Bernal Heights, San Francisco, California

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The Bernal Heights hill and microwave tower

The Bernal Heights neighborhood, familiarly called Bernal (rhymes with kernel), 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 is bounded by Cesar Chavez Street to the north, Mission Street to the west and freeways 280 and U.S. Route 101 to the south and east.

[edit] History

Bernal had its origin in an 1839 land grant to Don Jose Cornelio Bernal (September 7, 1796 - 1842), who grazed his cattle on what he called Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo. By 1860, the land belonged to French merchant Francois Pioche (1818 - May 2, 1872), who subdivided it into smaller lots.

Bernal remained undeveloped, though, until its combination of firm bedrock with few structures spared it from the massive destruction of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and firestorm. 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, the area saw another population surge including many African American families thanks to its proximity to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard at Hunters Point. During the Vietnam War, 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, small houses (some with traditional Victorian or Edwardian architecture) and freeway access to the peninsula and Silicon Valley led to a third wave of migration. Bernal has not gentrified to the extent of its neighbor Noe Valley, but property prices are increasing as middle-class homeowners replace working-class home owners and renters. Notable residents include Annie Sprinkle, Tom Ammiano, Dan the Automator, and Terry Zwigoff. Bernal is a haven for young families (especially famous for the concentration of lesbian families) and is teeming with their children. For this reason Bernal Heights sometimes goes by the nickname "Maternal Heights."

[edit] Features

The neighborhood is primarily residential, with a commercial strip along Cortland Avenue featuring restaurants, a bookstore, a bakery, a video store, grocery stores, cafes and bars (including a well-known lesbian hangout, Wild Side West). The local branch of the San Francisco Public Library at 500 Cortland was built by Frederick Myers with funding from the Works Progress Administration and dedicated in 1940. The library is slated to be closed for renovations.

A strong tradition of neighborhood activism led to the establishment of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center in 1979. It works to promote community organizing, affordable housing services, senior services and youth services.

The grassland on the hilltop is home to a remarkable urban ecosystem, including the California poppy, raccoons, Red-tailed Hawks and, in November 2003, a coyote. 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.