San Francisco Neighborhoods · Ingleside Terraces
Ingleside Terraces
Persistent Fog zoneA foggy 1910s residence park built on a vanished racetrack, where curving streets and a giant marble sundial keep time over blocks of stately homes.
- Giant outdoor Sundial
- Oval racetrack street
- 1910s residence park
- Pure residential calm
On the map
Open Ingleside Terraces on the map →The story
Built around 1910–1911 by Joseph A. Leonard's Urban Realty Improvement Company on the site of the former Ingleside Racetrack (1895–1905), once the last horse-racing venue in San Francisco. Leonard reimagined the land as a planned residence park of single-family homes with curving, landscaped streets. The oval Urbano Drive traces the exact loop of the old track, and a massive sundial, dedicated in 1913 as a marketing stunt, became the neighborhood's lasting landmark.
Things most people don’t know
One of the world's largest sundials
The Ingleside Terraces Sundial, dedicated October 10, 1913, stands about 28 feet tall in marble and concrete on Entrada Court. Promoted as the largest in the world at the time, some 1,500 people attended its unveiling.
Streets shaped like a racetrack
The oval Urbano Drive is laid out exactly along the loop of the old Ingleside Racetrack, so residents today live around the curve of a vanished horse-racing course.
A planned residence park
Laid out as a self-contained residence park, the neighborhood was given curving streets, generous lots, gates, and entry monuments to attract upper-income buyers in the early 1910s.
Purely residential
There are no shops or restaurants inside Ingleside Terraces itself — it is almost entirely single-family homes; daily errands happen a few blocks north on Ocean Avenue.
The tunnel sealed the deal
The development was timed to benefit from the Twin Peaks Tunnel streetcar line, which promised fast, clean transit to downtown for buyers settling these outer blocks.
Eating and drinking near Ingleside Terraces
Ingleside Terraces is primarily residential — these sit in Ocean Avenue.
Restaurants
- Beep's Burgers · 1051 Ocean Ave
- Sakesan Sushi & Robata · 1400 Ocean Ave
- Pakwan Restaurant · 1140 Ocean Ave
Bars
- Ocean Ale House · 1314 Ocean Ave
Getting around and getting care
Transit. The K Ingleside runs along Ocean Avenue at the northern edge; the 49 and 29 buses connect nearby, and Balboa Park BART is a short hop east.
Nearest hospital. UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus, 505 Parnassus Ave (about 4 mi)
Thinking about Ingleside Terraces?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.