Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California
Encyclopedia
Potrero Hill is a hilly neighborhood in San Francisco, California
.
and south of SOMA (South of Market)
and the newly designated district Showplace Square. It is roughly bordered by 16th Street to the north, Potrero Avenue (above 20th Street) and U.S. Route 101 (below 20th Street) to the west and Cesar Chavez Street to the south; although the city of San Francisco considers the area below 20th Street between Potrero Ave and Route 101 to be part of Potrero Hill as well, as outlined in the Eastern Neighborhood Plan.
The area east of Highway 280 is Dogpatch, generally regarded as a subdivision of Potrero Hiill. Dogpatch is mostly flatland and has many docks
and most are built atop landfill
. Dogpatch is a highly industrialized area with pockets of residences while Potrero Hill is mostly a residential area with some light industrial buildings. Dogpatch is regarded as part of Potrero Hill although it has its own unique characteristic and identity.
Potrero Hill started as a Caucasian working-class neighborhood in the 1850s. Its central location attracted many working professionals during the dot-com era. Today, it is mostly an upper-middle class family-oriented neighborhood. In addition to Freeway 101 and 280, Caltrain also runs through this area; making it popular with commuters to southbound Silicon Valley. Most homes in Potrero Hill have views of the downtown skyline, the San Francisco Bay or Twin Peaks.
Potrero Hill has a North and a South Slope, with the North Slope generally more coveted due to its proximity to downtown and its distance from the housing projects. There is no clear dividing line between North and South as the hill apexes in various places. The demographics of the two are mostly similar with the exception of two notorious public housing projects (Potrero Terrace and Potrero Annex) situated on the South Slope. The projects occupy over one third of the South Slope and stand in sharp contrast to the more affluent homes in the neighborhood. The poorly designed, curvy and diagonal grids of the housing projects isolate their residents from the greater neighborhood. Plan is in place to tear them down in 2013 and build mixed-income housing. The presence of the housing projects make the South Slope generally less desirable than the North Slope and housing prices and rent tend to be higher the further they are away from the projects.
, then alcalde (mayor) of Yerba Buena (modern day San Francisco) in 1844.
Just two years later, Francisco and Ramon de Haro were shot dead by Kit Carson along with their uncle, Jose de los Reyes Berreyessa, in San Rafael in Marin County at the order of U.S. Army Major John C. Fremont
, who had declared war on Mexico. Fremont's men were called the Osos, the local insurgents of the day, and his men had jailed the Sonoma alcalde and put the town under siege in the Bear Flag Revolt
. The de Haro twins and De los Reyes Berreyesa traveled to Sonoma to inquire on the safety of the latter's sons when they were discovered and killed. With the death of his sons, Don Francisco de Haro became owner of Potrero Nuevo.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/25/ING4DJHBHR1.DTL
and California would be admitted into the Union in 1850
. Dr. John Townsend became Yerba Buena's, by now called San Francisco after a 1847 name change, second mayor. He succeeded de Haro, who had grown deeply distraught after the death of his sons. Townsend would have a profound impact on the development of Potrero Hill.
With the start of the Gold Rush
era in 1848, San Francisco began to experience unprecedented rapid growth. Townsend envisioned developing Potrero Hill as a community for migrants and their new found riches. Townsend, a good friend of de Haro, approached him about dividing his land into individual lots and selling them. De Haro, already having his land rights challenged and fearing that United States government would strip him of Potrero Nuevo after California became part of the union, agreed to Townsend's suggestion. Together with famed surveyor Jasper O'Farrell, recent emigrant Cornelius De Boom, and Captain John Sutter
, they hatched out the grid and street names. Even before
California became a state, local residents saw Potrero Nuevo as an intersection of California and the United States due to its location (just south of South of Market and next to the water; with the United States just across the bay). Townsend capitalized on this sentiment by naming the north-south streets after American states (Illinois, Utah, Kansas, etc) and the east-west streets after California counties (Mariposa, Alameda, Butte, Santa Clara, etc). At this time, Potrero Hill was not part of San Francisco, so the men marketed this area as "South San Francisco."
There is speculation that Townsend named the north-south streets after states in which he had been, with Pennsylvania Street (his home state) being an extra wide street. However, there are no record of Townsend ever having been to Texas or Florida, whose names appear as streets.
By the standard of the time, Potrero Hill was not a convenient location to get to - separated by the Mission Bay (not yet filled in at that time) from the hub of San Francisco. Prospective buyers partly deemed Potrero Hill too far away and mainly wary of De Haro's uncertainty as legal owner of the land, only a few lots were sold. In late 1849, Don Francisco de Haro
died, and he was buried in Mission Dolores.
. The de Haro family tried to maintain control of the land but the family's ownership became a legal matter. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court when in 1866 it ruled against the De Haro family. Residents of Potrero Hill celebrated with bonfires after learning of the outcome, some of whom gained title to the lot where they squatted through the Squatter's Rights
.
