San Francisco Neighborhoods · South Beach
South Beach
Sun zoneSan Francisco's waterfront ballpark village — Bay Bridge views, a yacht-filled harbor, and Giants energy wrapped around Oracle Park.
- Steps from Oracle Park
- Waterfront promenade
- Bay Bridge views
- Ferry & Muni access
On the map
Open South Beach on the map →The story
Once a working stretch of industrial piers, rail yards, and warehouses along China Basin, South Beach spent more than a century as a blue-collar waterfront. Redevelopment began in the 1980s, anchored by the South Beach Harbor marina, which opened in 1986 on Port of San Francisco land. The neighborhood's transformation accelerated when the Giants broke ground for a new ballpark at Third and King in 1997. Pacific Bell Park opened on April 11, 2000 (later SBC Park, AT&T Park, and now Oracle Park), turning the sleepy district into a dense neighborhood of condos, restaurants, and bars. Today it blends marina living, waterfront parks, and game-day crowds.
Things most people don’t know
A privately financed ballpark
Oracle Park opened April 11, 2000 at Third and King as Pacific Bell Park — the first privately financed Major League ballpark since Dodger Stadium in 1962.
McCovey Cove
The slice of San Francisco Bay beyond Oracle Park's right-field wall is nicknamed McCovey Cove, where kayakers wait to fish out home-run 'splash hits.'
A 700-slip harbor
South Beach Harbor, built in 1986 between Pier 40 and the ballpark, holds about 700 slips on concrete docks just half a mile south of the Bay Bridge.
Cupid's Span
The 60-foot bow-and-arrow sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen was installed in 2002 at Rincon Park on the Embarcadero, framing the waterfront's Bay Bridge views.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- MoMo's · 760 2nd St
- Marlowe · 500 Brannan St
- Town's End Brunch · 2 Townsend St
- Red's Java House · Pier 30, The Embarcadero
Bars
- Candlestick Park Sports Bar · 747 3rd St
- Hi Dive · Pier 28 1/2, The Embarcadero
Getting around and getting care
Transit. Muni Metro N-Judah stops at 2nd & King beside Oracle Park; the T-Third/Central Subway stops at 4th & King. The F-Market historic streetcar runs the Embarcadero, and Caltrain terminates at 4th & King.
Nearest hospital. Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, 1001 Potrero Ave (about 2 mi)
Thinking about South Beach?
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.