Midtown Terrace, San Francisco: 1950s Homes, Streets & Guide
Midtown Terrace is a tract of about 975 single-family houses built almost entirely in the 1950s on the slope west of Twin Peaks, roughly between Clarendon Avenue, Twin Peaks Boulevard and Portola Drive. The MLS and the Assessor both code it 4F, part of District 4. Nearly every parcel on the 2025 roll is a house; there are almost no condominiums and only a handful of apartment or flat parcels.
That uniformity is the neighborhood’s defining trait. Most houses went up within a few years of each other on similar lots, so sales here turn on condition, view and later changes rather than on age or architectural style.
Midtown Terrace homes for sale
Midtown Terrace market report
Built in a single decade
The Assessor’s build years are tightly bunched. Of the 976 single-family parcels, 914 are recorded between 1950 and 1959, and 808 of those from 1955 to 1959; 1956 alone accounts for 290. Only 60 carry later dates, most of them in the early 1960s. The median recorded year is 1957, and the latest house on the roll is dated 2018.
| Measure (4F, single-family parcels) | Value |
|---|---|
| Single-family parcels | 976 |
| Median recorded year built | 1957 |
| Median lot area | about 3,410 sq ft |
| Median building area | about 1,270 sq ft |
| Zoning in the Assessor’s field | RH-1 on about 978 of roughly 1,010 parcels |
The median building area is the second smallest in District 4, after Sunnyside. Lots are somewhat larger than the city’s common 25-by-100-foot size, which leaves room for rear or upper additions where zoning and slope allow. We could not verify the original builder from a primary source, so this guide does not name one.
The “view” streets
Midtown Terrace’s street names follow a theme. Panorama Drive and Dellbrook Avenue carry the most parcels, followed by Glenview Drive, and the rest are mostly “view” names: Marview, Skyview, Starview, Aquavista, Cityview, Dawnview, Knollview and Gladeview ways, Sunview Drive, and Clairview, Longview, Farview, Mountview and Greenview courts. Olympia Way and Midcrest Way complete the grid of curves.
A street name is no promise of a view. Whether a particular house looks out over the city depends on its side of the street, its height and its neighbors, so buyers check from the main floor rather than the listing photos.
Forest Knolls lies to the west, Twin Peaks to the east and Clarendon Heights to the north. Across Portola Drive to the south are Miraloma Park and Diamond Heights.
Sutro Tower and other large parcels
The 4F roll includes a few parcels that are not houses. One is 1 La Avanzada Street, the Sutro Tower site, recorded under a non-residential class with a 1974 date. Wikipedia places the tower on the lower hill between Mount Sutro and Twin Peaks rather than on Mount Sutro itself.
The roll also assigns the large public parcel at 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard to 4F, and it lists a few public open-space parcels along Twin Peaks Boulevard, an apartment parcel on Woodside Avenue and a single two-unit flat on Starview Way. None of those changes the character of the residential blocks, but they explain why parcel counts for “Midtown Terrace” can differ between sources.
Zoning: check the current map
The Assessor’s zoning field lists almost every Midtown Terrace parcel as RH-1 (one-family). At three interior points we checked, including one on the 500 block of Dellbrook Avenue, Planning’s current zoning map instead shows RH-1(D), the detached one-family district, with a 40//40-R-4 height district. The zoning field can lag Planning’s map, so check the specific parcel before relying on either.
Planning’s map also puts the houses in the Family and Senior Housing Opportunity SUD, one of the routes to adding units on house lots, and the state’s SB 9 offers another; our SB 9 lot split guide covers the state rules. The Central Neighborhoods Large Residence SUD, which caps very large units, follows Portola Drive, Twin Peaks Boulevard and Clarendon Avenue along this area’s edges; the point we tested here was outside it.
This is general information, not legal advice; talk to a California real estate attorney or architect before counting on any development path.
