Miraloma Park, San Francisco: Homes, History & Local Life

Miraloma Park was built according to a plan, not organically. Beginning in 1926, developers Theodore and G.H. Meyer launched what they called a “controlled-development subdivision,” explicitly marketing it as a “City in Itself” where “economics of mass production” would bring homeownership within reach of the average San Franciscan (Miraloma Park Improvement Club: https://miralomapark.org/neighborhood/history/). The curving streets followed the contours of the Mt. Davidson hillside in the manner of the City Beautiful movement, a deliberate design choice rather than an accident of terrain. A total of approximately 2,400 single-family homes were built across the development, first the Mediterranean-style houses with Spanish tile roofs near Portola Drive in the 1930s, then later homes with straighter lines and shingle roofs as construction moved downhill through the 1950s. The neighborhood that resulted is one of the most coherent planned residential enclaves in San Francisco, and one of the best-kept secrets in its family-home market.

Is Miraloma Park right for you?

Miraloma Park is a genuine single-family home neighborhood in the traditional sense: deep backyards, quiet curving streets, minimal through-traffic, and a community organization, the Miraloma Park Improvement Club, that has been active since 1926 and is one of the oldest neighborhood associations in The City. The resident profile skews strongly toward families with children, long-term owners, and buyers making a deliberate choice to prioritize space and quiet over proximity to commercial amenities.

This is a move-up neighborhood. Buyers here are typically trading out of a condo or flat elsewhere in the city, or relocating from the East Bay or Peninsula, drawn by the combination of detached single-family homes with deep yards at prices that are high by national standards but moderate within SF. The comparison set is Glen Park, West Portal, and Diamond Heights, and Miraloma Park generally benchmarks favorably on space and yard size against all three.

How do you get around in Miraloma Park?

Muni service includes the 36 Teresita bus, which runs along Teresita Boulevard and connects to West Portal and downtown, and the 37 Corbett, which connects toward the Castro and Market Street (SFMTA: https://www.sfmta.com/). The West Portal Muni metro station, providing K, L, and M line service downtown, is accessible by the 36 bus or a downhill walk of about 10 to 15 minutes. There is no BART in Miraloma Par. The nearest BART is Balboa Park, accessible by bus or car, or West Portal connecting to Market Street BART stations.

Walk Score: 62. Transit Score: 66. Bike Score: 53. Source: walkscore.com, Miraloma Park.

The terrain is hilly and the neighborhood is not walkable to most daily commercial needs without a car or a transit connection.

Commute to downtown via the 36 bus to West Portal Muni metro runs approximately 25 to 35 minutes. For two-career households, one partner commuting downtown and one working in the West Portal or Forest Hill corridor will find this location highly practical. Peninsula Caltrain access requires getting to 4th and King via West Portal Muni connections.

The history of Miraloma Park

The Mt. Davidson slopes that became Miraloma Park were originally part of the Sutro estate, the vast landholdings of Adolph Sutro, who planted the surrounding hillsides with eucalyptus, cypress, and pine trees in the late 19th century. After Sutro’s death, the estate was subdivided over time. The Meyer Brothers acquired the Miraloma Park portion and began development in 1926, following the opening of the Twin Peaks Tunnel in 1917, which made the area accessible from downtown for the first time.

The development was phased over approximately three decades, with the earliest homes built near Portola Drive and construction progressing downhill through the 1950s. The 38-acre Mt. Davidson Park, which crowns the neighborhood, contains the highest point in San Francisco at 927 feet, topped by a 103-foot concrete Latin cross that has been visible from most of The City since 1934 (Wikipedia: Mount Davidson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Davidson,_San_Francisco). The cross has been the subject of periodic legal challenges over church-state separatio. The city sold the cross and a small plot of land surrounding it to a private group in 1997 to resolve the issue. The park itself is public, with walking paths through eucalyptus forest to the summit.

What does the housing look like in Miraloma Park?

Detached single-family homes are essentially the only housing form in Miraloma Park. This is one of the most consistently single-family residential neighborhoods in San Francisco. The typical home is a one-story over garage, built on a standard or slightly wider lot with a deep rear yard, often 60 to 80 feet or more. Early Meyer Brothers homes were Mediterranean-influenced, with stucco exteriors, Spanish tile roofs, and arched doorways. Later homes are simpler in design. Most have been updated inside. Square footage runs roughly 1,400 to 2,000 square feet in the main house. The deep yards are Miraloma Park’s most discussed amenity.

