How about a hidden gem with dramatic views? That’s Bayview Hill Park. This 46.63-acre park sits in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. Bayview Hill Park is a natural area with a rich past.
Bayview Hill itself is also known as Candlestick Hill. It stands west of the former Candlestick Park site. The hill is easily seen east of the Bayshore Freeway. Daniel Burnham proposed this area as Visitacion Park in 1905. It wasn’t until 1915 that Bayview Hill Park was created.
Before it was a park, the Bay View Land Company owned the land. They wanted to build fancy houses here. These plans didn’t work out. In 1902, there was even a proposal to build a pest house on the site. The Crocker Land Company then stepped in. They donated land to block the pest house plan.
In 1937, radio station KYA built a studio and transmitter on Bayview Hill. The station broadcasted with 5,000 watts. In 1958, part of Bayview Hill was quarried. The material was used as fill for Candlestick Park. Today, Bayview Hill Park is a quiet escape. It is one of San Francisco’s best-preserved pre-Columbian spaces.
Evidence shows Native Americans lived near Bayview Hill Park. In 1910, Nels C. Nelson found a shell mound south of the park. This was near present-day Harney Way. Later tests suggest shell midden deposits are still there. Nelson noted the Bayshore or Crocker Mound was the largest in the area. It covered 11,400 square meters and was 5 meters deep. His excavation found over 28 burials.
In 1839, José Cornelio Bernal received the hill and land. This was part of the Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo.
The Bay View Land Company offered land to San Francisco in 1897. They wanted $45,000 for a Mission Park and Zoo. The land had been a racetrack. The city thought the price was too high.
Later, the Bay View Land Company offered the city land for a smallpox and leprosy pest house. The price was $8,000. The location was considered too remote. Charles Crocker donated land to the city. This stopped the pest house plan.
Burnham’s 1905 plan called for Visitacion Park. After the 1906 earthquake and fire, the plans were put aside. Bayview Hill Park was finally created in 1915.
KYA radio station was sold to Hearst Publishing Company in 1934. William Randolph Hearst hired Julia Morgan to design a transmitter building. It was built on Candlestick Hill. KYA began broadcasting from the new building in 1937.
The Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958. Mayor George Christopher promised a new stadium. Candlestick Point was chosen. Charles Harney owned the land. He sold it back to the city for a large profit. Fill for Candlestick Park was taken from Bayview Hill. The hill was kept as a windbreak. However, it ended up funneling winds through the stadium.
In 1961, during the All-Star Game at Candlestick Park, Stu Miller was charged with a balk. He was caught by a gust of wind. Mayor Christopher ordered a study. City planners proposed cutting through the hill. This was to deflect the wind.
Sixteen acres of the hill were added to the park in 1997.
Today, you can access Bayview Hill Park by foot or bike from Key Avenue. The park has a one-mile paved loop. It goes to the top of the hill. The hill rises 425 feet above sea level. It is made of Marin Headlands terrain. This includes chert, shale, greenstone, and greywacke.
Before quarrying, Bayview Hill bordered San Francisco Bay. The west side of the hill has Indian Head Rock. This is near the 1937 Morgan transmitter building.
Near the summit is a stand of Islais cherry trees. In spring, wildflowers bloom in the grasslands. You can find California goldfields, buttercups, and larkspur. The San Francisco blue-eyed Mary and California larkspur grow wild only in Bayview Hill Park. WPA work crews built retaining walls and stairways in the 1930s. They used local chert.
Bayview Hill Park offers a unique blend of history and nature. It reminds us of the city’s past and present.