Crocker-Amazon, San Francisco, California
Encyclopedia
Location
Crocker-Amazon borders the Excelsior District. Crocker-Amazon covers the area south of Mission StreetMission Street
Mission Street is a north-south arterial thoroughfare in San Francisco, California that runs from the city's southern border to its northeast corner. The street and the Mission District through which it runs were named for the Spanish Mission Dolores, several blocks away from the modern route. Only...
and Geneva Avenue, extending toward suburban Daly City
Daly City, California
Daly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...
. The neighborhood is adjacent to Crocker-Amazon Park, named after the Charles Crocker
Charles Crocker
Charles Crocker was an American railroad executive.-Early years:Crocker was born in Troy, New York, to a modest family and moved to an Indiana farm at age 14. He soon became independent, working on several farms, a sawmill, and at an iron forge. In 1845 he founded a small, independent iron...
land holdings that once made up the area, and Amazon Street in the Excelsior. The winding streets of the neighborhood straddle the border between San Francisco and Daly City and largely blend in with the adjacent Daly City neighborhoods of Crocker and Southern Hills.
Attractions and characteristics
Crocker-Amazon neighborhood is slightly more affluent than the Excelsior, but retains much of the same racial diversity, including a large FilipinoFilipino American
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
community. The majority of the neighborhood consists of single family homes. Since many San Franciscans are unaware of its existence, home prices in Crocker-Amazon tend to be more reasonable than in other, better known neighborhoods.
McLaren Park
McLaren Park
McLaren Park is a park in south-eastern San Francisco. McLaren Park is the second largest park in San Francisco after Golden Gate Park. The park is surrounded mostly by the Excelsior, Crocker-Amazon, Visitacion Valley, Portola and University Mound neighborhoods.-History:McLaren Park was once a...
, San Francisco's second largest park after Golden Gate, borders Crocker-Amazon to the north. It has four playgrounds, recently renovated and lighted soccer and baseball fields, a golf course, two lakes, jogging and hiking trails, a public pool, an old reservoir that is used as a dog swimming area, and the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater which houses concerts and festivals.
The neighborhood benefits from some of the most varied weather in the city, with a balance of sun and fog. The top of the neighborhood boasts outstanding views of downtown San Francisco in the gap between McLaren Park
McLaren Park
McLaren Park is a park in south-eastern San Francisco. McLaren Park is the second largest park in San Francisco after Golden Gate Park. The park is surrounded mostly by the Excelsior, Crocker-Amazon, Visitacion Valley, Portola and University Mound neighborhoods.-History:McLaren Park was once a...
and Twin Peaks. Parts of the neighborhood, particularly heading toward Southern Hills, feature free-standing single-family homes with at least 10 feet on either side (in many San Francisco neighborhoods, there is a gap of no more than a few inches between homes). The diverse architecture of the homes throughout the neighborhood include Marina, Arts & Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, Edwardian, and Mid-Century Modern
Mid-century modern
Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965...
styles.
The area is well-served by public transportation. MUNI Routes 8X, 8BX, and 54 serve the Geneva Avenue corridor and the 43 bus also serves Geneva Avenue, as well as Naples, Cordova, and Munich Streets. During rush hour, the Balboa Park Bart Station is only about a five minute drive, an eight minute bus ride, or a 15 minute walk. The neighborhood is convenient to nearby Interstate 280, and to the Alemany Boulevard thoroughfare. Crocker-Amazon is served by two elementary schools, Guadalupe and Longfellow.
Geneva Avenue and Mission Street, which bound the neighborhood, feature commercial businesses, including a barber shop, pizzerias, pharmacies, a hardware store and a vegetable market, as well as a growing number of restaurants and cafes.