St. Francis Wood, San Francisco: Homes, History & Local Life

St.Francis Wood is the only neighborhood in San Francisco that was designed by the same landscape firm that laid out New York’s Central Park. The Olmsted Brothers, successors to Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., drew the curvilinear street plan for the Mason-McDuffie Company in 1913, conforming roads to the natural topography of 175 acres of land that had been part of Adolph Sutro’s Rancho San Miguel estate. Source: TCLF, St.Francis Wood The result is a neighborhood that does not look like the rest of San Francisco’s grid: wide streets with landscaped medians, brick-diamond sidewalks, buried utilities, an elaborate Beaux-Arts entrance gate on St.Francis Boulevard, and two fountains. Architects who worked here early include Willis Polk, Bernard Maybeck, Timothy Pflueger, and Julia Morgan. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the St.Francis Wood Historic District, added June 30, 2022. Source: Wikipedia, St.Francis Wood

Is St.Francis Wood right for you?

St.Francis Wood is one of the smallest and most insular residential enclaves in San Francisco, with a population of roughly 1,600 and 468 households. Source: BarbCo Real Estate, St.Francis Wood The median household income in 2020 was $188,400. Source: Wikipedia, St.Francis Wood There are no businesses within the neighborhood boundaries by design, and there never have been: the original Mason-McDuffie deed restrictions banned commercial uses entirely and required all homes to be single-family only.

The buyer profile is family-oriented and stability-focused. Lots are twice the size of a standard San Francisco lot, and most homes sit on them with genuine setbacks, front gardens, and two-car garages, an almost unheard-of combination in The City. Move-up buyers coming from Inner Sunset, West Portal, or Forest Hill who want larger lots and more architectural character at a comparable or slightly elevated price point frequently land here. The median age is 46. Source: BarbCo Real Estate, St.Francis Wood The neighborhood skews heavily toward long-term owner-occupants: homes rarely come to market, and when they do, they typically sell quickly.

How do you get around in St.Francis Wood?

Walk Score: 86 (measured at 55 San Pablo Ave) Source: walkscore.com

Walk Score: 86. Transit Score: 72. Bike Score: 64. Source: walkscore.com, St.Francis Wood.

The 36 Teresita and 48 Quintara-24th Street bus lines provide additional coverage. No BART in the neighborhood. Nearest BART requires transit to Civic Center or 16th Street Mission. Source: SFMTA

For a two-career household: the Muni Metro connection from West Portal is the primary commute path, running underground to downtown in roughly 20 minutes. South Bay and Peninsula commuters face the standard SF issue: Caltrain at 4th and King is accessible via Muni Metro but adds significant door-to-door time. The neighborhood’s central west side location makes driving to Daly City BART and onward a practical option for some households. Most residents own a car.

The history of St.Francis Wood

The land now occupied by St.Francis Wood was part of the Rancho San Miguel land grant, one of the large Mexican-era ranchos that covered much of what is now San Francisco’s west side. After the rancho was subdivided following California statehood, the land eventually came into the possession of Adolph Sutro, the silver-mining magnate and one-term mayor of San Francisco who owned an estimated one-twelfth of all San Francisco real estate at his peak. Source: Wikipedia, St.Francis Wood After Sutro’s death in 1898 and the resolution of his estate, the Residential Development Company acquired 725 acres of the former Rancho San Miguel. The Mason-McDuffie Company then purchased 175 of those acres specifically to build what would become St.Francis Wood.

Joseph Mason and Duncan McDuffie had pioneered the planned unit development concept in the Bay Area, having previously developed Claremont and Northbrae in Berkeley. Source: Hills of San Francisco, St.Francis Wood For St.Francis Wood, McDuffie hired the Olmsted Brothers to lay out the streets and engaged John Galen Howard as the first supervising architect. Howard designed the entrance portals, the lampposts with their distinctive bracket-and-globe design, the brick-diamond sidewalk pattern, and the lower fountain on St.Francis Boulevard. Henry Gutterson succeeded Howard as supervising architect and designed the upper fountain as well as many of the homes built over the following three decades.

The official opening of St.Francis Wood was October 13, 1912. Source: Western Neighborhoods Project, St.Francis Wood The development restrictions set by Mason-McDuffie were meticulous: a two-story height limit, minimum 20-foot front setbacks, side yard requirements, a minimum construction cost of $3,500 (roughly $110,000 in 2025 dollars), and mandatory plan approval by the supervising architect. Like many planned communities of the early 20th century, the neighborhood also initially included racially restrictive covenants. It was not until the 1960s that St.Francis Wood became racially integrated. Source: Wikipedia, St.Francis Wood The St.Francis Homes Association, formed in 1912, still maintains the landscaping, fountains, and common areas, funded by mandatory assessments on all homeowners.

What does the housing look like in St.Francis Wood?

