Parkside July Roundup: All Posts + Town Hall Meeting Announcement

Kerri and Woody introduce the history of the Parkside District in this webinar.

And just like that, our month spotlighting the people, history, and places of the Parkside District for Heritage in the Neighborhoods has come to a close. However, our conversation will continue with YOU!

To follow-up on our #HeritageParkside month, we will host a virtual town hall on August 27th, 6:00 PM PST to discuss potential preservation projects in the district. You don’t have to be a preservation expert to join the conversation, just a neighbor or someone who loves the district and wants to help protect its special places.

For some first project ideas, take a look at our full list of Parkside posts produced throughout the month of July below.

If you’d like to join us, send me an email and I’ll send you the Zoom login details: kyoung@sfheritage.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

Kerri Young
Communications and Programs Manager

Clockwise from upper-left: The Parkside’s original cottages then-and-now, Parkside Branch Library at 1200 Taraval Street, February 2020, Pinehurst Lodge, the former Junior League Home at 2685 30th Avenue, and Lincoln High School at 2162 24th Avenue.

Architectural Resources and Local Landmarks

Video: Woody LaBounty tells the story of the Parkside District’s first houses—62 small cottages—many of which are still standing in 2020.
“Smart entrepreneurs make their cocktail lounges so attractive that you can’t help but stay on for another drink. Why not libraries?” The Modern-style Parkside Branch Library fits the bill.
Video: The west side of San Francisco isn’t all stucco. Woody looks at how early houses in the Parkside were inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement.
The Parkside has no designated city landmarks, but there are certainly buildings that qualify for such recognition and protection. We visit a site that even longtime Parkside residents may be unaware exists, Pinehurst Lodge.
Video: Bordering a true park, Pinelake Park is a residential development of the Parkside Realty Company between Crestlake Drive and Sloat Boulevard. Woody speaks about the area’s not-to-be Veteran’s Hospital, its revival-style and Midcentury-modern style homes, and its neighboring natural lake.
The Trocadero Inn is the oldest building the Parkside District area—perhaps the oldest in the southwest part of San Francisco—and is the sole intact survivor of a string of early roadhouses that once stretched across the western and southern parts of the city.
Video: There are some great examples of stucco-clad single-family residences in the Parkside, but not all stucco is the same.
While primarily residential in character, the Parkside has some standout civic and religious structures, and one esteemed architect stands out.

**Note**All of our video pieces can be found on this Parkside playlist on our Youtube channel. Please subscribe to make sure you don’t miss any new videos!

Clockwise from upper-left: Great Wall Hardware at 1821 Taraval St., Tennessee Grill at 1128 Taraval St., Gene’s Liquor at 2201 Taraval St., and Guerra Quality Meats at 490 Taraval St.

Parkside Legacy Businesses and Legacy Candidates

Despite many great candidates, Great Wall Hardware is the only business on the Legacy Business Registry hailing from the Parkside. Kerri spoke to owner Albert Chow about how his business has navigated the Covid-19 crisis and what he loves about the Parkside.
A pioneer grocery store-turned liquor store with a notable history: Erected in 1908 and opened in 1909, Gene’s Liquors holds the distinction of being the Parkside’s first business.
Many family-owned Italian businesses along the Parkside’s main commercial artery of Taraval Street, founded decades ago, are still serving customers today. In this post, Kerri spotlight’s Guerra Quality Meats, Gold Mirror Restaurant, and Marcello’s, and includes how you can support them during the pandemic.
The Tennessee Grill has been a staple in the Parkside for 67 years, where regulars have flocked to its laid-back diner space for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Owner Kyaw Soe talked to Kerri about the Grill’s special place in the neighborhood and how he’s been navigating the Covid-19 crisis.

1943 letter from the Parkside District Improvement Club to the Real Estate Association in San Francisco, demonstrating how Parkside residents played a role in excluding nonwhite residents in the absence of restrictive covenants.

Parkside Cultural History

Volunteer community groups were significant drivers of San Francisco neighborhood development and vitality in the early twentieth century, and residents in the early days of the Parkside established their own: The Parkside District Improvement Club (PDIC).
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Lincoln High School became a site of Black activism as students confronted the country’s longstanding (and continuing) racial discrimination and inequities.
Sherman and Edna Lee were the first Chinese-Americans to buy a home in the southwest corner of San Francisco in 1946, on Taraval near 38th. Read about the growth of Chinese-Americans in the district.

Taraval Street home purchased by the Lee family in 1946, Google Street View.

Richard Lim and son in first Navy jet in Larsen Park, c.1966, Western Neighborhoods Project.

Fun Stuff!

Learn about the history of the Navy jets in Larsen Park Playground.
With a over 51% of people identifying as being of Asian descent in the Parkside District and with Chinese spoken as the predominant language other than English, the presence of several bubble tea shops in the district continue to support a robust Asian culinary landscape. Kerri does a taste test!
One of the most fog-prone parts of the city, from 1905-1910, the sandy Parkside was advertised as being “10 degrees warmer” than Golden Gate Park or the Western Addition!
Village life in the Parkside: Into the 1970s, the PDIC hosted outdoor May Day celebrations each year in McCoppin Square, with a neighborhood girl crowned May Queen. Here are some photos from celebrations past.