Buena Vista Park is a park in the Haight-Ashbury and Buena Vista Heights neighborhoods of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the oldest official park in San Francisco, established in 1867 as Hill Park and renamed Buena Vista in 1894. It is bounded by Haight Street to the north, and by Buena Vista Avenue West and Buena Vista Avenue East. The park is on a steep hill that peaks at 575 feet (175 m), and covers 37 acres (150,000 m²). The lowest section is the north end along Haight. The layout of the park uses the steep hill to great advantage, offering excellent views of the city (particularly to the north) as well as impressive natural beauty. Muni bus lines 6, 7, 66, and 71 pass Buena Vista directly north along Haight. The 37 passes along the ridge at the south end. The 43, 33, and 24 come within a few blocks. The N Judah runs through the Sunset Tunnel, which is directly below the park. The park, with its thick foliage and secluded pathways, has long been known as a nighttime "cruising ground" for gay men, who meet in the park for anonymous sexual encounters.
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Specific points of interest
- The hill is composed primarily of sand and San Francisco chert, formed in the Mesozoic period.
- At the peak of the park is a small lawn offering views to the east, north, and west, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands. Other excellent views are available from various lookouts lower down, including "The Window," an overlook on the western side of the hill from which there is a sweeping vista of Golden Gate Park, the Pacific Ocean, and, on clear days, northward up the coast to the white cliffs of Drake's Beach.
- The east side of the slope is particularly notable for a group of majestic trees that are believed to date from the park's inception.
- The paths along the west side are lined with gutters built by WPA workers out of broken headstones from the City's Victorian cemeteries at Lone Mountain (i.e. Laurel Heights), which were moved to Colma in 1930s.[1] In a few cases the inscriptions were placed facing up and can be discerned (Cf. the Wave Organ).
- Across the street from the south side of the park is 355 Buena Vista East, an architecturally memorable building which appears briefly in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. The building, constructed in 1928 as St. Joseph's Hospital, has been converted to condominiums. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
- The west side of the park near Frederick features a particular noteworthy example of the modern-architecture work of Cass Calder Smith, as featured in many architectural magazines including Dwell Magazine.
- The northeast corner staircase features a large peace symbol (the classic Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament variety) shaped out of flower plantings.
- According to an article in the San Francisco Examiner, when longtime resident Isabel Wade was asked if she feared for her safety because of the "cruising" activity in the park, the lady replied, "My feeling is it's probably the safest park in the City now. If you scream, you know 15 guys will pop out of the bushes to help you and a lot of them carry whistles." [2]
References
- ^ Details of the dismantlement of the Lone Mountain cemetaries in the Encyclopedia of San Francisco.
- ^ San Francisco Examiner, May 4, 1980, p. A4, final edition.
See also
External links
- Buena Vista Park is at coordinates Coordinates:
