Location

Bernal Heights lies to the south of San Francisco's Mission District. Its most prominent feature is the open parkland and microwave tower on its large rocky hill, Bernal Heights Summit

Bernal Heights Summit

Bernal Heights Summit or Bernal Heights Hill is a hill in San Francisco, California the neighborhood of Bernal Heights. Upper elevations are part of Bernal Hill Park, a component of San Francisco Recreation and Parks; a property at the highest elevation is privately owned and houses an equipment...

. Bernal is bounded by Cesar Chavez

César Chávez

César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....

 Street to the north, San Jose Avenue to the west and freeways I-280

Interstate 280 (California)

Interstate 280 is a 57-mile long north–south Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It connects San Jose and San Francisco, running along just to the west of the cities of San Francisco Peninsula for most of its route.I-280 from its northern end at King...

 and US 101 to the south and east.

History

Bernal had its origin with the 1839 Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo

Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo

Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo was a Mexican land grant, largely in present day San Francisco County, California and extending to San Mateo County, California, given in 1839 by Governor Protem Manual Jimeno to José Cornelio Bernal...

 Mexican land grant to José Cornelio Bernal (1796–1842). By 1860, the land belonged to San Francisco financier, Frenchman François Louis Alfred Pioche (1818–1872), who subdivided it into smaller lots.

Bernal remained undeveloped, though, until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

1906 San Francisco earthquake

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...

. Built atop bedrock, the hill's structures survived the temblor, and the sparseness of the development saved much of Bernal from the ravages of the firestorm that followed. The commercial corridor of Cortland Avenue filled in with shops as the pastureland on the hilltop was developed for workers' homes during the rapid rebuilding of the city. Some of the tiny earthquake cottages -- that the city built to house quake refugees—survive to this day, including three which were moved up to Bernal Heights. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the area saw another population surge including many African American families thanks to its proximity to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard

San Francisco Naval Shipyard

The San Francisco Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city...

 at Hunters Point

Hunters Point, San Francisco, California

Bayview-Hunters Point or The Bayview, is a neighborhood in the southeastern corner of San Francisco, California, United States. The decommissioned Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is located within its boundaries and Candlestick Park is on the southern edge....

. During the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, the neighborhood was known as "Red Hill" for the anti-war activists in shared households and collectives who moved in among the working class families.

By the 1990s, Bernal's pleasant microclimate

Microclimate

A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...

, small houses (some with traditional Victorian

Victorian house

In the United Kingdom, and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria...

 or Edwardian architecture) and freeway access to the peninsula and Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...

 led to a third wave of migration. Bernal has not gentrified to the extent of its neighbor Noe Valley, but gentrification and property values are increasing as urban professionals replace working-class home owners and renters. Bernal is a haven for young families with children.

Notable residents include: Tom Ammiano

Tom Ammiano

Tom Ammiano is an American politician and LGBT rights activist from San Francisco, California. Ammiano is a Democrat who has served as a member of the California State Assembly since 2008, representing the 13th district...

, Dan Nakamura, Annie Sprinkle

Annie Sprinkle

Annie M. Sprinkle is an American former prostitute, stripper, pornographic actress, cable television host, porn magazine editor, writer and sex film producer...

, Terry Zwigoff

Terry Zwigoff

Terry Zwigoff is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheros, and themes of alienation. His fiction films are the features Ghost World , Bad Santa , and Art School Confidential...

, Matt Nathanson

Matt Nathanson

Matt Nathanson is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of folk and rock music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic and electric guitar, and has played both solo and with a full band. His work includes the platinum-selling song "Come On Get Higher".-Early life and college...

, children's author Jane Wattenberg

Jane Wattenberg

Jane Wattenberg is an American author, photographer, and illustrator of books for children. Mrs. Mustard is her pen name.-Artistic career:...

 (aka Mrs. Mustard) and Matt Stewart (author)

Matt Stewart (author)

Matt Stewart is an American fiction author whose debut novel, The French Revolution, was the first full-length novel to be published entirely on Twitter...

.

Attractions and characteristics

The neighborhood is primarily residential, with a commercial strip along Cortland Avenue featuring restaurants, a bookstore, a bakery, a video store, a grocery store, a wine and beer store, cafes and bars. The local branch of the San Francisco Public Library

San Francisco Public Library

The San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street at Grove. The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold...

 at 500 Cortland was built by Frederick Myers with funding from the Works Progress Administration

Works Progress Administration

The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...

 and dedicated in 1940. After closing for nearly two years for renovations, the library reopened in January 2010.

A strong tradition of neighborhood activism led to the establishment of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center in 1979. It works to promote community organizing

Community organizing

Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...

, affordable housing services, senior services and youth services.

Bernal's north slope has been referred to as one of San Francisco's "banana belt

Banana belt

"Banana belt" is an informal geographic term used to describe a segment of a larger geographic region which enjoys warmer weather conditions than the region as a whole, especially in the wintertime...

s", with warmer temperatures from the San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...

 and less marine fog making its way inland.

The grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

 on the hilltop is home to a remarkable urban ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

, including the California poppy

California poppy

The California poppy is a perennial and annual plant, native to the United States, and the official state flower of California.- Description :...

, raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

s, opossums, skunk

Skunk

Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...

s, a variety of raptors (including American Kestrel

American Kestrel

The American Kestrel , sometimes colloquially known as the Sparrow Hawk, is a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. It is the most common falcon in North America, and is found in a wide variety of habitats. At long, it is also the smallest falcon in North America...

s, Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...

s, Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from Canada to Mexico. As in many birds of prey, the male is smaller than the female...

s, Sharp-Shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a small hawk. In fact, "sharp-shins" or "sharpies" are the smallest to reside in USA and Canada, though some Neotropical species are smaller...

s, and Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl

The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...

s), and, at times, at least one coyote

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

. The microwave tower is a major connection point for the metropolitan San Francisco area. Bernal Hill Park is a designated "off-leash" park for dogs, and it is a destination for many dogs and their owners as it is one of the largest parks in San Francisco. Bernal Heights Boulevard, which circles the hill top, has about a one mile (1.6 km) long path of asphalt and hard packed sand for walking and running that is closed to motor traffic. It is also the site of the San Francisco Illegal Soapbox Society's annual derby.

Precita Park and Holly Park provide grassy play areas for children and adults to the north and south of the hill, respectively.
The southeast corner of Bernal Heights is home to the open-air Alemany Farmers' Market, one of the oldest extant farmers' markets in the US, operating every Saturday in this location since August 4, 1947. A flea market occupies the market area on Sundays.

External links

• Bernal Heights Branch, San Francisco Public Library
• Native Plants Survive on Bernal Hill: San Francisco's best display of urban wildflowers puts on a fabulous springtime show.
• Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center
• Bernal History Project
• San Francisco Parks