Washington Square Park

Beautiful park! I have been living in this neighborhood for 15 years. This is the spot I usually go for excercising, walking, or hanging out with my friend. In front of this park, there is gorgeous church. This church services for wedding, serving food for homeless people etc. Because this park is inside the north beach which is we call Italian town, you can get a nice coffee or latte. The only thing I don’t like this park is that some people like to smoke cigarettes and weeds there.

This is not just any old park.
This park has a complete life of its own.
If a park could earn the equivalent of «mother of the year,» Washington Square Park would hold the title.
Every year.
Let’s take a look at her regular schedule, shall we?
Her day starts bright & early. Make that foggy & early. This is San Francisco. It’s never bright at 6:00 am.
6:00 AM. Tai chi.
7:00 AM. More tai chi.
8:00 AM. Even more tai chi.
Basically, she’s got tai chi from 6 to 10 every morning.
8/9/10:00 AM. Dog sitting.
And walking. And running. This of course overlaps w tai chi, & can be quite entertaining.
Dog sitting time goes on, intermittently, all day. It tends to subside in the afternoon, but then gets pretty crazy after 5pm.
Wedding pictures.
This can be in the morning, afternoon, or early evening, depending on the time of the wedding at Sts. Peter & Paul Church. One of the most beautiful churches in the city, her iconic structure watches over WSP like a mother hen. The two are basically synonymous.
Sports.
Days vary, & weather permitting.
Volleyball is seasonal, while soccer goes on every Sunday. Usually accompanied by reggae music.
Art shows.
Every single Sunday in late spring, summer, & early autumn. Canvases set up for your perusing pleasure. Take a stroll in the park, buy a painting. Nice.
Then there’s the whole pigeon situation. They like to hover & hang, but it’s not WSP’s fault. She calls it an occupational hazard. And she’d like to reiterate… please do NOT feed them! Ever!
See that? A day in the life of Washington Square Park is hardly… a walk in the park.
And that’s not even counting events like movie night or the annual festivals. Or the local boys playing football every Thanksgiving Day.
Washington Square Park is the hardest working park in San Francisco.
5 stars.

Stopped for some dinner… tried the cheeses burger and onion rings. Very good, service is good .I recommend and will return soon!

On a nice day, it’s a’ight. Bring a blanket, some friends, some 21^st Amendment watermelon beer, sunglasses and cop a squat… Not as crazy, busy or hipster-​ish as Dolores park (which should earn a star in itself), but provides a great place to take a nap (I see the homeless do it all the time on the benches — See my profile photo of SUNDAZE in Washington Square park). I would definitely be careful about laying in the grass since this also doubles as a pet playground… Last Sunday, I saw Sinbad slangin’ some swords… and some steroid enhanced body-​builder slangin’ some weights and some artistes slangin’ some paintings. Totally RANDOM YO’.

This is a mid sized lawn area in the middle of Little Italy area in North beach, so there’s a nice city view with a lovely church across the street and restaurants and small businesses everywhere. There is no jungle gym or a kids area. This is a place mainly to take your dog for a walk or have a picnic, suntan, or just take a small break if you live around the area. There are some benches on the sidewalk. Overall, nice spot to catch some sun or hang out with family and friends.

Love this tiny park. It has lots of tall trees that provide shade. Lucious greens… It has plenty of benches, I love to watch people take their doggies here to poopie and frolick in the grassland. The people here are always happy b/​c their touring or doing some outdoors activity. I love to eat lunch here on the bench b/​c it’s so comfortable with the breeze and all. The benches looks clean enough to actually sit on, which is rare for the city. Didn’t know they have wifi but They do. Sometimes people run around in circles for exercising. There is also a pay toilet nearby. A clinic near by, and Saint Peters Church right in front. Plenty of restaurants around. This park is great for people of all ages. Lots of people with off leash dogs, sometimes people with strollers walking around, children/​adults climbing on the trees around b/​c they are a good height and size to climb, people basking in the sun, reading, listening to music etc… Overall a nice park

There are a lot of great parks in the City, of various sizes and shapes. But for some reason I keep coming back to Washington Square Park.
Ok, part of the reason is that this is probably the best park for the mid-​day drinking nap. Decently shaded, moderately crowded, dog friendly, central location, and with plenty of bars and restaurants nearby.
Decently shaded — this isn’t just an open field, there are trees in this park. The playground area is surrounded by pines, but the main park area has a few trees to lay under their shade.
Moderately crowded — On a nice weekend, you will usually find Delores Park a madhouse with barely a square foot of space. I have seen this park with painters, frisbee players, and others and there has always been plenty of space. Likewise the crowd is always laid back here.
Dog friendly — Yeah, I like dags. Dogs off leashes, catching toys and running around are common, and the clean up even more so.
Central location — You are in North Beach, a few minutes walk from Chinatown, Russian Hill, Embarcadero, Fishermans Wharf, etc.
Bars and restaurants — Rogue and Square Bar directly across the street. Tony’s and Joe’s directly across the street, as well as sushi, Thai, Greek, America, pastries, and spit in a direction and you’ll hit Italian. I’d say picnic in the park, but you may not even need to take out.
Saint Peter and Paul Church — Not a church guy, but hard to ignore this beautiful piece of architecture (that also rings).
It also has a bathroom, which is incredibly convenient if you’ve been day drinking.

