Van Ness Avenue is a major street that extends from Chesar Chavez all the way to Fort Mason. It runs parallel to Mission Street in the neighborhood of the same name, intersecting the street in SoMa, and continues north in a more or less straight line between Polk and Franklin. Van Ness also travels through the Tenderloin and Pacific Heights before it peters out at the bay.

Some landmarks found along Van Ness include the Van Ness Muni station, Muni customer service center,  AMC movie theater, House of Prime Rib and Tommy's Joynt.

The street was named for James Van Ness, a San Francisco mayor of yore.