Cool Old Photos of Bernal Heights in the ’40s

Bernal Heights is a neighborhood of many names. There’s “Nanny Goat Hill,” referencing the goats that used to graze there. There’s “Red Hill,” a name given to reflect the amount of radical anti war activists who moved to the area in the wake of the Vietnam War. Most recently it’s been given the moniker “Maternal Heights” as a nod to the families who have come to call its streets home. One article sums of this shift succinctly by saying Bernal Heights is “where hipsters and lesbians go when they tire of The Mission craziness and want to settle down.”

Cortland and Andover (1941)

The neighborhood started as mostly a grazing ground. Goats and an array of wildlife roamed the hill in the early days of San Francisco settlement. In 1876 the neighborhood had a spike in visitors when one man, Victor Resayre, claimed to have found gold in them hills. Men, women, and some children rushed to Bernal Heights hoping to make it big. The neighborhood was briefly full of makeshift businesses like beer shops and fruit stands. One account says, “Almost every car which arrives at the terminus lands some gold-hunter, who makes the trip and returns, weary and hungry.” Unfortunately no one found any gold and it came up later that Resavre had actually found quartz instead. Some sources speculate this was a crafty con to encourage commerce in the area.

Bayshore near Cortland (1945)

These pictures show what the Bernal Heights was like in the 1940s and 1950s; a quaint neighborhood full of families and some truly cool cars. The images come thanks to the San Francisco History Center at the San Francisco Public Library (they’re from San Francisco Police Department Records), as well as non-profit Historypin and their Year of the Bay mapping project. Fans of these photos can find more via Historypin’s Year of the Bay project, where you can also leave your comments on the locations, dates, and stories that go along with these images, and all the collective SF storytelling they’re building on their site.

Cortland and Andover (1941)

To further celebrate Bernal’s community spirit, join us for our special Holiday Microhood party in Bernal Heights this Thursday from 6–9 p.m. Shops in the area will be offering everything from free hot cider to Christmas cookies and of course The Bold Italic staff will be there with treats of our own.

See you on Thursday!