Development eventually came in the early 1850s, not in the form of rich gold-miners envisioned by Townsend, but in a more blue-collar variety. PG&E opened a plant in the eastern shores of Potrero Hill (Potrero Point, modern day Dog Patch) in 1852. Not long after, a gun powder factory (gun powder is vital for gold mining) opened nearby; then shipyards, iron factories, and warehouses followed. Potrero Point experienced a minor boom in housing as factory workers preferred to live nearby. The opening of the Long Bridge in 1860's would drastically change the dynamics of Potrero Hill.
signed into law the Pacific Railway Act
that provided Federal government support for the building of the First transcontinental railroad
. In anticipation of the railroad, San Francisco began work to build the Long Bridge in 1865 that connected San Francisco proper through Mission Bay to Potrero Hill and Bayview. Potrero Hill, once deemed too far south, was suddenly a stone throw away. The Long Bridge completely transformed Potrero Nuevo from no man's land to a central hub. One of the first of many real estate speculation on Potrero Hill soon followed. The Long Bridge was closed after Mission Bay was filled in the early 1900s.
. Displaced San Franciscans set up tents and shelter on the hill. Many residents moved to the hill after their dwellings were devastated by fire, including a large population of Russian and Slovenian immigrants who previously resided in South of Market. The influx of new residents to Potrero Hill changed the demographic from mostly factory workers who worked nearby to a more diverse neighborhood.
By the early 1900s, a large concentration of non-English European immigrants had settled. The two earliest residential neighborhoods were the Irish Hill
and Dutchman's Flat (both located in modern day Dogpatch). The infamous Irish Hill, located east of Illinois St and right next to the factories, housed mainly Irish factory workers in boarding houses. Irish gangs were formed and crimes were rampant. Irish Hill was leveled for use as landfill and the residents displaced in 1918.
Over half of Potrero Hill's population at this time was Irish immigrants; Scots, Swiss, Russians, Slovenians, Serbians and Italians making up most of the remaining population. Native born whites made up less than 20% of the population. Today, some of the remnant of the ethnic groups' heritage is still visible, for example the Slovenian Hall on Mariposa St. and the First Russian Christian Molokan Church on Carolina St.
The United States' decision to enter WWII created an industrial boom in Dogpatch, lead by the shipyards that constructed navy ships. Potrero Hill's South Slope experienced a significant increase in housing and population as a result.
In the 1950s the James Lick Freeways (US Route 101) that slices through the neighborhood was constructed amid much controversies. To obtain the necessary land for the freeways, some residents were forced to vacate their homes in exchange for significantly below market price paid by the government. In the 1960s, another freeway (Interstate 280) was constructed under similar controversies.
Hotbed for Artists and LGBT
In the 1960s many artists and members of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender (LGBT) community began to move to Potrero Hill, drawn by its location and affordable rent. Many artist studios, showrooms and art schools were set up nearby in response to Potrero Hill's explosion as a creative hub. The city has since designated the collection of designer warehouses, art schools, and showrooms just north of Potrero Hill as a special light-industrial district and named this area the Showplace Square.
Potrero Hill experienced a brief economic decline in the late 80s/ early 90's due to the recession, which especially hit the working-class and art communities hard. However, things rapidly picked up starting in the mid-90's; lead by the dot-com boom.
Dot-com
With its close proximity to offices in SOMA, Financial District, and Media Gulch (Mission District bordered by 16th St, Potrero Ave, Folsom St, and 20th St.), and the burgeoning night life and dinning in the Mission District, SOMA, and its own 18th St corridor; Potrero Hill, along with its neighboring Mission District, drew many high-tech professionals in the dot-com era, driving up real estate prices and rent. The neighborhood saw a drastic change from mostly working-class to mostly white-collared professionals. Unlike the Mission District, which is populated with renters who had to combat with raising rent and evictions; long-time residents in Potrero Hill largely welcome gentrification, primarily because most are homeowners who benefit from the raise in real estate.
hub.
2005 to 2010 census data gathered by the San Francisco Planning Dept.
A section of Vermont Street between 20th Street and 22nd Street has many switchbacks, similar to the tourist attraction, Lombard Street
. Vermont Street features a series of seven sharp turns, which has led the street to be dubbed the crookedest in the world in competition with the better-known Lombard Street (Vermont, while steeper than Lombard, has fewer turns).
Bottom of the Hill
on 17th Street, a popular music venue in San Francisco, and the public housing projects on the southeastern side of the hill which are famous for where former football
star O.J. Simpson once lived. 18th Street, which runs through the heart of the North side of the hill and is home to three blocks that serve as the primary shopping and dining spot in the neighborhood. The powder blue water tower
, located near 22nd Street
and Wisconsin Street, was demolished in mid-2006 (as part of a seismic upgrade and due to the fact that it was no longer needed). The main campus of the California Culinary Academy
is located at 350 Rhode Island Street. The facilities include professional kitchens, student-staffed restaurants, lecture classrooms, a library, and culinary laboratory.
