The Bernal Heights Story - Once Upon a Time

BERNAL HEIGHTS—A SMALL TOWN WITHIN THE BIG CITY

San Francisco is legendary for its conglomeration of neighborhoods each having its distinct culture, demographics and even microclimate. And in the independent Bernal Heights it has what can best be described as its own town within the greater metropolis of the City.

One of the San Francisco’s southernmost districts, Bernal Heights is bounded on the east and south by freeways, on the north by Cesar Chavez Blvd and by Mission Street on the west. Bernal Hill dominates the neighborhood, which per the 2000 census, has around 4,000 residents. Atop the hill, one has a spectacular 360 degree panorama of the entire city, not to mention a one mile path for walking or jogging, numerous varieties of flora and and fauna (California poppies among others as well as raccoons, possum, skunks, hawks and owls) plus acres of open space where residents can visit while their dogs romp leash-free.

Looking south one sees San Francisco Bay, the San Mateo Bridge and the East Bay hills in the distance. To the east is Candlestick Park, home of the 49ers, Hunters Point and the San Francisco’s port with freighters entering and leaving. Turning your gaze northward reveals one of the most stunning metropolitan views anywhere in the world—the skyline of downtown, Bay Bridge to the right, Golden Gate to the left each opening the City to the East Bay and Marin, respectively. Spread out like a white carpet surrounding the skyscrapers are low-lying residential neighborhoods, mostly white two story buildings, punctuated here and there by church spires. To the west, the panorama concludes with views of Mt. Davidson and the hills that help protect Bernal from some of the coastal fog that frequently pours through the Golden Gate.

Ringing the hill is a mile long path for walkers and joggers and on most days you’ll find both. Dog walking services frequent the hill and you can overhear a dog walker as she struggles to load one of her “clients” into her covered pickup, “Argh. You used to be so light. I don’t know what happened…”

Situated towards the Bay in the eastern part of the City, Bernal is better shielded from the chill and fog that affects coastal neighborhoods and has a majority of sunny days each year.

Cosmopolitan attitudes in a small town atmosphere

What is absent in a locale, while not as noticeable, can say as much about a neighborhood as what one does find there. And if you walk along Bernal Heights’ commercial corridor, Cortland Avenue, you won’t find a Starbucks, let alone a McDonalds. In fact, you won’t find a single chain store.  What you will find are the signs of an independent-minded community that actively supports its neighbors’ rights to live their lives as they want, not as someone else dictates.

At one end, near Mission St., you may happen upon an open garage where you’ll see an elderly man getting exercise on a treadmill surrounded by literally hundreds of stuffed animals and dolls hanging on every wall. Walking east, you’ll come to Bernal Heights branch of the San Francisco Public Library with its brightly colored mural depicting a scene from Bernal’s Mexican past.  Go inside and you’ll find kids everywhere. The library is slated to undergo renovations soon to make it even more valuable to the community.  

Beginning at the intersection of Bonview and Cortland, you’ll find everything you’d need to live in a small town, albeit one populated by foreign-born urbanites, upscale singles and young families.  Grocery stores, bakeries and coffee shops, Red Hill Books, a yoga center, laundromat, various cafes, restaurants and bars create the commercial heart of Bernal—virtually all locally owned and operated for the benefit of the community.
Young mothers with babies share the sidewalk with lesbian couples (nearly one-third of Bernal’s residents are single females). Artists share the sidewalk with deliverymen (a large percentage of Bernal residents work in the arts, entertainment or food industries).

Walk the side streets extending north and south from Cortland you’ll find row upon row of Victorian and Edwardian style houses, most well-kept, many freshly painted (the bright yellow, blue trimmed house at 280 Ellsworth is one of many standouts), others you’d class as fixer-uppers. Forty percent are owned, higher than the citywide average. Gentrification has not gained much traction in Bernal Heights, and perhaps this speaks to a spirit of community activism and independent-mindedness that has grown up over the decades. As evidence, people park their cars not in an orderly fashion, all facing one way on one side of the street, all facing the other direction on the other side, but in whichever way they happened to arrive at their destination. (By the way, there are no parking meters once you leave Cortland and plenty of parking spaces throughout the neighborhood—quite a difference from most parts of the City.)

Roots of the community

The original residents were Olhone Indians and the salt marshes of the bay were their fishing and hunting grounds. Around 1840, rancher Don Jose Cornelio Bernal received a land grant from the Mexican government and grazed his cattle there. The community remained largely undeveloped even after California passed from Mexican hands through the wild and wooly days of the Gold Rush and the burgeoning of San Francisco proper. The great Earthquake of 1906 changed all that.

