Buena Vista Park is on the edge of the Haight Ashbury, and overlooked by most visitors to San Francisco. Most guest stop their journey down Haight St at Masonic, which makes some sense. The interesting retail—head shops, vintage stores, and restaurants end at the intersection of Haight and Masonic.

Buena Vista Park is on the edge of the Haight-Ashbury

But a little over block up Haight, just past Bound Together Books (the Anarchist Collective Bookstore) which you should stop into because I’m going to bet you don’t have such a bookstore in your town, is Buena Vista Park.

It was the first park in San Francisco, but its real distinction are the pieces of gravestones that line the gutters and walkways.

Gravestones line the walkways of Buena Vista Park

Yes really. It’s marble from broken headstones that went unclaimed when San Francisco moved the cemeteries out of the city in the early 1900’s.

Yes really. But that’s another story.

When headstones went unclaimed in the cemetery relocation, the marble was busted up and used for various civic projects around San Francisco. Upgrading Buena Vista park was one of those projects.

Most of the pieces are placed writing side down, but either from carelessness or a sense of grim humor, the writing is visible.

It’s a fun treasure hunt as you walk through the park, looking dates and names, most of which are only partially saved. My personal favorite piece simple says “Died.”

What more is there to say?

The Gravestone Gutters of Buena Vista park is one of those oddities, a strange treasure, that an adventurous and curious traveler loves to find. That’s you, or you wouldn’t be reading this.

Plus, there are good views. But that’s another post.