Potrero Hill is also the home of many famous companies. The Anchor Brewing Company
, operates a brewery
and distillery. It is one of the last remaining breweries to produce California Common beer
, also known as Steam Beer, a trademark
owned by the company. Located on Mariposa Street, between Carolina and DeHaro Streets and was previously owned by the washing machine heir Fritz Maytag, Anchor Brewery provides free tours on weekdays with free beer tasting. It is recommended to book the tour months in advance.
The Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, known as "the NABE," is another focal point. It sits at the top of de Haro Street and offers various community services. It was designed by noted architect, Julia Morgan
and has an incredible view of San Francisco, the Bay and the East Bay.
The offices of social news site Digg
are located above the SF Bay Guardian newspaper
on Mississippi St. The headquarters for popular Discovery Channel program Mythbusters
is located at the southern edge of the neighborhood.
Two freeways run through Potrero Hill, U.S. Route 101 on the western side, Interstate 280
on the eastern side. Caltrain's
22nd Street station
is on the eastern edge of the hill, and the San Francisco Municipal Railway
provides bus service in the area (the 19-Polk, 22-Fillmore, 10-Townsend and 48-Quintara - 24th St) and light rail service on 3rd Street (the T-Third Street).
Potrero Hill was the fictional home neighborhood of Inspector Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry
movie series. Other famous residents include:
Originally, four public housing projects were constructed after WWII. Attempt to exclude minority from them under the guise of "maintaining the neighborhood pattern" was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1948. Two housing projects have since been removed to make way for the Star King Elementary School and townhouses.
An estimated 1,200 people live in the Terrace and Annex with 555 of the 606 units occupied. The non-profit organization Hope SF, partnering with a private developer, is planning to to demolish the projects and build mix-income housing under the plan Rebuild Potrero. The new housing project will consists of 1,400 to 1,700 units. Of those, between 505 to 620 units will be for sale condos, including both market rate and below market rate units. 895 to 1080 will be affordable rentals with 80 to 100 for seniors. In addition , 10,000 to 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) of retail, 30,000 to 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) community center, and 7 acres (28,328 m²) of public open space, with a population range of 3,555 to 4,305. Construction is tentatively set to begin in 2013.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
Location
Potrero Hill is located on the eastern side of the city, east of the Mission DistrictMission District, San Francisco, California
The Mission District, also commonly called "The Mission", is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, USA, originally known as "the Mission lands" meaning the lands belonging to the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis...
and south of SOMA (South of Market)
South of Market, San Francisco, California
South of Market is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States.-Name and location:Its boundaries are Market Street to the northwest, San Francisco Bay to the northeast, Mission Creek to the southeast, and Division Street, 13th Street and U.S. Route 101 to the southwest...
and the newly designated district Showplace Square. It is roughly bordered by 16th Street to the north, Potrero Avenue (above 20th Street) and U.S. Route 101 (below 20th Street) to the west and Cesar Chavez Street to the south; although the city of San Francisco considers the area below 20th Street between Potrero Ave and Route 101 to be part of Potrero Hill as well, as outlined in the Eastern Neighborhood Plan.
The area east of Highway 280 is Dogpatch, generally regarded as a subdivision of Potrero Hiill. Dogpatch is mostly flatland and has many docks
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
and most are built atop landfill
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
. Dogpatch is a highly industrialized area with pockets of residences while Potrero Hill is mostly a residential area with some light industrial buildings. Dogpatch is regarded as part of Potrero Hill although it has its own unique characteristic and identity.
Characteristics
Potrero Hill is one of the sunniest neighborhoods in San Francisco, located on the eastern side of the peninsula, flanked by the San Francisco Bay, it is insulated from the fog and chill of the Pacific Ocean that is typical on the western side of the city. It is a residential neighborhood and not considered a tourist designation. Although it is not the most walkable neighborhood in San Francisco due to its hills, it is generally considered a very convenient location due to its proximity to offices, shopping, dining, entertainment, freeways and Caltrain. Despite being surrounded by busy neighborhoods, Potrero Hill is quiet and sleepy.Potrero Hill started as a Caucasian working-class neighborhood in the 1850s. Its central location attracted many working professionals during the dot-com era. Today, it is mostly an upper-middle class family-oriented neighborhood. In addition to Freeway 101 and 280, Caltrain also runs through this area; making it popular with commuters to southbound Silicon Valley. Most homes in Potrero Hill have views of the downtown skyline, the San Francisco Bay or Twin Peaks.