Detached single-family homes

The housing stock is exclusively single-family detached homes, by original design and deed restriction. The architectural range reflects the neighborhood’s long build-out period: Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, English Cottage, and Mediterranean styles from the 1910s through the 1940s are the most common, with some later mid-century additions. Most homes sit on lots of 5,000 to 7,500 square feet, roughly double the San Francisco standard, with genuine front gardens, side yards, and rear gardens. Size typically runs 2,500 to 4,500 square feet with three to five bedrooms and two to four baths. Two-car garages are standard. Francis Wood is approximately $3.25 million, up 6.7% year over year.

No attached housing, no condos, no multi-unit buildings

There is no attached housing, no multi-unit housing, and no condominium product in St.Francis Wood. The neighborhood’s deed restrictions and zoning have kept it exclusively single-family since 1912. Buyers looking for condos or TICs in this part of the west side need to look in the adjoining West Portal, Forest Hill, or Miraloma Park areas.

Architectural character and condition

Most homes have been well-maintained, many owner-occupied for decades at a stretch. The St.Francis Homes Association standards reinforce exterior upkeep. Interior updates vary: some homes have been fully renovated with modern kitchens, systems, and baths while retaining period detailin. Others have been preserved more or less as built. Period features such as Craftsman built-ins, arched doorways, hardwood floors, and original tile work are common. Buyers should expect that a full renovation will be needed on some listings despite high asking prices.

Where locals eat, drink, and shop in St.Francis Wood

St.Francis Wood has no commercial activity within its boundaries. The neighborhood is purely residential, with the West Portal Avenue commercial strip a five-to-ten-minute walk from the northern edge serving as the daily-use corridor.

The West Portal anchor most often cited is Gold Mirror Italian Restaurant at 800 Taraval, a family-owned Italian dining room that has been serving the area since 1969. Beyond that, West Portal Avenue offers a walkable mix of family restaurants, Thai kitchens, an Italian wine bar, donuts and coffee, and an Irish neighborhood bar. The character of the strip is steadier than most of The City, anchored by the Muni station and the long-tenured residential neighborhoods that surround it.

St.Francis Wood Pros:

• Exclusively detached single-family homes on lots that are roughly twice the San Francisco standard, providing genuine setbacks, gardens, and two-car garages that are not available in almost any other SF neighborhood
• Architecturally coherent neighborhood with a 100-plus-year history of maintenance standards enforced by the St.Francis Homes Association, resulting in one of the best-preserved Olmsted-planned streetscapes in the western United States
• Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, providing formal recognition of architectural and historical significance
• Muni Metro access from West Portal station puts downtown about 20 minutes away, and the west side location means quieter streets, less congestion, and easier parking than most SF neighborhoods
• Low resident density and no commercial activity within the neighborhood creates a quiet residential environment

St.Francis Wood Cons:

• No grocery stores, cafes, or commercial services within the neighborhoo. All daily errands require a walk, drive, or transit trip to West Portal Avenue or other nearby commercial streets
• Price floor is high: there is no entry-level or attached product in St.Francis Wood, and buyers who cannot support a $2.5 million minimum budget should look in adjacent West Portal or Forest Hill
• Inventory is very thin, with only a handful of sales per yea. Buyers need patience and early intelligence on off-market activity, and relying solely on public listings will miss opportunities
• The west side microclimate brings more fog and wind than neighborhoods east of Twin Peak. Summers are cool and overcast by the standards of the rest of the city
• School access via San Francisco’s lottery system is not guaranteed by neighborhood prestig. Families should research the process independently

What’s the St.Francis Wood market doing?

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St.Francis Wood trades in single digits of sales per year, which means any published median can swing dramatically based on which properties happen to sell in a given quarter. The data here gives you directional context, but the real picture comes from understanding what each specific property is worth on its block and in its condition. I sell on the west side and can tell you whether a particular listing is priced at, above, or below what the underlying value supports. Reach out at lubasf.com.

St.Francis Wood frequently asked questions

What is St.Francis Wood like to live in?

St.Francis Wood is one of the smallest and most insular residential enclaves in San Francisco, with a population of roughly 1,600 and 468 households. Source: BarbCo Real Estate, St.

Who is St.Francis Wood right for?

The buyer profile is family-oriented and stability-focused. Lots are twice the size of a standard San Francisco lot, and most homes sit on them with genuine setbacks, front gardens, and two-car garages, an almost unheard-of combination in The City. Move-up buyers coming from Inner Sunset, West Portal, or Forest Hill who want larger lots and more architectural character at a comparable or slightly elevated price point frequently land here.

How do you get around St.Francis Wood without a car?

St.Francis Wood has a Walk Score of 86, Transit Score of 72, and Bike Score of 64. Francis Wood. The 36 Teresita and 48 Quintara-24th Street bus lines provide additional coverage.

What kind of homes are in St.Francis Wood?

Detached single-family homes The housing stock is exclusively single-family detached homes, by original design and deed restriction. The architectural range reflects the neighborhood’s long build-out period: Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, English Cottage, and Mediterranean styles from the 1910s through the 1940s are the most common, with some later mid-century additions.

What’s one thing people don’t know about St.Francis Wood?

The land now occupied by St.Francis Wood was part of the Rancho San Miguel land grant, one of the large Mexican-era ranchos that covered much of what is now San Francisco’s west side.