Balboa Park, San Francisco

Balboa Park is a public park in the Mission Terrace neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It was originally dedicated in 1909 when the park included the land now used by City College of San Francisco Ocean Campus west of I-280 Freeway.[1][2][3] The park is located in the Outer Mission neighborhood group,[4] and is adjacent to the neighborhoods of Cayuga, Ingleside, Oceanview, and Sunnyside. The park covers about 25 acres and includes among its facilities: Balboa Park Swimming Pool, Balboa Park Playground, Matthew J. Boxer Stadium (soccer), Sweeney Field (baseball), Balboa Skate Park, an off-leash dog area, a picnic area, tennis courts, and a basketball court.

Balboa Park Playground entrance, Jan 2021

Balboa Park is bounded on the north by Havelock Street, on the east by San Jose Avenue, on the west side by the I-280 Freeway, and on the south by Ocean Avenue. Located at the center of the park on the west side is the Ingleside Police Station, built about the same time the park was dedicated.[5]

History

Balboa Park was originally dedicated in 1909 and named after the explorer and conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa. The City stated plans to develop the park to serve the residents of the Outer Mission district. At that time the dedicated park included the entire 100-acre House of Refuge lot, which included the current City College of San Francisco Ocean Campus, on the west side of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks (now I-280 Freeway).[2][3][6]

The presence of the Ingleside Jail complex on the original park land retarded development or improvement of Balboa Park from 1910 until the jail was removed in 1934.[7] In 1936 the portion of the park on the west of the railroad tracks was given to City College, and the remaining portion, about 26 acres east of the freeway line, became Balboa Park as it is known today.[8][9]

  • Off-leash dog area, January 2021
  • Boxer Stadium, January 2021
  • Balboa Park Playground, January 2021
  • Sweeney Field, January 2021
  • Balboa Skate Park, January 2021
  • Tennis courts, January 2021
  • Balboa Park viewed from Diamond Heights, March 2018


See also

References
  1. Kuchar, Sally (October 23, 2013). "Mapping 46 of San Francisco's Best Public Parks". Curbed. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  2. "Landers Succeeds Col. Kirkpatrick". San Francisco Examiner. 12 Aug 1909. p. 3.
  3. "To Extend Line in the Mission". San Francisco Chronicle. 7 Aug 1909. p. 10.
  4. "San Francisco Neighborhood Groups Map". City and County of San Francisco.
  5. "Clubs to Dedicate New Police Station". San Francisco Call. 24 Aug 1910. p. 3.
  6. "Improvements by Parks Commission". San Francisco Call. 12 Jun 1910. p. 52.
  7. "A New Jail Site". The Recorder (San Francisco CA). 12 Mar 1932. p. 10.
  8. "Junior College Site". San Francisco Examiner. 3 Jun 1936. p. 5.
  9. "Construction Begun at Junior College Site". San Francisco Examiner. 26 Apr 1937. p. 5.

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