So much potential here.
The city needs to take a closer look at this small gem of an outdoor space in North Beach.
It needs an overhaul and a major clean-​up!
Great for a quick break on one of the benches or an extended period of chatting with friends or just taking a moment for yourself.
Great views.
Wonderful mix of people.
Clean it up!

I’m conflicted is this place for humans or dogs because every owner in the area brings their dogs here and sitting on the grass is not an option because of the p! ss and sh! t. The benches are okay as long as your careful about where you sit. The best things are that it’s right in North Beach and has free wifi.

a small park right in the hustle and bustle of north beach. has the usual contingent of homeless and weirdos. i dont know what makes very unfit middle age guys think people want to see them topless. my eyes hurt. grass in need of major overhaul. overall, it’s better than nothing, but sf could do a lot better.

A smaller, more relaxed version of Dolores Park right in the middle of North Beach.
Perfect spot for people watching or a coffee break after a good day cruising around town.

Great place to hang out during a nice day. Bring your dog, a good book and a blanket! I just moved to SF so I’m not sure about open container laws, but people were openly enjoying a beer or glass of wine — my kind of place! The church nearby chimes every hour or so making it a neat environment to hang out in.
The park has public restrooms which were pretty clean for a city park.
If you want an afternoon treat, head to Victoria Pastry Company nearby. Superb Italian deserts like tiramisu and cannoli’s.

This is the place to indulge in some heavy duty people and dog watching. There were tons of locals with their pooches enjoying the beautiful weather. It would be great to grab a bite to eat from one of the many nearby eateries and enjoy a picnic in this perfect park. I can’t wait to revisit this little gem!

Located on Columbus street, Washington Square park is one of the most family friendly park’s i know of im the city. It’s the only park i feel safe in late at night as thier are so many are in the park late at night. Easily accessible by the 30, 45, and the 8x i think. Lot’s of bar’s and coffee shops in the area that add to that North Beach charm. The cathedral is beautiful day or night and it’s not to far of a walk from the Coit Tower. It would be nice and smart if the city in vests in extending the central subway to North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf. It only make’s sense.

Interesting little park that I came across while waiting for Tony’s pizza across the street. Here during a weekday in the afternoon (during lunch time) and there is certainly a diversity to this park. Reading the other reviews, I probs didn’t come across this park on a good day. There were some people doing tai chi at one of the perimeter’s of the park and some people playing music. Cool little neighborhood spot!

I absolutely ADORE this park! I’ve been coming here for over 20 years and now i take my daughter here and I can’t get her to leave. This and the DiMaggio playground are definitely neighborhood staples.
We like to get focaccia and hit the park and just chill. They have a pretty decent playground and a ton of grassy area to just lay out.
If you’re feeling in the moment you can join in on some tai chi and if you’re lucky you might catch a wedding Accross the street in the gorgeous church
Also the amount of homeless people wandering around has definitely decreased
A really great family friendly place to relax and take a break from the city life. I never get tired of coming here!

Dogs running around, church bells ringing, smell of the most delicious Tony’s pizza!!!
I can’t ask for more, this place is perfect. Great food is near by AND you can chill with your dog. Plus it doesn’t get too crowded. Even if it’s a sunny weekend, it gets moderate ly crowded but it’s really fun watching people and dogs too.

This park has become my go-​to destination on sunny days. I mean, how many places are this entertaining, gorgeous, and FREE in San Francisco?
Steps to having a good time at Washington Square Park:
1. Grab a blanket, a Frisbee, and/​or your dog. Make sure to pack a bottle opener and/​or wine opener
2. Make a pit stop at Trader Joe’s, S & S Grocery (Green & Union), or Little Vine (Grant between Union and Filbert) for some snacks and/​or booze. You could also order a pizza for takeout from Tony’s (some of the best pizza in California)
3. Enjoy! Take in the scenery: watch the Asian dancers, check out the artists, and gawk at the stoners
Bonus: Make sure to take in the grandeur of Saints Peter and Paul Church. Joe DiMaggio famously took his photograph with Marilyn Monroe there after marrying her at SF City Hall in 1954. Joe grew up in North Beach.

Great place to hang out and have a picnic on the weekends! There was a group of middle-​aged chinese women dancing for hours and that was kind of entertaining. We brought sandwiches (from Prime Dip sandwiches) and wine from TJs and chilled there for a few hours and one of our friends entertained us with super cheeeeezy jokes and games: DD
Pros:
— Not over-​crowded
— 2 blocks from Trader Joes to pick up snacks and wine
— Across from Victoria pastry company in case you’re craving sweets and lattes.
— Parking isn’t bad. Found metered parking in 10 mins. You can pay online if you’re out of coins. (we just found that out!)
— Tony’s pizza across the street — Yum!!!
Cons:
— There were 2 homeless people fighting. What are we in Junior high? This one guy swung his razor and almost hit one of us and the cops came after it ended.

I once walked by Washington Square Park on a hot summer day with some friends by my side. We had just visited the Cathedral across the street, and were free to stroll around the city at our leisure for the remainder of the day.
I’ll never forget the moment I glanced over to the park that day and saw something very beautiful.
A group of people were dancing together. Something about it really struck me that day. I felt more at peace in that moment than I had in a long time. I stood there in awe for a few minutes; falling behind my friends.
I watched them dance. It was as though everything around them fell into the darkness, and they were radiating a beautiful white light that made its way all the way over to me, whom was standing frozen across the street.
I thought to myself, «That is happiness. Effortless… freeing… blissful peace.»
I took a little bit of that happiness with me that day, and am growing my own light to share with others as often as I can.