Sutro Heights Park

A replica lion statue at the entrance to Sutro Heights Park

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Sutro Heights, a sprawling garden on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Cliff House, features views of Ocean Beach and the Sunset District. Here you'll find the remains of Adolph Sutro's former mansion residence. Sutro Heights in its modern form may not sport the grandiosity of the original garden, but the natural beauty and secluded locale are worth a visit.

Citizen Sutro

Born in Germany on April 29th, 1820, Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro grew up to embody the American immigrant dream. He arrived in California during the Gold Rush in 1850. He was well educated in the field of mining engineering and business, which proved to be far more profitable than panning for gold. Sutro made his fortune by devising and implementing a ventilation system that rid the silver-rich Comstock Lode mineshafts of water and gas by driving a tunnel through Mount Davidson.

Sutro in San Francisco

After his work in the silver mines, Sutro moved back to San Francisco where he invested heavily in coastal real estate. In 1881, he purchased 22 acres of undeveloped land, including a high vista overlooking the Cliff House and Seal Rocks. Sutro's land boasted some of the best views of the Pacific Ocean, Mount Tamalpais, and the Golden Gate. He built a mansion home on the grounds, and named the property Sutro Heights, a luxurious public garden that was open to all citizens. Although not it its full splendor, part of the mansion's foundation and the gardens remain.

Sutro Heights Back in the Day

San Fran Big-Timer Adolph Sutro was committed to sharing the wealth-specifically his wealth-with the citizens of San Francisco. In 1885, he commissioned 20 acres of hilltop land for a lavish garden, Sutro Heights Park, designed to showcase views of the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate strait. Sutro spared no expense. The garden included observation decks, flower beds, forests, walkways, hedge mazes and parterres-a trendy European tradition of shaping bushes into figures-and 200 imported replicas of Greek and Roman statues.

Sutro was a dreamer, and he always dreamed big. Sutro Heights was his imagined vision of European style superimposed onto an American landscape, a balance of refinement and natural ruggedness.