Get to Know: Buena Vista/Ashbury Heights

Image by k!ng on Flickr via Creative Commons license.

Perched on the hills between the Haight, Cole Valley, and the Castro, Buena Vista / Ashbury Heights (SFAR district 5f) feels like one of San Francisco’s best-kept secrets. With tree-lined streets, stately architecture, and panoramic views that stretch clear across the city, this serene enclave offers a rare balance: a peaceful residential enclave that’s still minutes from some of the city’s liveliest corridors.

At the heart of the neighborhood lies Buena Vista Park, San Francisco’s oldest public park, established in 1867. Its winding trails climb through oak and eucalyptus groves to reveal breathtaking views of downtown, the Bay Bridge, and even Marin on a clear day. The park’s rugged paths and stairways reward those who explore on foot — a favorite among local walkers, runners, and photographers alike.

Thanks to its terrain, the park boasts a few stairways. Most notable is one that climbs from Broderick Street to the eastern entrance to the park: Adah’s Stairway, named after Adah Bakalinsky, the author of Stairway Walks in San Francisco. (Check out more amazing stairways here.) The park’s slopes also connect easily to Corona Heights and Tank Hill, expanding your outdoor playground with more trails and sweeping lookouts.

For fitness enthusiasts, these green spaces double as natural gyms; for others, they’re peaceful retreats for reading, picnicking, or simply watching the city shimmer below.

Buena Vista / Ashbury Heights is a showcase of San Francisco’s architectural beauty. The streets wind past grand Edwardians, graceful Victorians, and early 20th-century homes that blend ornate craftsmanship with commanding views. In Ashbury Heights, many homes sit high above the street, offering bay-facing vistas framed by lush gardens and mature trees.

Anchoring the eastern edge of Buena Vista Park is The Park Hill, a landmark pink Spanish Revival building that once served as St. Joseph’s Hospital, designed in 1928 by renowned architects Bakewell & Brown—the same duo behind San Francisco City Hall. Converted to condominiums in the 1980s, it now stands as one of the city’s most recognizable residential icons, offering sweeping views from its hillside perch and elegant common spaces, including a restored chapel and rooftop terrace. Film buffs may recognize its stately façade from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, where it appeared as the sanatorium where Scottie recuperates—an enduring reminder of the neighborhood’s cinematic and architectural allure.

Despite its serenity, Buena Vista / Ashbury Heights has easy access to everything that makes central San Francisco so dynamic. You’re just steps from the shops and cafés of Haight Street, Cole Valley, and the Castro. Public transit options abound, while the steep, winding streets offer daily reminders that a little climb is rewarded with unmatched views.