Bernal stands on firm bedrock, unlike downtown, which is sandier. Being outside the urban area, it was not connected by gas or electrical lines and was spared from the fires that devastated much of the City. Bernal’s urbanization came as part of the massive rebuilding of San Francisco. Some downtown residents fleeing the devastation set up shelters there. The rebuilding provided jobs for German, Italian, Swedish and Irish immigrants, and the working class neighborhood began to flourish. Naval shipyards opened at China Basin during World War II and workers moved to Bernal from all parts of the country.  Blacks, Latin Americans and Asians broadened Bernal’s ethnic and cultural diversity.

Construction of the Bayshore Freeway in the late 1940s had an isolating, stagnating effect on the community.  Homes had to be moved to accommodate the project. The freeway blocked people’s access routes to and from their jobs in the industrial section of town. 
In the 1960s, developers were eagerly eyeing Bernal Heights. Residents could clearly hear bulldozers behind the political doubletalk and organized fierce resistance to protect their neighborhood.
 
By the 1970s, neglect had set in but the neighborhood again fought back. In 1978, they founded the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, which continues to provide community organizing, affordable housing, senior and youth services. Crime rates dropped and since then, the community has resisted further attempts to be overtaken by developers, and the corporately-sponsored gentrification that has occurred elsewhere in the City has not dislodged Bernal’s homey, off-beat ambience. That’s not to say Cortland Avenue remains drab and dowdy. The Good Life Market moved in and other community-minded businesses followed.

Bernal Heights today

Nowadays, Cortland features a unique blend of the trendy (Moki’s Sushi, a Pilates center, Bernal Beasts pet store and a herbology shop) and the traditional (Avedano’s Meat Market, a window repair shop and several classic corner markets). 

Drop in to the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center across from the library and talk to one of Bernal’s the long time residents. She’ll point out the small town feel of the neighborhood. She’ll talk about people’s friendliness and how peaceful the neighborhood is. Then, gesturing to half a dozen mothers pushing strollers, she’ll tell you how Bernal keeps getting better and now it’s better than ever.

Bernal real estate, while extremely high compared to the rest of the country, remains some of the most affordable in the City, and the neighborhood attracts sophisticated, upscale single people (many females) and young families (including numerous lesbian families) who are first-time homebuyers.

San Francisco as a whole has a declining child population, but not so Bernal Heights. Children abound in the neighborhood. One third of households have kids, compared to the 20% citywide average. St. Mary’s Recreation Center at Murray and Justin Dr. hosts activities for toddlers on up. Parents and their toddlers can be found in parks and playgrounds and area elementary schools reverberate with the happy noise of children at recess. So apparent is the nurturing urge here that residents refer to their neighborhood as “Maternal Heights.” 

Restaurants

In keeping with Bernal’s mix of trendy vs. trendless, eateries along Cortland range from nationally renowned Moki’s and the Liberty Café to generic Mexican and Chinese establishments.  Below is a bare bones listing of restaurant, address and type of cuisine you’ll find along or near Cortland St.

Angkor Borei – 3471 Mission (at Cortland) – Cambodian, Burmese
Deli Pub – 301 Cortland - Delicatessen
Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack – 18 Virginia (at Mission) – Italian, pizza
Hunan Chef – 519 Cortland – Chinese
The Liberty Café – 410 Cortland (at Burlington) – American
Little Nepal – 925 Cortland – Nepalese, Indian
Maggie Mudd – 903 Cortland (at Gates) – Desserts
Martha and Bros. – 745 Cortland - Coffee
Moki’s Sushi and Pacific Grill – 615 Cortland (at Moultrie) – Japanese, sushi
Moonlight Café and Crepe House – 634 Cortland – Crepes, variety
Piqueo’s – 830 Cortland – Contemporary Peruvian
Pizza Express – 919 Cortland – Pizza
Progressive Grounds – 400 Cortland – Coffee, sandwiches, ice cream, etc.
Tacos Los Altos – 737 Cortland - Mexican
Valentina Ristorante – 419 Cortland – Italian
Vino Rosso – 629 Cortland – Italian, wine shop

Night life

Bernal’s young family orientation in no way precludes it’s own nightlife scene. In addition to its fine restaurants, Cortland boasts its share of night spots, ranging from the long time lesbian hangout Wild Side West to the new Stray Bar to Skip’s, which features live music six nights a week.  Many more clubs (some with live music) and restaurants line Mission Street just down the hill.

Community Events

The Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center remains the nerve center of community activism. Annual community activities include its unique Fiesta on the Hill, a family oriented, alcohol free street fair with a focus on children’s activities. Then there’s the Illegal Soap Box Derby, held several times each year, where locals race down Bernal Heights Boulevard on homemade cars powered by gravity and beer.

These two events, at the extremes of the many this community celebrates, symbolize perfectly the activist, slightly off kilter yet heart’s-in-the-right-place spirit of Bernal Heights, a small town alive and well right inside one of the world’s great cities.