Sunday, December 14, 2014

Potrero Hill (SF) Hike


The Potrero Hill Neighborhood and Mission Bay in San Francisco were the choice of the December hike for the Sacramento County Hikers.

The timing of the hike was perfect.  The previous week was one of the wettest in 6 years with a series of storms streaming into CA dumping 6-8 inches of rain in the Bay Area.

The day of the hike was coolish but clear and bright for a fine day hike in SF.

Our hike leader, Rich Blackmarr, laid out a circuitous 6 1/2 mile hike in the very hilly district of Potrero Hill in South San Francisco.  PH was a working class neighborhood until the Dot-Com boom of the early 2000's when gentrification began with high-tech professionals moving into the neighborhood.

The evidence of gentrification is obvious with many neo-modern residential buildings intermixed with rehabilitated Victorian and mid-century homes.  The restaurants and coffeehouses were buzzing  and many unique businesses have located in this area.

Being an mid-century modern enthusiast, I enjoyed the blend of modern and Victorian architecture of the District.

A good number of the photographs are of the neo-modern buildings we walked by.

Highlights of the hike include the former Seals Stadium site (now a Safeway Shopping Center), Potrero Community Garden, McKinley Square Park, Vernon St. (the Lombard St. of PH), NABE designed by Julia Morgan, new branch of the SF Library, Anchor Brewery, SF Center for the Books, and the new 43 acre campus of UCSF in Mission Bay.

My hats off to Rich for putting together a very interesting urban hike showcasing the best of PH and Mission Bay.

To view the photo album, click on "Potrero Hill (SF) Hike" below the photo:

From Potrero Hill (SF) Hike