Potrero Hill has a North and a South Slope, with the North Slope generally more coveted due to its proximity to downtown and its distance from the housing projects. There is no clear dividing line between North and South as the hill apexes in various places. The demographics of the two are mostly similar with the exception of two notorious public housing projects (Potrero Terrace and Potrero Annex) situated on the South Slope. The projects occupy over one third of the South Slope and stand in sharp contrast to the more affluent homes in the neighborhood. The poorly designed, curvy and diagonal grids of the housing projects isolate their residents from the greater neighborhood. Plan is in place to tear them down in 2013 and build mixed-income housing. The presence of the housing projects make the South Slope generally less desirable than the North Slope and housing prices and rent tend to be higher the further they are away from the projects.
Summary
Industry first arrived at Dogpatch in the mid-1850s. The earliest residents were mostly European immigrants. Over time, Dogpatch became more industrialized and many residents moved up the hill to Potrero Hill, turning it into a residential neighborhood. It remained blue-collared and working-class until the mid 1990's when gentrification turned it into a mostly working professional neighborhood.Early History
Potrero Hill was uninhabited land for much of its history, used sporadically by Native Americans as hunting ground. In the late 1700s, Spanish missionaries grazed cattle on the hill and named this area Potrero Nuevo, "Potrero" is Spanish for "pasture": "Potrero Nuevo" means "new pasture."Potrero Neuvo granted to the De Haro Family
After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, the Mexican government granted Potrero Neuvo to Francisco and Ramon de Haro - the 17-year-old twin sons of Don Francisco de HaroFrancisco de Haro
Francisco de Haro was the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1834.-Life:De Haro was born in Compostela, Nayarit, Mexico and came to San Francisco in 1819. He was the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1834. He was instrumental in planning the street grid of the town along with Englishman William A....
, then alcalde (mayor) of Yerba Buena (modern day San Francisco) in 1844.
Just two years later, Francisco and Ramon de Haro were shot dead by Kit Carson along with their uncle, Jose de los Reyes Berreyessa, in San Rafael in Marin County at the order of U.S. Army Major John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, who had declared war on Mexico. Fremont's men were called the Osos, the local insurgents of the day, and his men had jailed the Sonoma alcalde and put the town under siege in the Bear Flag Revolt
California Republic
The California Republic, also called the Bear Flag Republic, is the name used for a period of revolt against Mexico initially proclaimed by a handful of American settlers in Mexican California on June 14, 1846, in Sonoma. This was shortly before news of the Mexican–American War had reached the area...
. The de Haro twins and De los Reyes Berreyesa traveled to Sonoma to inquire on the safety of the latter's sons when they were discovered and killed. With the death of his sons, Don Francisco de Haro became owner of Potrero Nuevo.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/25/ING4DJHBHR1.DTL
Construction of Street Grids in the Gold Rush Era
In 1848, Mexico ceded all of California after the conclusion of the The Mexican–American WarMexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
and California would be admitted into the Union in 1850
History of California
The history of California can be divided into several periods: the Native American period; European exploration period from 1542 to 1769; the Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821; the Mexican period, 1821 to 1848; and United States statehood, which continues to the present day...
. Dr. John Townsend became Yerba Buena's, by now called San Francisco after a 1847 name change, second mayor. He succeeded de Haro, who had grown deeply distraught after the death of his sons. Townsend would have a profound impact on the development of Potrero Hill.
With the start of the Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
era in 1848, San Francisco began to experience unprecedented rapid growth. Townsend envisioned developing Potrero Hill as a community for migrants and their new found riches. Townsend, a good friend of de Haro, approached him about dividing his land into individual lots and selling them. De Haro, already having his land rights challenged and fearing that United States government would strip him of Potrero Nuevo after California became part of the union, agreed to Townsend's suggestion. Together with famed surveyor Jasper O'Farrell, recent emigrant Cornelius De Boom, and Captain John Sutter
John Sutter
Johann Augus Sutter was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall and the mill making team at Sutter's Mill, and for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area that would eventually become Sacramento, the...
, they hatched out the grid and street names. Even before
California became a state, local residents saw Potrero Nuevo as an intersection of California and the United States due to its location (just south of South of Market and next to the water; with the United States just across the bay). Townsend capitalized on this sentiment by naming the north-south streets after American states (Illinois, Utah, Kansas, etc) and the east-west streets after California counties (Mariposa, Alameda, Butte, Santa Clara, etc). At this time, Potrero Hill was not part of San Francisco, so the men marketed this area as "South San Francisco."
There is speculation that Townsend named the north-south streets after states in which he had been, with Pennsylvania Street (his home state) being an extra wide street. However, there are no record of Townsend ever having been to Texas or Florida, whose names appear as streets.
