Juan Bautista Circle

Juan Bautista Circle serves as the literal and geometric heart of Parkmerced. If you look at the layout from above, you will see how the streets radiate outward from this three-acre oval park like the spokes of a wheel. This design intentionally broke away from the traditional San Francisco grid when the neighborhood was developed in the early nineteen forties. The circle itself is a heavily wooded, quiet green space that provides a rare pocket of calm in this densely built residential area. It acts as the anchor for the entire community plan, which was designed to function as a self-contained city within a city for postwar families.