San Francisco Neighborhoods · Presidio Heights
Presidio Heights
also Presidio Terrace areaTransition zoneA hushed, tree-lined enclave of grand mansions and a discreet, upscale Sacramento Street, where old San Francisco money lives quietly at the edge of the Presidio.
- Stately mansions, leafy streets
- Boutique Sacramento St shopping
- Steps from the Presidio
- Quiet, safe, and central
On the map
Open Presidio Heights on the map →The story
Presidio Heights takes its name from its perch on the high ground beside the Presidio army post. The district filled in during the early 1900s, accelerating after the 1906 earthquake and fire as prosperous families rebuilt west of the ruined downtown. Its centerpiece, Presidio Terrace, was a master-planned community begun in 1905 by developers Baldwin & Howell, with thirty-six lots on a single private oval street.
Things most people don’t know
The $90,000 street
In 2015 a San Jose couple bought Presidio Terrace's private street at a city tax auction for about $90,100 after the homeowners association left a small annual tax bill unpaid for years. The city later voted to reverse the sale.
A gated private oval
Presidio Terrace is a single circular private street ringed by mansions. It was among the first San Francisco developments with underground utilities and electric street lights, unusual luxuries for the early 1900s.
Temple Emanu-El's dome
The neighborhood's skyline is anchored by Congregation Emanu-El, completed in 1926. Its massive red-tiled dome was inspired by Istanbul's Hagia Sophia and remains one of the city's landmark houses of worship.
Michelin on Sacramento St
For a quiet residential district, the dining is serious. Spruce and Sorrel have both earned Michelin recognition, drawing diners from across the city to a few low-key blocks.
The Presidio at the doorstep
Residents step almost directly into the Presidio, a former military base turned national park. Its forests, trails, and bay overlooks form a vast green backyard along the neighborhood's northern edge.
Eating and drinking
Bars
- Spruce Bar · 3640 Sacramento St
- Scopo Divino · 2800 California St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. The 1 California trolleybus is the workhorse, running along Sacramento and California streets east to downtown and west toward the Richmond. The 33 Ashbury/18th and 43 Masonic add north–south connections via Presidio Avenue.
Nearest hospital. UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus, 505 Parnassus Ave (about 1.6 mi)
Thinking about Presidio Heights?
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.