By the standard of the time, Potrero Hill was not a convenient location to get to - separated by the Mission Bay (not yet filled in at that time) from the hub of San Francisco. Prospective buyers partly deemed Potrero Hill too far away and mainly wary of De Haro's uncertainty as legal owner of the land, only a few lots were sold. In late 1849, Don Francisco de Haro
Francisco de Haro
Francisco de Haro was the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1834.-Life:De Haro was born in Compostela, Nayarit, Mexico and came to San Francisco in 1819. He was the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1834. He was instrumental in planning the street grid of the town along with Englishman William A....
died, and he was buried in Mission Dolores.
Industry Came to Potrero Neuvo While Squatters Took Over Potrero Point
After the death of de Haro, squatters began to overtake Potrero Hill around Potrero PointPotrero Point
Potrero Point San Francisco is the location of the earliest and most important industrial facilities in the Western United States on the eastern extension of San Francisco's Potrero Hill, a natural land mass extending into San Francisco Bay south of Mission Bay. Potrero Point, the point of Potrero...
. The de Haro family tried to maintain control of the land but the family's ownership became a legal matter. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court when in 1866 it ruled against the De Haro family. Residents of Potrero Hill celebrated with bonfires after learning of the outcome, some of whom gained title to the lot where they squatted through the Squatter's Rights
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
.
Development eventually came in the early 1850s, not in the form of rich gold-miners envisioned by Townsend, but in a more blue-collar variety. PG&E opened a plant in the eastern shores of Potrero Hill (Potrero Point, modern day Dog Patch) in 1852. Not long after, a gun powder factory (gun powder is vital for gold mining) opened nearby; then shipyards, iron factories, and warehouses followed. Potrero Point experienced a minor boom in housing as factory workers preferred to live nearby. The opening of the Long Bridge in 1860's would drastically change the dynamics of Potrero Hill.
The Long Bridge Opened Up Potrero
In 1862, President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
signed into law the Pacific Railway Act
Pacific Railway Acts
The Pacific Railroad Acts were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of land to railroad companies. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 was the original act...
that provided Federal government support for the building of the First transcontinental railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
. In anticipation of the railroad, San Francisco began work to build the Long Bridge in 1865 that connected San Francisco proper through Mission Bay to Potrero Hill and Bayview. Potrero Hill, once deemed too far south, was suddenly a stone throw away. The Long Bridge completely transformed Potrero Nuevo from no man's land to a central hub. One of the first of many real estate speculation on Potrero Hill soon followed. The Long Bridge was closed after Mission Bay was filled in the early 1900s.
European Migration
Potrero Hill was spared from the earthquake that struck San Francisco in 19061906 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...
. Displaced San Franciscans set up tents and shelter on the hill. Many residents moved to the hill after their dwellings were devastated by fire, including a large population of Russian and Slovenian immigrants who previously resided in South of Market. The influx of new residents to Potrero Hill changed the demographic from mostly factory workers who worked nearby to a more diverse neighborhood.
By the early 1900s, a large concentration of non-English European immigrants had settled. The two earliest residential neighborhoods were the Irish Hill
Irish Hill (San Francisco)
Irish Hill was a neighborhood in San Francisco near the intersection of 22nd Street and Illinois Avenue. It consisted of a population of about 800 people living in boarding houses, mostly working class Irish and their families, who worked in the nearby industrial area known as the Dogpatch...
and Dutchman's Flat (both located in modern day Dogpatch). The infamous Irish Hill, located east of Illinois St and right next to the factories, housed mainly Irish factory workers in boarding houses. Irish gangs were formed and crimes were rampant. Irish Hill was leveled for use as landfill and the residents displaced in 1918.
Over half of Potrero Hill's population at this time was Irish immigrants; Scots, Swiss, Russians, Slovenians, Serbians and Italians making up most of the remaining population. Native born whites made up less than 20% of the population. Today, some of the remnant of the ethnic groups' heritage is still visible, for example the Slovenian Hall on Mariposa St. and the First Russian Christian Molokan Church on Carolina St.
Potrero Hill Settlement and Dogpatch Industrialization
As Dogpatch became more industrialized, with warehouses and factories expanded west of Illinois St, many Dogpatch residents moved west up the hill; turning Potrero Hill into a residential area. The divide between the industrial Dogpatch and the residential Potrero Hill would grow over time and provided each neighborhood with its own distinct vibe.Freeways and Southern Development
Four public housing projects were built on the South Slope after WWI. Attempts to keep minority from the projects under the guise of "maintaining the neighborhood pattern" was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1948. Two of the four projects had since been removed. Today, the project housings shelter mostly African and Hispanic Americans.The United States' decision to enter WWII created an industrial boom in Dogpatch, lead by the shipyards that constructed navy ships. Potrero Hill's South Slope experienced a significant increase in housing and population as a result.