There are very few attached homes, condos, or multi-unit buildings in the core of the neighborhood.

Where locals eat, drink, and shop

Miraloma Park has almost no neighborhood-specific commercial activity. The neighborhood is residential through and through, surrounded on all sides by hills and protected open space, with daily commercial life happening on three nearby corridors.

West Portal Avenue (a short drive south) is the most-used daily corridor. The Castro and Market Street area (a 10-minute drive northeast) provides the broader dining and retail mix. Mollie Stone’s Markets at 1 Portola Drive is the closest grocery anchor. Mt. Davidson Park sits directly to the south and is the unofficial neighborhood landmark, with hiking trails leading to the highest natural point in The City.

Miraloma Park Pros:

• One of the most consistently single-family residential neighborhoods in SF: detached homes with deep rear yards on curving, low-traffic streets
• Mt. Davidson Park provides 38 acres of forested trails immediately adjacent, with the highest point in The City at the summit
• The Miraloma Park Improvement Club, active since 1926, provides strong neighborhood community organization and advocacy
• One of the most competitive single-family sub-markets in SF, with homes selling in 10 to 13 days and 12 to 21% above asking
• West Portal Muni metro, accessible by a short bus ride, provides direct service downtown via the Market Street subway

Miraloma Park Cons:

• Walk Score 66 reflects the reality that daily errands require a car or a transit connectio. This is not a walkable neighborhood by SF standards
• No neighborhood-specific retail or dining worth notin. Residents drive or take the bus for virtually all commercial needs
• The terrain is hilly and the curving streets, while pleasant to live on, make navigation challenging for first-time visitors
• The housing stock, while well-suited to family life, is architecturally modes. This is not a neighborhood for buyers who prize Victorian or Edwardian streetscapes
• Inventory is extremely thi. In some months fewer than 5 homes sell in the neighborhood, making comps difficult to interpret and increasing the risk of overpaying without local expertise

What’s the Miraloma Park market doing?

[INFOSPARKS IFRAME: MEDIAN SALE PRICE 400x300]

[INFOSPARKS IFRAME: DAYS ON MARKET 400x300]

[INFOSPARKS IFRAME: MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY 400x300]

Miraloma Park is one of the tightest single-family sub-markets in San Francisco. Inventory is so thin that individual sales can move the monthly median dramatically, and buyers who try to interpret the market from neighborhood-level statistics without understanding the specific streets and lot sizes will make mistakes. I work this neighborhood carefully and know the blocks that justify top dollar and the ones where the walk-in condition tells a different story. Contact Luba: https://www.lubasf.com/contact

Miraloma Park frequently asked questions

What is Miraloma Park like to live in?

Miraloma Park is a genuine single-family home neighborhood in the traditional sense: deep backyards, quiet curving streets, minimal through-traffic, and a community organization, the Miraloma Park Improvement Club, that has been active since 1926 and is one of the oldest neighborhood associations in The City. The resident profile skews strongly toward families with children, long-term owners, and buyers making a deliberate choice to prioritize space and quiet over proximity to commercial amenities.

Who is Miraloma Park right for?

This is a move-up neighborhood. Buyers here are typically trading out of a condo or flat elsewhere in the city, or relocating from the East Bay or Peninsula, drawn by the combination of detached single-family homes with deep yards at prices that are high by national standards but moderate within SF. The comparison set is Glen Park, West Portal, and Diamond Heights, and Miraloma Park generally benchmarks favorably on space and yard size against all three.

How do you get around Miraloma Park without a car?

Miraloma Park has a Walk Score of 62, Transit Score of 66, and Bike Score of 53. Muni service includes the 36 Teresita bus, which runs along Teresita Boulevard and connects to West Portal and downtown, and the 37 Corbett, which connects toward the Castro and Market Street (SFMTA: https://www.sfmta.com/). The West Portal Muni metro station, providing K, L, and M line service downtown, is accessible by the 36 bus or a downhill walk of about 10 to 15 minutes.

What kind of homes are in Miraloma Park?

Detached single-family homes are essentially the only housing form in Miraloma Park. This is one of the most consistently single-family residential neighborhoods in San Francisco. The typical home is a one-story over garage, built on a standard or slightly wider lot with a deep rear yard, often 60 to 80 feet or more.

What’s one thing people don’t know about Miraloma Park?

The Mt. Davidson slopes that became Miraloma Park were originally part of the Sutro estate, the vast landholdings of Adolph Sutro, who planted the surrounding hillsides with eucalyptus, cypress, and pine trees in the late 19th century.