Slopes and the Portola Drive edge
Planning’s earthquake-induced landslide layer returns 24 mapped polygons inside a rectangle drawn around the 4F parcels. That rectangle also covers the steep Twin Peaks and Sutro Tower slopes, and neither of our two interior points fell in a zone, so the count describes the hillside setting rather than the typical lot.
The liquefaction layer shows only a narrow polygon along Portola Drive at the southern edge. If a lot is in a mapped zone, it must be disclosed at sale; our hazard maps guide explains how to check an address.
The 36 Teresita loop
Midtown Terrace has its own bus loop. SFMTA’s route page shows the 36 Teresita leaving Forest Hill Station on Laguna Honda Boulevard, climbing Clarendon Avenue and circling the neighborhood on Panorama Drive, Marview Way, Skyview Way, Cityview Way and Olympia Way, with stops such as Panorama Drive and Dellbrook Avenue, Skyview Way and Aquavista Way, and Olympia Way and Clarendon Avenue.
Forest Hill Station connects to the K, L and M Muni Metro lines. Per SFMTA, the 36 comes every half hour, starting at 6 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends, with the last runs around 10 p.m. The 52 Excelsior also stops on Portola Drive at Glenview Drive, at the southern edge.
Selling a home in Midtown Terrace
Because the houses share an era and a scale, buyers compare them line by line: the view from the main floor, how the kitchen and baths were updated, whether the garage level holds finished rooms, and how the yard handles the slope.
- Permits for later changes: rooms below the main floor, rear additions and decks should show permits; unpermitted space is addressed in our unwarranted units guide.
- Systems from the 1950s: buyers will ask about the sewer lateral, electrical service, windows and the foundation, so include any upgrade records.
- Slope records: retaining walls, drainage work and any engineer’s letters.
- City sale rules: the 3R report and other items on our San Francisco selling requirements page.
Diamond may refer you to partners we work with, such as inspectors and contractors; you’re free to choose any provider. The market report on this page shows current 4F figures, and our San Francisco selling page walks through the listing process.
Questions people ask
Where is Midtown Terrace?
On the western slope below Twin Peaks, roughly between Clarendon Avenue, Twin Peaks Boulevard and Portola Drive, with Forest Knolls to the west and Diamond Heights and Miraloma Park across Portola Drive.
When were Midtown Terrace homes built?
Mostly in the late 1950s. Of the 976 single-family parcels on the 2025 roll, 914 are recorded between 1950 and 1959, 808 of them from 1955 on, and the median year is 1957.
Is Sutro Tower in Midtown Terrace?
The Assessor places the tower’s parcel at 1 La Avanzada Street in subdistrict 4F, Midtown Terrace’s code. Other sources may describe its location differently.
Are there condos in Midtown Terrace?
Almost none. The 2025 roll shows a neighborhood of single-family houses, with only a few flat, apartment and public parcels.
Is Midtown Terrace in a landslide zone?
Mapped landslide polygons appear on the steep slopes around the neighborhood, but the interior points we checked were outside them. Look up the specific parcel.
What bus serves Midtown Terrace?
The 36 Teresita loops through the neighborhood on Panorama Drive, Skyview Way, Cityview Way and Olympia Way and connects to Forest Hill Station. Check SFMTA for current service.
Want to know how your house compares with recent Midtown Terrace sales of the same plan and view? Request a home valuation. Our San Francisco guide covers the rest of the city.
Sources & notes
- DataSF / SF Assessor-Recorder: Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls, 2025 closed roll (parcel counts by class, build years, zoning codes, street listing and selected parcel locations for subdistrict 4F; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning, height and special use districts at three Midtown Terrace points; landslide and liquefaction polygon counts and extents; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 249.92, Central Neighborhoods Large Residence Special Use District
- SFMTA: 36 Teresita route page (streets, stops, hours and frequency)
- SFMTA: 52 Excelsior route page (streets, stops, hours and frequency)
- Wikipedia: Mount Sutro (reserve, Interior Green Belt, forest history; background only)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
