San Francisco Neighborhoods · St. Marys Park
St. Marys Park
also College HillFog zoneA hushed, leafy pocket of curving streets tucked on the south slope below Bernal Heights, where mid-century and earlier homes line streets famously laid out in the shape of a bell — a nod to the old St. Mary's College that once crowned this hill.
- Quiet streets with little through traffic
- A small neighborhood park at its heart
- Minutes from Cortland Ave and Mission St dining
- 14-Mission and BART put downtown within reach
On the map
Open St. Marys Park on the map →The story
The hill takes its name from St. Mary's College, founded by Roman Catholic archbishop Joseph Alemany, who bought 60 acres from Jesus Bernal for $1,600 and laid the college cornerstone on August 3, 1862. The college operated here until 1889, when it moved to Oakland and later to Moraga, leaving the area known for decades as College Hill. In 1924 the land was surveyed and opened as a residential subdivision, its streets famously platted in the shape of a bell to honor the school; Justin, Genebern, and Agnon streets were named for teaching brothers of the college. The St. Mary's Park Improvement Club, founded in 1941, has worked to preserve the neighborhood's character ever since.
Things most people don’t know
A college on the hill
Archbishop Alemany laid the cornerstone of St. Mary's College here on August 3, 1862; it stayed until 1889 before moving to Oakland and eventually Moraga.
College Hill
Because of that early college, the area was long known as College Hill, and several streets carry the names of the teaching brothers.
Streets shaped like a bell
When the subdivision opened in 1924, the curving streets were laid out in the shape of a bell as a tribute to St. Mary's College.
A park at its center
The neighborhood is organized around St. Mary's Recreation Center and park just to the east, set aside by the city in the 1920s.
An improvement club since 1941
The St. Mary's Park Improvement Club, founded in 1941, has championed the neighborhood for more than eight decades.
Eating and drinking near St. Marys Park
St. Marys Park is primarily residential — these sit in Bernal Heights, the Mission St corridor.
Restaurants
- Emmy's Spaghetti Shack · 3230 Mission St
- Black Jet Baking Co. · 833 Cortland Ave
Bars
- Wild Side West · 424 Cortland Ave
- Holy Water · 309 Cortland Ave
Getting around and getting care
Transit. 14-Mission and 14R-Mission Rapid run along nearby Mission St; the 67-Bernal Heights and 24-Divisadero connect up the hill and to Cortland Ave. Balboa Park and 24th St Mission BART stations are a short ride away.
Nearest hospital. CPMC Mission Bernal Campus, 3555 Cesar Chavez St (about 1 mi)
Thinking about St. Marys Park?
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.