringing the 11-unit portfolio to market as a single package after it had been held by the same family for more than 50 years.

business

Fitness SF's New Polk Gulch Gym Is Opening This Fall at the Long-Vacant Lombardi Sports Building

The locally owned chain is bringing its ninth location to 1600 Jackson Street — a former sporting-goods store that sat empty for more than a decade — with free parking, group classes, and a full recovery suite.

After more than a decade of vacancy, the former Lombardi Sports building at 1600 Jackson Street — at the corner of Polk and Jackson in Polk Gulch — is set to reopen this fall as the ninth location of Fitness SF, the locally owned San Francisco gym chain. The company confirmed the opening is scheduled for fall 2026 and that founding memberships are now on sale ahead of a public grand opening.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, September 25

Grace Window at Grace Cathedral — Final Night

📍 Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street, Nob Hill · 8:00 PM · Verify · Grace Cathedral

Saturday, September 26

Nob Hill Association Movie Night: The Sound of Music

📍 Huntington Park, between Taylor and California Streets, Nob Hill · 7:00 PM · Verify · Nob Hill Association

Thursday, October 1

Lower Polk / Tenderloin First Thursday Art Walk

📍 Lower Polk / Gulch Corridor, San Francisco · 6:00 PM · Verify · Funcheap SF

Friday, October 9

BeChinatown Night Market — Final Date of the 2026 Season

📍 Grant Avenue, California to Pacific, Chinatown · 5:00 PM · Verify · Funcheap SF

Monday, October 12

Bruma Opens at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco

📍 The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, 600 Stockton Street, Nob Hill · Verify · Hoodline

More from the Community

Portsmouth Square Construction Is Underway — and Nearby Chinatown Merchants Are Struggling

Construction on the $73 million renovation of Portsmouth Square — long called Chinatown's living room — broke ground in June 2026 and is expected to keep the historic plaza closed for roughly…

Ritz-Carlton Nob Hill Announces 'Bruma,' a Fog-Inspired Cocktail Lounge, Opening October 12

The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco announced on September 9 that it will open Bruma, a new 80-seat cocktail lounge and salon, inside the hotel's historic 1909 Neoclassical building at 600 Stockton Street on…

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