“Lombard Street is an east-west street in San Francisco, California. Lombard Street is best known for the one-way section on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, in which the roadway has eight sharp turns (or switchbacks) that have earned the street the distinction of being the crookedest street in the world. The switchback's design, first suggested by property owner Carl Henry and instituted in 1922, was born out of necessity in order to reduce the hill's natural 27% grade, which was too steep for most vehicles to climb. It is also a serious hazard to pedestrians, who are accustomed to a more reasonable sixteen-degree incline. The crooked section of the street, which is about 1/4 mile (400 m) long, is reserved for one-way traffic traveling east (downhill) and is paved with red bricks. The speed limit in this section is 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)”. – Wikipedia

An electric car makes its way down the famous “crooked street” otherwise known as Lombard Street on June 4, 2005 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

Colored squares decorate Lombard Street as kids play the world's largest game of Candyland August 19, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)