In the 1950s the James Lick Freeways (US Route 101) that slices through the neighborhood was constructed amid much controversies. To obtain the necessary land for the freeways, some residents were forced to vacate their homes in exchange for significantly below market price paid by the government. In the 1960s, another freeway (Interstate 280) was constructed under similar controversies.
Hotbed for Artists and LGBTLGBTLGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
In the 1960s many artists and members of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender (LGBT) community began to move to Potrero Hill, drawn by its location and affordable rent. Many artist studios, showrooms and art schools were set up nearby in response to Potrero Hill's explosion as a creative hub. The city has since designated the collection of designer warehouses, art schools, and showrooms just north of Potrero Hill as a special light-industrial district and named this area the Showplace Square.Potrero Hill experienced a brief economic decline in the late 80s/ early 90's due to the recession, which especially hit the working-class and art communities hard. However, things rapidly picked up starting in the mid-90's; lead by the dot-com boom.
Dot-comDot-comDot-com may refer to:*.com , the generic top-level domain used on the Internet's Domain Name System*dot-com company, a company which does most of its business on the Internet...
and Gentrification
With its close proximity to offices in SOMA, Financial District, and Media Gulch (Mission District bordered by 16th St, Potrero Ave, Folsom St, and 20th St.), and the burgeoning night life and dinning in the Mission District, SOMA, and its own 18th St corridor; Potrero Hill, along with its neighboring Mission District, drew many high-tech professionals in the dot-com era, driving up real estate prices and rent. The neighborhood saw a drastic change from mostly working-class to mostly white-collared professionals. Unlike the Mission District, which is populated with renters who had to combat with raising rent and evictions; long-time residents in Potrero Hill largely welcome gentrification, primarily because most are homeowners who benefit from the raise in real estate.Modern Era
The gentrification of Potrero Hill did not slow down after the dot-com bubble but instead was fueled by the housing boom in the mid-2000s. The neighborhood is still in the mist of change and transformation with the implementation of the city's Eastern Neighborhood Planhttp://www.sf-planning.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2545, the redevelopment of Potrero Annex and Potrero Terrace housing projects, and its neighboring Mission Bay's development into a bio-technologyBiotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
hub.
Demographic
According to the2005 to 2010 census data gathered by the San Francisco Planning Dept.
| Population | Household | |||||
| Total Population | 12,110 | Total Household | 5,810 | |||
| Male | 52% | Family Households | 43% | |||
| Female | 48% | Households with Children, % of Total | 19% | |||
| Non-Family Households | 57% | |||||
| Race/Ethnicity | Single Person Households, Pct of Total | 38% | ||||
| Caucasian | 66% | Avg Household Size | 2.3 | |||
| Asian | 13% | |||||
| Latino (of any race) | 13% | |||||
| Other | 10% | Educational Attainment (Residents 25 years and older) | ||||
| African American | 9% | High School or Less | 17% | |||
| Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 1% | Some College/Associate Degree | 18% | |||
| College Degree | 36% | |||||
| Income | Graduate/Professional Degree | 28% | ||||
| Median Household Income | $98,182 | |||||
| Median Family Income | $110,657 | |||||
| Per Capita Income | $58,650 | |||||
Attractions
The hub of Potrero Hill is the 18th Street corridor that features many trendy restaurants, including Papito, Umi, Goat Hill Pizza and Plow; Farley's Cafe is a favorite gathering spot and Bloom's Saloon with one of the most dramatic views of downtown San Francisco. Mission Hill Saloon located on the corner of Potrero Ave and Mariposa St. was selected as one of the best dive bars in the country.A section of Vermont Street between 20th Street and 22nd Street has many switchbacks, similar to the tourist attraction, Lombard Street
Lombard Street (San Francisco)
Lombard Street is an east–west street in San Francisco, California. It is famous for having a steep, one-block section that consists of eight tight hairpin turns.-Route description:...
. Vermont Street features a series of seven sharp turns, which has led the street to be dubbed the crookedest in the world in competition with the better-known Lombard Street (Vermont, while steeper than Lombard, has fewer turns).
Bottom of the Hill
Bottom of the Hill
Bottom of the Hill is a concert venue located in San Francisco, California, in the Potrero Hill district. As a venue, it is one of the most active in the city, usually holding shows seven nights a week...
on 17th Street, a popular music venue in San Francisco, and the public housing projects on the southeastern side of the hill which are famous for where former football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
star O.J. Simpson once lived. 18th Street, which runs through the heart of the North side of the hill and is home to three blocks that serve as the primary shopping and dining spot in the neighborhood. The powder blue water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
, located near 22nd Street
22nd Street (San Francisco)
22nd Street in San Francisco, California is one of the steepest streets in the world. In the block from Vicksburg to Church Streets in the Noe Valley neighborhood it descends 79 feet along the south side for an average grade of just over 31%, about the same as the steepest block of Filbert Street...
and Wisconsin Street, was demolished in mid-2006 (as part of a seismic upgrade and due to the fact that it was no longer needed). The main campus of the California Culinary Academy
California Culinary Academy
The California Culinary Academy is an affiliate of Le Cordon Bleu, and is located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1977, the academy has trained more than 15,000 people for restaurant careers through its 30-week baking and pastry chef program and 16-month culinary arts degree program...
is located at 350 Rhode Island Street. The facilities include professional kitchens, student-staffed restaurants, lecture classrooms, a library, and culinary laboratory.
