Welcome to Potrero Hill Month
In the eight months since we launched this program, we have welcomed over 1,500 people to Special City. Thank you for being here with us.
We're excited to kick off our 2026 Heritage in the Neighborhoods month. But it is a busy season and we also have below:
- A barrier-breaking, tennis-related Heritage Happy Hour
- A Potrero-centric Where-Am-I from Woody
- Halloween and Autumnal events at the Haas-Lilienthal House
Welcome to Potrero Hill Month
Follow along with us each week
Above: 1980 view east toward Potrero Hill with water tower (near 22nd & Carolina) and Pennsylvania Avenue gasometer/gas holder in background. (Meg Oldman Collection/Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project)
Welcome to Potrero Hill Heritage in the Neighborhoods Month! For all of October, we will focus on the special architecture, legacy businesses, and cultural histories of this sunny neighborhood in the southeast part of San Francisco.
Follow us on social media each weekday for historical photos, highlights, and events, and make sure you are a member of Special City (if you are reading this in your email, you likely are!) to dive more deeply into Potrero Hill’s stories and special places weekly.
Tomorrow, for “Fun Friday,” our social media channels will share the goatish origins and legacy of the neighborhood’s unique nickname. On Monday, we will launch into some early history.
The Potrero Hill Archives Project and Pier 70 Time Machine museum will be our spotlight partner for this exciting month. The Archive Project’s description of the neighborhood in their 2005 book, San Francisco’s Potrero Hill, gives us a good preview of some of the stories coming this month:
“In the early 1800s, it was called Potrero Nuevo, or ‘new pasture.’ Gold-rush squatters soon put the squeeze on Mission Dolores’s grazing cattle, and when the fog lifted, Potrero Hill became the first industrial zone in San Francisco, with iron-smelting plants, butcheries, and shipbuilding dominating the waterfront during the late 19th century. The Hill has been home to immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, China, Russia, Mexico and from everywhere in between.
“These days, many of the factories and warehouses have been converted into housing and offices for techies. And for the record, the crookedest street in San Francisco is not Lombard—it’s Vermont, between 20th and 22nd.”
We will look into that last claim and also bring you some beautiful buildings, beloved long-time businesses, and cultural legacies of Potrero Hill all through October.
Want a preview of a place and a culture we will be featuring this month? Club Slovenia’s 102nd annual grape festival is this Sunday, October 4 at Slovenian Hall, 2101 Mariposa Street, 11:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Enjoy wine, music, and a Slovenian buffet for $50 and see the inside of the 1927 building.
A singles champion opens an SF bar
meet us at Murio’s next week
Above: Excerpt from the August 3, 1936 edition of the Honolulu-based Hawaii Hochi newspaper highlighting John Murio’s win in the British Columbia singles championship.
With last month’s US Open tennis championships recently concluded, we’re thinking about barrier-breaking tennis history is a part of our next Heritage Happy Hour location.
Murio’s Trophy Room (1811 Haight Street) was founded in 1959 by John Keloha Murio. A San Franciscan of Hawaiian descent born in 1901, Murio became one of the best known national and international tennis stars of the late 1920s and 1930s. But he battled prejudice and racism throughout his career, and was barred from competing in the US Open championships because of his race.
While he sadly never got his chance to compete in this major tournament, Murio’s tennis trophies remain behind the bar as a reminder of his trailblazing accomplishments.
SF Heritage spotlighted Murio’s as a worthy Legacy Business Registry candidate during our Haight Heritage in the Neighborhoods month back in August 2022, and we are thrilled it was added to the registry in 2025!
Register now to join us on Thursday, October 8 from 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Beyond the Green Portal
Where Am I?
Ready for some guessing? Our San Francisco “Where Am I?” this month has a sleek aqua-colored entryway and a round bronze plaque which might give you a hint. Remember, it is Potrero Hill month so this site may very well be a real anchor of that neighborhood
Enough clues! We will share the location and more about this historic site with our Local Hero and Landmark Club members in the next Special City email. (Sign up or upgrade your account here)
Halloween at the Haas-Lilienthal House: Enter The House of Weird
This October, the Haas-Lilienthal House will transform once again into a Halloween haunt, but this time with a special twist.
Enter The House of Weird, a brand-new immersive experience from our partners at The Gregangelo Museum. More than a haunted house, step into a secret, sensory world. It all begins in the ballroom, where you can enjoy a festive libation before your adventure.
The House of Weird begins October 16 and runs through Halloween, October 31.
Please note that during The House of Weird (October 16-October 31) there will be no public tours of Haas-Lilienthal House, but there will be...
Autumnal Tea at the Haas-Lilienthal House
For a less spooky but no less festive experience, join an autumnal afternoon tea at the Haas-Lilienthal House on Sunday, October 18 at 11:00 a.m.
The Gregangelo Museum and SF tea establishment Crown & Crumpet will lead you on a treasure hunt through the house to collect items for a personalized house-book keepsake, after which you’ll enjoy a table service of savory and sweet treats, teas, and prosecco or seasonal mocktail in the dining room.
Seating is limited to only 16 spots, so don’t delay! More info and tickets.
Next week, the Where-Am-I answer, a deeper dive into early Potrero Hill history, and a look at some of the hill’s oldest “keystone residences.”
See you then!
Founded in 1971, San Francisco Heritage is a 501(c)(3) membership organization that preserves and enhances San Francisco’s unique architectural and cultural identity. Our programs and partnerships interpret, share, and celebrate the shared histories, landscapes, and communities of the city to instill optimism, belonging, and purpose.
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