Buena Vista Park is a park in the Haight-Ashbury and Buena Vista Heights neighborhoods of San Francisco, California. It is the oldest official park in San Francisco, established in 1867 as Hill Park, later renamed Buena Vista. It is bounded by Haight Street to the north, and by Buena Vista Avenue West and Buena Vista Avenue East. The park is on a steep hill that peaks at 575feet, and covers 37acre. The lowest section is the north end along Haight.LayoutThe hill on which the park lies is composed primarily of sand and San Francisco chert, formed in the Mesozoic era. The layout of the park uses the steepness of the hill to good advantage, offering good views of the city (particularly to the north).At the peak of the park is a small lawn. Notable views are available from various lookouts lower down, including "The Window," an overlook on the western side of the hill from which there is a sweeping vista of Golden Gate Park, the Pacific Ocean, and, on clear days, northward up the coast to the white cliffs of Drake's Bay.The paths along the west side are lined with gutters built by WPA workers out of broken headstones from the City's Victorian cemeteries at Lone Mountain (i.e. Laurel Heights), which were moved to Colma in 1930s. In a few cases the inscriptions were placed facing up and can be discerned (Cf. the Wave Organ).