Potrero Hill is also the home of many famous companies. The Anchor Brewing Company
Anchor Brewing Company
Anchor Brewing Company is an American alcoholic beverage producer, operating a brewery and distillery on Potrero Hill in San Francisco, California. The brewery was founded in 1896 and was purchased by Frederick Louis Maytag III, in 1965, saving it from closure. It moved to its current location in...
, operates a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
and distillery. It is one of the last remaining breweries to produce California Common beer
Steam beer
Steam beer may be defined as a highly effervescent beer made by brewing lager yeasts at warm fermentation temperatures. It has two distinct but related meanings:*Historic steam beer produced in California from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century;...
, also known as Steam Beer, a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
owned by the company. Located on Mariposa Street, between Carolina and DeHaro Streets and was previously owned by the washing machine heir Fritz Maytag, Anchor Brewery provides free tours on weekdays with free beer tasting. It is recommended to book the tour months in advance.
The Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, known as "the NABE," is another focal point. It sits at the top of de Haro Street and offers various community services. It was designed by noted architect, Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
and has an incredible view of San Francisco, the Bay and the East Bay.
The offices of social news site Digg
Digg
Digg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
are located above the SF Bay Guardian newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
on Mississippi St. The headquarters for popular Discovery Channel program Mythbusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
is located at the southern edge of the neighborhood.
Two freeways run through Potrero Hill, U.S. Route 101 on the western side, Interstate 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...
on the eastern side. Caltrain's
Caltrain
Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...
22nd Street station
22nd Street (Caltrain station)
22nd. Street Station is a small commuter rail station on 22nd Street beneath the I-280 freeway in San Francisco, California. Like all other Caltrain stations except San Francisco 4th & King and San Jose Diridon, the station is unstaffed; tickets may be bought from ticket machines.In Southern...
is on the eastern edge of the hill, and the San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...
provides bus service in the area (the 19-Polk, 22-Fillmore, 10-Townsend and 48-Quintara - 24th St) and light rail service on 3rd Street (the T-Third Street).
Potrero Hill was the fictional home neighborhood of Inspector Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
movie series. Other famous residents include:
- Wayne ThiebaudWayne ThiebaudWayne Thiebaud is an American painter whose most famous works are of cakes, pastries, boots, toilets, toys and lipsticks. He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate...
— Famous and prolific painter lived on and painted Potrero Hill for years - Robert BechtleRobert BechtleRobert Bechtle is an American painter, born in San Francisco, California, on May 14, 1932. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts from the California College of Arts and Crafts, now the California College of the Arts, in Oakland, California.Except for his military service...
— Photorealist painter used the hill for both a home and subject matter for his art. - Peter OrlovskyPeter OrlovskyPeter Anton Orlovsky was an American poet.-Life and work:Orlovsky was born in the Lower East Side of New York City, the son of Katherine and Oleg Orlovsky, a Russian immigrant. He was raised in poverty and was forced to drop out of Newtown High School in his senior year so he could support his...
— Poet Allen GinsbergAllen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
's partner. Lived at 5 Turner Terrace, one of several Federal Post WWII War Potrero Hill housing projects, in the 1950s. - Lawrence FerlinghettiLawrence FerlinghettiLawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
— Poet and co-founder of City LightsCity Lights BookstoreCity Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...
, America's first all-paperback bookstore. Ferlinghetti bought the house at 706 Wisconsin St. in 1957. - Miguel MigsMiguel MigsMiguel Steward, better known as Miguel Migs is a deep house DJ, producer and musician from San Francisco, California. -Biography:Migs began his music career at 18 years old, as a lead guitarist and songwriter for a Santa Cruz local band called Zion Sounds...
— Internationally recognized deep house producer and DJ. Founder of Salted Music: a house music record label (originally spun off from another San Francisco-based label; Om RecordsOm RecordsOm Records is a US-based record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music, and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and various compilations. Some of the most notable compilations include Om...
). - Sarah LaneSarah LaneSarah Christina Lane is an American television and Internet personality. She is most notably known for her appearances on TechTV's The Screen Savers, G4's Attack of the Show!, and Revision3's popSiren...
— Former host on The Screen SaversThe Screen SaversThe Screen Savers was a live American TV show on TechTV. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered around computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world...
