San Francisco Neighborhoods · University Mound
University Mound
Fog zoneA quiet, sun-touched hillside in the city's southeast where single-family homes climb toward a giant reservoir, and the diverse, working-class Portola flatlands hum just downhill on San Bruno Avenue.
- Calm, residential streets of single-family homes
- Steps from the Portola's diverse San Bruno Ave eats
- Minutes from sprawling McLaren Park
- Deep, layered local history
On the map
Open University Mound on the map →The story
The name dates to 1859, when Rev. George Burrowes founded University College (also called City College) and acquired hilltop land here by 1862, intending a grand campus that was never built; the surrounding streets were laid out and named for schools and educators. Crowning the hill is the University Mound Reservoir, an SFPUC facility holding about 140 million gallons that supplies roughly a quarter of San Francisco's tap water, second in size only to the Sunset Reservoir. Just downhill, the adjacent Portola earned the nickname the 'Garden District,' its slopes once dense with commercial greenhouses and nurseries that grew much of the city's flower crop. The University Mound Ladies Home, founded in 1884 with money from philanthropist James Lick, gave single women of modest means a place to live for 130 years before closing in 2014. The area filled in with modest single-family homes through the 20th century into the diverse, working-class neighborhood it is today.
Things most people don’t know
140 million gallons
The University Mound Reservoir atop the hill holds about 140 million gallons and supplies roughly a quarter of San Francisco's tap water, second only to the Sunset Reservoir.
The university that never was
The neighborhood is named for University College, founded in 1859, which acquired land here by 1862 for a campus that was ultimately never built.
McLaren Park next door
John McLaren Park, one of the largest parks in San Francisco, spreads out just to the west.
The Garden District
The neighboring Portola was long called the Garden District for the greenhouses and flower nurseries that once blanketed its hillsides.
130 years of refuge
The University Mound Ladies Home, endowed by James Lick and opened in 1884, housed women of modest means until it closed in 2014.
Eating and drinking near University Mound
University Mound is primarily residential — these sit in the Portola.
Restaurants
- Breakfast at Tiffany's · 2499 San Bruno Ave
- Banh Mi House · 2701 San Bruno Ave
Bars
- El Toro Night Club · 2470 San Bruno Ave
Getting around and getting care
Transit. Muni buses serve the area via the 9 San Bruno and 9R San Bruno Rapid along San Bruno Avenue, plus the 8 Bayshore, 29 Sunset, and 54 Felton. Bayshore Caltrain is a short ride east.
Nearest hospital. Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, 1001 Potrero Ave (about 3 mi)
Thinking about University Mound?
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.