The San Francisco call., 1909-12-18
PRETTY HOME SITES
ON POTR[RO HILLS
Marine View in Some Direction
From Almost Any Location
in Populous District


sands of Industrious people on the hills
of the Potrero' and also on more level
streets Practically every family may
have a marine view in some direction
that resides on any one of the very
numerous grades that overlook the Day
OF San Francisco. Practically the
Potrero has the advantage of what real
estate brokers may describe as several
frontages. On the Mission side In
Potrero avenue, which is In width and
in central position the Van Ness avenue
of that section, the house lots look over
into the Mission and have a view of the
Twin peaks and the heights which lead
up to the peaks. together with a great
outlook on business streets and thor
oughfares in the Mission which are
lined with handsome residences.
On the bay side the dwellers face
great sheet of water, looking across
India basin and over to the east shore
of the bay a horizon of rounded hills
in Alameda county. As happens with
all subdivisions of San Francisco, as
they have been mapped by city sur
veyors and city engineers, the Potrero
section covers a large area. Potrero
avenue is the boundary for some dis
tance on one side, and Sixteenth street.
at It's junction with Potrero avenue. is
another boundary. The Sixteenth street
boundary runs down TO the bay. From
the heights of Eighteenth street house
holders may look down on a thriving
and important industrial section of the
city which lies along Potrero avenue
and along Sixteenth street, with extern
sions over toward the established rail-
way terminals on the water front.
The creation of large industries along
the bay front of the Potrero long ago
established the characteristics, of life in
that section to some extent. Existence
there is not without its picturesque
features.
The congregation OF diverse indus
tries has for many years attracted
skiliful mechanics to make their homes
in this region, and great share of
prosperity which San Francisco has en-
joyed is due to their efforts. There they
have their homes, upon which the sun
shines the greater part of the year.
The disaster of 1906 only served to in
crease the population. The Potrero
and South San Francisco partake of
the same general characteristics re-
garding bay frontage and in the abun-
dance of sunny hills that holds out home
sites for nultitudes yet to come. The
prices of building lots are cheap, COM
pared with some parts of the city. and
the opportunities afforded for employ
ment are quite certain to increase
In addition to the public schools there
are. two great technical schools, which
confer large advantages on the PotreIb
and the adjoining Mission district.
These are the California School of Me-
chanical Arts, otherwise known as the
Lick school. and the Wilmerding school
The cornerstone was recently laid for
the city and county hospital. which
will cost $1,000,000 in the Potrero dis
trict. South San Francisco has a pub
lie school, churches, a Masonic temple
and many conyeniences. The street
railway lines connect directly with all
parts of the city by transfers Re-
Gently the Southern Pacific company
has conferred new convenience on
the district by establishing a station on
the cutoff line at Fourteenth avenue
at which trains stop for passengers.
Men who live in the Potrero or South
San Francisco work at Baden and at
other places along the peninsula. 1t is
noSv easy for them to reach the places
pedition and ease
The placing of the Lick and the Will
nrerding schools on opposite sides of
sixteenth street, at the junction with
Utah street, Is a particularly fortunate
circumstance. In the last five years
these school structures have been al
most completely surrounded by newly
erected Industrial plants of magnitude
The purpose of the Lick and the Will
merding schools is distinctively to i'm
part useful information, such as Is in
demand among busy people in many
walks Of life. Residents of the Potrero
and the Mission, seeing. the Importance
of industrial education as manufactur-
ing plants increase about them, have
the rare advantage OF schools to teach
that which is primarily important
within a few blocks OF their homes
The Wilrherding school teaches trades
The Lick school has wider scope than
the Wilmerding, but IL Is intensely
practical in the common sense educa-
tion which 1t imparts.
"A recent application made to the SUI
pervisors illustrates the situation in
regard TO the industrial neighborhood
and close connection between that and
industrial education. IT is asked that
a spur track of large railway system
shall be admitted into the Lick school
ground. The Lick boys learn some
thing of forge work. something Of
molding and pattern making, some
thing concerning electricity, and a
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