, and Revision3 employee now does TWiF with Martin SargentMartin SargentMartin Paul Sargent is an American television personality and was co-host of the This WEEK in FUN podcast with Sarah Lane...
on the TWiTTwitTwit may refer to: A person of lesser intelligence, it is normally used in a humors way.*Idiot, a mentally deficient or self-defeating person*TWiT.tv, a podcast network**This Week in Tech , a podcast on the previously-listed network...
network, and works for Current Tech News - Erling WoldErling WoldErling Wold is a San Francisco based composer of opera and contemporary classical music. He is best known for his later chamber operas, especially A Little Girl Dreams of Taking the Veil and his early experiments as a microtonalist...
— Composer and Associate Music Director of the San Francisco Composers Chamber OrchestraSan Francisco Composers Chamber OrchestraThe San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra is a chamber orchestra based in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 2002 and is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music, most often works by the orchestra's members...
. - Blanche ThebomBlanche ThebomBlanche Thebom was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and opera director. She was part of the first wave of American opera singers that had highly successful international careers. In her own country she had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City which...
(deceased) — American mezzo-soprano who sang with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for almost twenty years. - Terry RileyTerry RileyTerrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
— Composed the piece "In CIn CIn C is a semi-aleatoric musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for any number of people, although he suggests "a group of about 35 is desired if possible but smaller or larger groups will work"...
" "in a tiny house at the top of Potrero Hill" in 1964. This work had a profound effect on music composition.
Public Housing Projects
Two public housing projects - the Potrero Terrace and Potrero Annex are located in the South Slope. They occupy roughly one third of the Slope South and are the source of some tension between their low-income occupants and the residents outside of the projects. Much of the crime in Potrero Hill is concentrated inside the housing projects and rightly or wrongly, residents of the projects are often blamed when crimes occurred anywhere in Potrero Hill. The projects' curvy layouts also serve to isolate their residents from the greater neighborhood.Originally, four public housing projects were constructed after WWII. Attempt to exclude minority from them under the guise of "maintaining the neighborhood pattern" was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1948. Two housing projects have since been removed to make way for the Star King Elementary School and townhouses.
An estimated 1,200 people live in the Terrace and Annex with 555 of the 606 units occupied. The non-profit organization Hope SF, partnering with a private developer, is planning to to demolish the projects and build mix-income housing under the plan Rebuild Potrero. The new housing project will consists of 1,400 to 1,700 units. Of those, between 505 to 620 units will be for sale condos, including both market rate and below market rate units. 895 to 1080 will be affordable rentals with 80 to 100 for seniors. In addition , 10,000 to 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) of retail, 30,000 to 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) community center, and 7 acres (28,328 m²) of public open space, with a population range of 3,555 to 4,305. Construction is tentatively set to begin in 2013.
See also
- Potrero PointPotrero PointPotrero Point San Francisco is the location of the earliest and most important industrial facilities in the Western United States on the eastern extension of San Francisco's Potrero Hill, a natural land mass extending into San Francisco Bay south of Mission Bay. Potrero Point, the point of Potrero...
- Mission Bay, San Francisco, CaliforniaMission Bay, San Francisco, CaliforniaMission Bay is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California.-Location:Mission Bay is roughly bounded by Townsend Street on the north, Third Street and San Francisco Bay on the east, Mariposa Street on the south, and 7th Street and Interstate 280 on the west.-History:It was created in 1998 by the...
- List of San Francisco, California Hills
- Dogpatch, San Francisco, CaliforniaDogpatch, San Francisco, California-Location:Dogpatch is located on the eastern side of the city, adjacent to the waterfront of San Francisco Bay, and to the east of, and below, Potrero Hill. Its boundaries are Mariposa Street to the north, I-280 to the west, Cesar Chavez to the south, and the waterfront to the east...
- Irish Hill (San Francisco)Irish Hill (San Francisco)Irish Hill was a neighborhood in San Francisco near the intersection of 22nd Street and Illinois Avenue. It consisted of a population of about 800 people living in boarding houses, mostly working class Irish and their families, who worked in the nearby industrial area known as the Dogpatch...
Further reading
- San Francisco's Potrero Hill by Peter Linenthal, Abigail Johnston, and the Potrero Hill Archives Project, was published by Arcadia Publishing Co. in their Images of America series in 2005. Its 128 pages are full of photos and neighborhood history. It includes early Native American Ohlone history, Mission Dolores, early industry, both world wars, the 1960s, and recent developments. Many photos come from family collections.
External links
- SF Planning Commission - Eastern Neighborhoods Community Plans
- San Francisco Neighborhoods: Potrero Hill - Neighborhood guide from the San Francisco Chronicle
- Potrero Hill SF - Neighborhood guide and blog
- Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association
- http://www.sf-planning.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2545