San Francisco Neighborhoods · Parkside
Parkside
also the Outer SunsetFog zoneThe outer Sunset's foggy, family-anchored southern half — mile after mile of pastel 1930s row houses, a working Main Street on Taraval, and big green breathing room at Stern Grove and the city's western edge.
- L-Taraval streetcar down Main Street
- Stern Grove's free summer concerts
- A real neighborhood dining strip
- Steps from the Zoo, Stern Grove and Ocean Beach
On the map
Open Parkside on the map →The story
Parkside began in 1905 when a syndicate quietly bought former Outside Lands dunes from the Adolph Sutro estate and others to launch a new residential subdivision centered on Taraval Street. Early pioneers built on bare sand far from city services and organized the Parkside District Improvement Club in 1908 to demand them. Muni's L-Taraval streetcar opened along Taraval in 1919, opening the area to wider settlement. In the 1920s through 1940s builders like Henry Doelger, the Gellerts and the Stoneson brothers used new FHA loans to fill the dunes with rows of affordable stucco single-family homes. Though planned as its own neighborhood, Parkside is today generally considered part of the larger Sunset District.
Things most people don’t know
A century on the L
Muni's L-Taraval streetcar opened along Taraval Street in 1919 and still runs down the neighborhood's spine today.
Free concerts at Stern Grove
Sigmund Stern Grove, gifted to the city by Rosalie Stern, has hosted the nation's oldest free summer concert series since 1938.
Doelger's dunes
Builder Henry Doelger's company produced roughly 26,000 Bay Area homes, helping turn Parkside's sand dunes into rows of stucco houses.
Zoo at the edge
The San Francisco Zoo has sat at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway, just southwest of Parkside, since 1929.
Born from the dunes
A 1905 syndicate bought former Outside Lands dunes from the Adolph Sutro estate to create the Parkside subdivision around Taraval Street.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- Dumpling Kitchen · 1935 Taraval St
- Kingdom of Dumpling · 1713 Taraval St
- Taraval Okazu Ya · 1735 Taraval St
- Lou's Cafe · 1508 Taraval St
- Shin Toe Bul Yi · 2001 Taraval St
Bars
- O'Brien's Irish Pub · 1940 Taraval St
- White Cap · 3608 Taraval St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. The L-Taraval Muni Metro line runs along Taraval Street through the heart of Parkside. Buses include the 28-19th Avenue, 29-Sunset, 18-46th Avenue and 23-Monterey.
Nearest hospital. UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus, 505 Parnassus Ave (about 4 mi)
Thinking about Parkside?
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.