Tendernob

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The Tendernob (or TenderNob) is an area in San Francisco, California that acts as a buffer between the affluent Nob Hill area to the north and the much seedier Tenderloin to the south. The name is a portmanteau word.

The neighborhood is rarely mentioned on maps and the name is often used in conjunction with such terms as Lower Nob Hill when trying to describe the area. It is difficult to define an actual boundary as this has changed greatly over the years. Up until the 1990's and the dot-com boom, the neighborhood was largely non-existent. The influx of new money and a tight housing crunch caused the a great many people to move in to the area, thus pushing the boundaries further.

The area is lumped in with Nob Hill or the Tenderloin depending on the application. For instance, the San Francisco Chronicle includes the Tendernob in with Nob Hill but the Michelin Guide expands its definition of Nob Hill to the extent that there is no transition from Nob Hill to the Tenderloin.

[edit] Popular culture

The Tendernob is the setting for Dashiel Hammett's Sam Spade character's apartment. Additionally, it was also the location of Kim Novak's apartment in the Empire Hotel (in reality, the York Hotel) at 940 Sutter Street for the movie Vertigo.