Westwood Park, San Francisco: Homes, History & Local Life |

Discover Westwood Park, San Francisco: Homes, History & Local Life

Westwood Park was built as an experiment: could the residence park model. previously reserved for doctors, lawyers, and corporate executives in Forest Hill and St. Francis Wood. be made to work for accountants and clerks? Archibald S. Baldwin of Baldwin & Howell decided to find out. In 1916 he formally opened Westwood Park for sale on 93 forested acres along the north side of Ocean Avenue, with lots priced from $1,050 to $2,250 and a promotional coin that read: “When the tunnel is complete, to Westwood Park we will retreat.” The Twin Peaks Tunnel opened February 3, 1918, and the neighborhood filled in quickly. most of its 650 bungalows were built between 1918 and 1923. According to the Western Neighborhoods Project, the U.S. Census of 1920 confirmed that Baldwin had achieved his vision: the most common professions among Westwood Park residents were middle management, sales, and accounting.

The neighborhood is bounded by Monterey Boulevard to the north, Ocean Avenue to the south, Faxon Avenue to the west, and Frida Kahlo Way (formerly Phelan Avenue, renamed in 2018) to the east. Its signature architectural feature is Miramar Avenue, a landscaped median boulevard that bisects two concentric oval-shaped streets. The gateway pillars designed by architect Louis Christian Mullgardt at the north and south ends of Miramar Avenue were designated San Francisco Landmarks by the Board of Supervisors on January 30, 2024, per SF Planning Department records.

Is Westwood Park right for you?

Westwood Park draws buyers who want a genuine bungalow neighborhood. single-family, detached, architecturally diverse within a coherent framework, and community-oriented. Compared to Forest Hill or St. Francis Wood, Westwood Park represents the middle-class residential park at a moderate discount. same design philosophy, same era, smaller homes, lower prices.

The Westwood Park Association (WPA), incorporated March 22, 1917, continues to maintain the neighborhood’s historical heritage and community character, per westwoodparksf.org.

How do you get around Westwood Park?

The K Ingleside Muni Metro runs directly along Ocean Avenue, the southern boundary of Westwood Park, with multiple stops including Ocean and Miramar, Ocean and Lee, and the Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station, per SFMTA. The K provides access to the Twin Peaks Tunnel and downtown San Francisc. From the Ocean Avenue corridor, riders reach Civic Center in about 20 minutes and Embarcadero in about 25 minutes, with 10-minute weekday daytime headways. The 8, 8BX, 29, 43, and 49 bus lines serve the CCSF/Ocean and Lee corridor. Balboa Park BART station is reachable from the K line’s southern terminus.

Walk Score: 84. Transit Score: 77. Bike Score: 68. Source: walkscore.com, Westwood Park.

There is no BART in Westwood Park itself.

For two-career households: one partner can commute downtown via the K Ingleside in under 25 minutes from Ocean Avenue. A partner commuting to the South Bay can connect to BART at Balboa Park or use I-280.

The history of Westwood Park

The 93 acres that became Westwood Park had been part of Adolph Sutro’s eucalyptus forest, purchased by Archibald S. Baldwin in 1911. Baldwin & Howell formally opened Westwood Park for sale October 15, 1916, per San Francisco Story.

Charles F. Strothoff. who would later design nearly all of Westwood Highlands. was responsible for approximately 500 of the 650 homes here, according to outsidelands.org. Ida McCain was responsible for nearly 100 more. The Nelson Brothers were the primary contractors, building about 350 of the homes. Louis Christian Mullgardt designed the gateway pillars and Beaux-Arts entrance at Miramar and Monterey Boulevard that remain the neighborhood’s most visible landmark, now confirmed as San Francisco Landmark #314.

The neighborhood’s architectural variety. Craftsman, Mission, Spanish Colonial, Tudor, Dutch Colonial, Prairie, Storybook, Swiss Chalet. within a coherent plan reflects Strothoff’s ability to produce variation on a repeating floor plan. Most homes were built between 1918 and 1923. The racially exclusionary deed restrictions became legally unenforceable after the Supreme Court’s 1948 Shelley v. Kraemer ruling and are void.

What does the housing look like in Westwood Park?

Detached single-family bungalows are Westwood Park’s defining and essentially exclusive housing type. The 650 homes are Craftsman and Period Revival bungalows, predominantly one-to-two stories on lots wider than the standard SF 25-foot lot. Interior sizes typically run 1,200 to 2,000 square feet. Most homes have rear yards, garages, and front setbacks.

Attached homes, flats, and multi-unit buildings are not present within the oval-street neighborhood.

Where locals eat, drink, and shop in Westwood Park

Westwood Park borders Ocean Avenue, one of The City’s deeper south-side commercial strips, and most daily life happens immediately on the corridor.

Ocean Avenue from Phelan west to Plymouth holds Cantonese roast meat counters, Lao and Thai kitchens, retro burger spots, Neapolitan pizza, Chinese bakeries, Italian restaurants, craft beer bars, and a Whole Foods at 1150 Ocean for grocery runs. The corridor is one of the more racially and culturally mixed commercial strips in the south-side neighborhoods, supporting both family-first daily traffic and a steady weeknight dining rhythm. Specific operators cycle, but the corridor density and family-restaurant character have held for decades.

Westwood Park Pros:

650 bungalows (Craftsman, Mission, Spanish Colonial, Tudor and more) on curvilinear streets around a landscaped median boulevard
K Ingleside Muni Metro runs directly along Ocean Avenue
Active Westwood Park Association maintains community character
Gateway pillars (SF Landmark #314) and mature Miramar Avenue median trees give the neighborhood a distinctive streetscape
Close to City College, Balboa Park BART, and the full Ocean Avenue commercial corridor

Westwood Park Cons:

The bungalow housing stock, mostly from 1918-1923, requires ongoing maintenance for 100-year-old infrastructure
No walkable commercial strip within the neighborhood. Ocean Avenue is accessible but on the boundary
No BART in the neighborhood. East Bay commuters need a connection at Balboa Park
Thin resale market of 650 homes
The 94112 zip code covers a broader are. Make sure your agent is pulling Westwood Park-specific data

What’s the Westwood Park market doing?

[INFOSPARKS IFRAME: MEDIAN SALE PRICE 400x300]

[INFOSPARKS IFRAME: DAYS ON MARKET 400x300]

[INFOSPARKS IFRAME: MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY 400x300]

Westwood Park is a neighborhood where the street address matters. a home on Miramar Avenue with the median boulevard view commands a different premium than a home on one of the outer oval streets. Reach out: luba(at)lubasf(dotted)com

Westwood Park frequently asked questions

What is Westwood Park like to live in?

Who is Westwood Park right for?

The Westwood Park Association (WPA), incorporated March 22, 1917, continues to maintain the neighborhood’s historical heritage and community character, per westwoodparksf.org (https://westwoodparksf.org).

How do you get around Westwood Park without a car?

Westwood Park has a Walk Score of 84, Transit Score of 77, and Bike Score of 68. The K Ingleside Muni Metro runs directly along Ocean Avenue, the southern boundary of Westwood Park, with multiple stops including Ocean and Miramar, Ocean and Lee, and the Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station, per SFMTA (https://www.sfmta.com/routes/k-ingleside). The K provides access to the Twin Peaks Tunnel and downtown San Francisc.

What kind of homes are in Westwood Park?

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

The 93 acres that became Westwood Park had been part of Adolph Sutro’s eucalyptus forest, purchased by Archibald S. Baldwin in 1911.