Ingleside Terraces, San Francisco: Homes, History & Local Life

Joseph A. Leonard, the developer of Ingleside Terraces, put a sundial in the middle of the neighborhood as a publicity stunt in 1913, claiming it was “the world’s largest sundial.” It still stands on Entrada Court, per the Western Neighborhoods Project’s Ingleside Terraces history. The sundial is set inside an oval street called Urbano Drive, named after Leonard’s Urban Realty Improvement Company, which follows the exact track of the old Ingleside Racetrack. When you drive on Urbano Drive, you are quite literally circling the course where horses raced on Thanksgiving Day 1895.

Is Ingleside Terraces right for you?

Ingleside Terraces is an affluent residential neighborhood of approximately 750 detached homes, bounded by Ocean Avenue to the north, Ashton Avenue to the east, Holloway Avenue to the south, and Junipero Serra Boulevard to the west, per Wikipedia.

How do you get around Ingleside Terraces?

The K Ingleside Muni Metro line runs along Ocean Avenue at the northern edge. I-280 is immediately accessible via Junipero Serra Boulevard.

Walk Score: 82. Transit Score: 70. Bike Score: 66. Source: walkscore.com, Ingleside Terraces.

The history of Ingleside Terraces

Joseph A. Leonard’s Urban Realty Improvement Company purchased the 148-acre Ingleside Racetrack site in 1910. He announced the opening on November 11, 191. The first house was occupied in June 1912, per OpenSFHistory. He designed Urbano Drive to follow the old racetrack oval. Leonard built his own Craftsman-style house at 90 Cedro Avenue in 1911, which later became the Cecil F. Poole House, named for the prominent Black San Francisco attorney who moved in as the first non-white resident in 1957. On June 5, 1958, neighbors burned a cross on the Pooles’ front lawn, per Wikipedia. The Cecil F. Poole House at 90 Cedro Avenue is a San Francisco Designated Landmark since 2000.

What does the housing look like in Ingleside Terraces?

Detached single-family homes built primarily in the 1920s in Spanish Revival, Mediterranean, Tudor, and Mission Revival styles define the neighborhood. Distinctive character: wider lots and larger front yards with mature palm trees, gardens, and driveways. Homes generally range from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet on lots from 3,500 to 6,000+ square feet. Current pricing runs from approximately $1.6M to $3.5M.

Where locals eat, drink, and shop in Ingleside Terraces

Ingleside Terraces has no commercial district within its boundaries. Daily life runs to the Ocean Avenue corridor immediately south and to Stonestown Galleria a short drive west.

The Ocean Avenue strip provides the closest daily-use mix, with Cantonese roast meat counters, Lao and Thai kitchens, retro burger spots, Neapolitan pizza, Chinese bakeries, Italian restaurants, and a Whole Foods at 1150 Ocean for grocery runs. The neighborhood’s defining landmark is the sundial at the entrance off Junipero Serra Boulevard, a 1913 architectural feature dating to the original Mason-McDuffie subdivision.

Ingleside Terraces Pros:

• One of the most spacious single-family residential neighborhoods in SF, with large lots, wide front yards, palm trees, and suburban character within city limits
• Walk Score of 90 at the Ocean Avenue edge. K Ingleside provides direct downtown access
• I-280 access immediately via Junipero Serra for Peninsula car commuters
• Urbano Drive oval and Entrada Court sundial create a distinctive neighborhood character, unlike anything else in The City
• Low crime, quiet streets, strong community identity and low turnover

Ingleside Terraces Cons:

• No commercial amenity within the neighborhood
• ; interior streets have lower practical walkability than the Ocean Avenue corridor
• Premium pricing reflects lot size. Comparable square footage at lower prices exists in adjacent neighborhoods
• The neighborhood’s history of racial exclusion, including the 1958 cross-burning at the Poole house, is a documented part of its past
• Very thin transaction volume

What’s the Ingleside Terraces market doing?

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Ingleside Terraces is one of the few SF neighborhoods where lot size is the primary value driver. Understanding what a specific lot’s dimensions and position mean for value requires knowing the neighborhood block by block. I have worked the west side for over two decades. Reach out when you are ready.

Ingleside Terraces frequently asked questions

What is Ingleside Terraces like to live in?

Ingleside Terraces is an affluent residential neighborhood of approximately 750 detached homes, bounded by Ocean Avenue to the north, Ashton Avenue to the east, Holloway Avenue to the south, and Junipero Serra Boulevard to the west, per Wikipedia.

Who is Ingleside Terraces right for?

Ingleside Terraces is an affluent residential neighborhood of approximately 750 detached homes, bounded by Ocean Avenue to the north, Ashton Avenue to the east, Holloway Avenue to the south, and Junipero Serra Boulevard to the west, per Wikipedia.

How do you get around Ingleside Terraces without a car?

Ingleside Terraces has a Walk Score of 82, Transit Score of 70, and Bike Score of 66. The K Ingleside Muni Metro line runs along Ocean Avenue at the northern edge. I-280 is immediately accessible via Junipero Serra Boulevard.

What kind of homes are in Ingleside Terraces?

Detached single-family homes built primarily in the 1920s in Spanish Revival, Mediterranean, Tudor, and Mission Revival styles define the neighborhood. Distinctive character: wider lots and larger front yards with mature palm trees, gardens, and driveways. Homes generally range from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet on lots from 3,500 to 6,000+ square feet.

What’s one thing people don’t know about Ingleside Terraces?

Joseph A. Leonard’s Urban Realty Improvement Company purchased the 148-acre Ingleside Racetrack site in 1910.