In 1929, Helen Wills was already an international tennis star when she and her fiancé, Frederick Moody Jr., posed for news photographers and newsreel cameras in Alta Plaza. The New Fillmore, quoting a Chronicle article from that time, reports that she chose the park because "it's pretty up there."
Ninety-seven years later, the park's tennis courts have a new surface, and a commemorative plaque honoring Wills, who played at Alta Plaza, was scheduled to be unveiled at a dedication on Sunday, September 20. A quieter change at the north end of the summit will probably outlast the new surface. Since September 23, one of Alta Plaza's courts can be booked ahead. Until then, all of the park's courts had traditionally been first come, first served.
Who paid for the new courts
Alta Plaza's summit work this fall was not a citywide capital project. The New Fillmore reported that San Franciscans for Sports and Recreation helped fund the court improvements and oversaw the work. Friends of Alta Plaza Park also put money into the resurfacing and is still taking donations for it.
The same pattern holds a few yards away. San Francisco Recreation and Parks says the playground renovation now underway is "supported in part by generous donations through the Friends of Alta Plaza Park."
The dedication guest list matched the funding. The Pacific Heights Residents Association calendar listed Park Commission President Kat Anderson and District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill as participants. The program included tennis instruction, games and refreshments, plus Alta Plaza Park tote bags at the Friends hospitality booth for past donors and new members. Neighborhood groups helped pay for the courts and for for the playground, and the city signed off on both. That is how the top of this hill gets maintained.
The north court now runs on a calendar
Here is how the summit is laid out, as tennis writer Amy Suto describes it in a passage The New Fillmore reprinted. There are three courts "at the crown of Pacific Heights": two tennis courts, plus an all-purpose court with a basketball hoop and pickleball lines. The views take in "the Marina rooftops, the bay, the whole northern sweep of the city."
Suto writes that free, first-come play is what gave these courts their culture. Posted limits allow 30 minutes of rallying and one set when others are waiting, so "this isn't the spot for a marathon match." Her read on timing is just as specific. Weekends get crowded and weekday mornings are the quiet window. Late morning to early afternoon is solid, and the courts fill once school lets out in the neighborhood.
When the northernmost court is booked, everyone who shows up without a reservation shares what's left, and the 30-minute and one-set limits do more of the work on a busy Saturday. On a quiet Tuesday morning, little may change. Players who want court time locked in ahead now have a way to get it. City reservations go through the Recreation and Parks How to Book a Tennis or Pickleball Court page, and that page has the current booking terms.
What's open at the summit through the end of the year
| Amenity | Status this fall | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Two main tennis courts | Resurfaced, play has resumed | Dedication scheduled Sept. 20 |
| Northernmost tennis court | Reservable through Rec and Park | Since Sept. 23 |
| Other courts | First come, first served | Posted limits: 30 minutes of rallying, one set when others wait |
| Children's playground | Closed for renovation | Sept. 28 to late December per Rec and Park; through early January per The New Fillmore |
| Off-leash dog play area | Listed among park features | Southeast corner of the park |
The closed playground next to the courts
The second neighbor-backed project is also why the summit feels different this season. The children's play area by the courts closed on September 28. The Recreation and Parks page for Alta Plaza gives late December as the end of the closure. The New Fillmore said early January and described the finished playground as having all-new surfacing and several new play structures. For families planning around winter break, the two estimates fall on either side of the holidays. The later one is the safer bet.
Until it reopens, the nearest alternative within Pacific Heights is Lafayette Park, to the east. Recreation and Parks lists an accessible children's play area, a playground, restrooms, tennis courts, picnic tables and an off-leash dog play area among its features. The two parks have a shared history. Rec and Park notes that both hilltops served as refuges for residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake and fire. Lafayette also has a few stories of its own. The city set its four blocks aside for a park in 1855 but didn't formally establish it until 1867. In the meantime, an attorney named Samuel Holladay built a house at the summit that became a favorite gathering spot for literary and political society, and it wasn't torn down until 1936. In 1879, George Davidson of the U.S. Coastal Survey built the first astronomical observatory on the West Coast in the park.
If you're bringing a stroller or wheelchair back to Alta Plaza once the playground reopens, Rec and Park lists the accessible entrance at Scott and Jackson. The grand staircase climbs the southern slope from Clay and Pierce.
The hill was built in stages
The current work is the latest step in a long one. The city bought Alta Plaza's nearly 12 acres, a former quarry, in 1877, then left the land unimproved for about two decades. Between 1891 and 1899, the Department of Streets, Highways, and Squares graded it and laid walks, archways, landings and sewers. Monterey cypress and Kentucky grass went in. Park Superintendent John McLaren built the terraces designed by Rudolph Ulrich and handled the landscaping.
The terraces came from a superintendent. Neighborhood groups helped fund the new court surface and part of the playground renovation. The bounds are the same as ever: Clay, Jackson, Scott and Steiner streets.
The volunteer calendar behind the work
The funding comes from the same people who show up with gloves. The Pacific Heights Residents Association listed a Clean and Green with Friends of Alta Plaza Park for Saturday, October 17, meeting at the children's playground. Two weeks earlier, it listed a Cleaning and Greening workday at Lafayette Park for October 3 at Clay and Laguna. The night before, a Lafayette Park Fall Social at the summit was billed with local food and live music. Those dates have passed, but they show how the work in both parks gets organized.
Coming up next month is the PHRA annual member meeting and reception on Thursday, November 12, at Flood Mansion, with a program on San Francisco culture, technology and what comes next. It is open to current members, and registration is on the PHRA calendar.
For something closer at hand after an afternoon hit, the north edge of the neighborhood has a returning option. Kaiyō Handroll Bar reopened at 1838 Union Street on September 11. Eater SF reported a Nikkei hand-roll menu, cocktails and late-night service. Hours are 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Living near a park that neighborhood groups help pay for has a practical side. Projects like these shape what a block feels like to live on, and that's part of what Suzy follows closely. If you live near Alta Plaza or Lafayette Park and want a candid read on how changes like these play out on your own street, Suzy Reily is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
