Lombard Street's Crooked Block (Russian Hill)

A one-block section of Lombard Street at Russian Hill features eight tight hairpin turns built in 1922 to reduce the steepness of the hill and improve vehicle access. This one-block, heavily landscaped zigzag has been widely promoted as the "crookedest" street in the world, though other streets sometimes contest that title. The block is a distinctive geomorphological adaptation of an urban street grid to San Francisco's steep topography and is a frequent subject of traffic management and erosion-control measures.