Hello!

A friend recently asked me how Divisidero Street got it's name. She had heard tale that Divisidero roughly marks the line dividing the sunny and foggy parts of the city. Anyone know if this is true? And if not, what's the real deal?

-- Todd Lappin (telstar@well.com), July 20, 2001

Answers

I like that answer about the sunny/fog divison. However the more traditional answer is that Devisiadero NOW Divisadero marked the westerndividing line between the grazing limits of the Presidio and the city limits of San Francisco.

Incidently, Division street has a similar etymology. It represented the souhtern line betweem the City and the Rancoh Potrero.

Good luck in your research.

Kurt Iversen

-- kurt iversen (iversenk@aol.com), July 20, 2001.

i have a map of the City dated 1853. it shows Divisadero as the divider between the developed eastern end of SF from the undeveloped land tracts west. as Geary passed Divisadero, it became San Francisco/Point Lobos Road

-- mike dempsey (mikede1087@aol.com), July 26, 2001.

The name Divisadero comes from the Spanish for "Vantage Point," because the early Spanish settlers and explorers could see the entire landscape and geography for miles around from the summit of Divisadero Street.

-- Herbert Inestroza (hi@tabsales.com), August 14, 2001.

If you want to have a little fun, take the 30 Stockton down Chestnut when they're breaking in an earnest new driver and listen politely at the corner of Divisadero and Chestnut when he or she announces that upcoming is a transfer point for the 24 Divisadero ...... Gaaaaaaaaah! As late as 1998 they were still announcing that.

-- Rosa Debonneheure (rosadebon@yahoo.com), August 14, 2001.