Potrero Hill Neighborhood House

In 1905, immigrants fled the oppression of Czarist Russia and settled on Potrero Hill. With most of Potrero Hill’s soil as serpentine — the best type of soil to ensure a solid foundation — this neighborhood missed much of the devastation of the 1906 Great Earthquake. Displaced San Franciscans whose homes were destroyed moved to the Hill; many of these consisted of additional Russians along with Slovenian immigrants who previously lived in South of Market.

The new immigrants, now displaced by the earthquake and fire, had the burdens of again starting a new home, and also the strains of entering a new culture. Dr. W.E. Parker, Jr., Pastor of Olivet Presbyterian Church at 19th and Missouri Street, saw the need and took action: he opened his home and began offering English classes for men in 1908. Soon afterward, additional classes were formed for women and youth.

Italians, Swiss, Scots and a large population of Irish immigrants also arrived on the Hill in the early 1900s. The notorious “Irish Hill,” located east of Illinois Street, was home to many Irish factory workers in boarding houses. Soon Irish gangs formed, and crime became rampant.

In 1918, the growing needs of the neighborhood warranted the incorporation of the Neighborhood House under the California Synodical Society of Home Missions, an organization of Presbyterian Church women. In 1919, renowned architect Julia Morgan was commissioned to design a permanent neighborhood house, now at 953 De Haro Street. On June 11, 1922, the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House was completed, mantled in beautiful wood shingle and brick, with many broad windows and balconies providing a panoramic view of San Francisco. A gymnasium was added soon thereafter.

The Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, affectionately known as “the Nabe,” has enriched individuals and enhanced quality of life for generations of residents of the Hill and other San Francisco communities. This unshakable ground for stability is still needed to build and grow our community.