Lombard Street 'crookedest street' claim

The one-block, eight-hairpin-turn section of Lombard Street between Hyde and Leavenworth is widely billed as the "crookedest street in the world," a tourist superlative that became part of San Francisco’s identity. The designation is a local promotional claim rather than an objective measurement; other streets globally have sharper switchbacks or more curves, and the Lombard block was engineered in 1922 to reduce the hill’s steepness for vehicles. The block remains a heavily visited residential street known for its brick paving and landscaped switchbacks.