2592 UNITED STATES (California) - Lombard Street in San Francisco

Named after Lombard Street in Philadelphia by San Francisco surveyor Jasper O'Farrell, Lombard Street is an east-west street in San Francisco, that is famous for a steep, one-block section with eight hairpin turns, being considered the crookedest street in the world. Its west end is at Presidio Boulevard inside The Presidio; it then heads east through the Cow Hollow neighborhood. For twelve blocks is an arterial road, and continues through the Russian Hill neighborhood and to the Telegraph Hill neighborhood. At Telegraph Hill it turns south, becoming Telegraph Hill Boulevard to Pioneer Park and Coit Tower. Lombard Street starts again at Winthrop Street and ends at The Embarcadero as a collector road.

The design with the eight sharp turns was first suggested by property owner Carl Henry and built in 1922, to reduce the hill's natural 27% grade, which was too steep for most vehicles. It is also a hazard to pedestrians, who are accustomed to shallow inclines, up to 4.86° because of wheel chair navigability concerns. The crooked block is perhaps 180m long (125.7m straightline), is one-way (downhill) and is paved with red bricks. The sign at the top recommends 8 km/h. The Powell-Hyde cable car stops at the top of the block on Hyde Street.

About the stamps
The first stamp is part of a definitive series with butterflies, about which I wrote here. The last stamp is part of the series Harry Potter, about which I wrote here.

References
Lombard Street (San Francisco)  - Wikipedia

Sender: Denise 
Sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 21.01.2014
Photo: Ken Glaserr Jr.