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Alta Plaza Park

Jackson and Steiner
San Francisco, CA 94115

Hours

Park Hours 5 a.m. to Midnight
Restroom Hours: Spring/Summer 8 a.m.- 8 p.m.; Fall/Winter 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Parks and Facilities

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Alta Plaza Park

Features

  1. Accessible Children's Play Area
  2. Accessible Picnic Area
  3. Accessible Picnic Tables
  4. Accessible Restroom
  5. Accessible Street Parking
  6. Accessible Tennis Courts
  7. Off-Leash Dog Play Area
  8. Outdoor Basketball Court
  9. Panoramic Viewing Bench
  10. Pickleball (Outdoor)
  11. Playground
  12. Restrooms
  13. Tennis

A broad, tiered staircase climbs the terraced southern slope of this steep hillside park.  When reaching the top, you find a panoramic vista of the City from the southside Donor Circle viewing bench and Bay views from the northside.  Trees and benches crown the summit, while nearby are a children’s playground, picnic tables, a basketball/pickleball court, and two tennis courts. An off-leash dog-play area is in the park’s southeast corner.

Once the site of a quarry, Alta Plaza’s nearly 12 acres were purchased by the City in 1877.  For the next two decades no improvements were made, but between 1891 and 1899 the Department of Streets, Highways, and Squares graded, spread loam, installed walks, archways, landings, sidewalks, gutters, and sewers.  Monterey Cypress trees and Kentucky grass were planted.  Park Superintendent John McLaren implemented the terraces designed by Rudolph Ulrich and undertook its landscaping.  Like nearby Lafayette Park, Alta Plaza served as a refuge for residents displaced by the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

Alta Plaza Park is bounded by Clay, Jackson, Scott, and Steiner streets; the grand staircase rises midway along its southern edge, from Clay and Pierce Streets. Wheelchair access is from Scott and Jackson.
 

Report a Maintenance Issue
To report a maintenance or vandalism issue at this site, call 311, or click here.

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