Bernal Heights, San Francisco

Bernal Heights
Neighborhood
The Bernal Heights hill and microwave tower.
Nickname(s): Bernal, BH, Bernalwood, Maternal Heights
Bernal Heights Location within San Francisco
Coordinates: 37°44′30″N 122°24′52″W / 37.74156°N 122.41439°W / 37.74156; -122.41439
Country	United States
State	California
City-county	San Francisco
Government
• Supervisor	David Campos
• Assemblymember	David Chiu (D)
• State senator	Scott Wiener (D)
• U. S. rep.	Nancy Pelosi (D)
Area
• Total	1.049 sq mi (2.72 km2)
Population
• Total	24,824
• Density	24,000/sq mi (9,100/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	94110, 94112
Area codes	415/628

Bernal Heights (/ˈbɜːrnəl/ BUR-nəl) is a residential neighborhood in southeastern San Francisco, California. The prominent Bernal Heights hill overlooks the San Francisco skyline and features a microwave transmission tower. The nearby Sutro Tower can be seen from the Bernal Heights neighborhood.

Bernal Heights lies to the south of San Francisco's Mission District. Its most prominent feature is the open parkland and radio tower on its large rocky hill, Bernal Heights Summit. Bernal is bounded by Cesar Chavez Street to the north, San Jose Avenue to the west, US 101 to the east, and I-280 to the south.

Bernal Heights was part of the 1839 Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo, a 4,446-acre (17.99 km²) Mexican land grant awarded to José Cornelio Bernal (1796–1842). By 1860, the land belonged to François Louis Alfred Pioche (1818–1872), a frenchman and financier, who subdivided it into smaller lots. Its streets were laid out during the Civil War by Army engineers from the Presidio, which explains why so many Bernal streets are named for military men. It was first populated primarily by Irish immigrants who farmed the land and ran dairy ranches. According to legend, a mini gold rush was triggered in 1876 when con artists planted the hilltop with traces of gold.