China Basin Park in San Francisco is a 5-acre space serving as the focal point of the emerging Mission Rock neighbourhood. Featuring striking views, varied topography, and diverse amenities, as well as strong links to the surrounding community, it stands as a symbol of optimism for the city.
Designed and constructed as the centrepiece of Mission Rock, a new mixed-use district opposite Oracle Park (home of the San Francisco Giants), the park was created through a public-private partnership involving the San Francisco Giants, Tishman Speyer, and the Port of San Francisco. Mission Rock spans 28 acres and includes new buildings designed by MVRDV, Henning Larsen, Studio Gang, and WORKac. Recognised as LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council for Neighborhood Development, it has been praised for its innovative integration of smart growth, social equity, and green building practices.
China Basin Park anchors the neighborhood, embodying Mission Rock’s values of inclusivity, resilience, and creating a San Francisco icon. It offers diverse uses: quiet mornings feature intertidal ecology and birdwatching, while game days turn it into an extension of Oracle Park with seating and gathering spots for “splash hits.” The park connects Mission Rock to the city, with the San Francisco Bay Trail running through it, linking the waterfront to trails, open spaces, downtown, and South of Market. It’s a short walk from Oracle Park, inviting fans, with pedestrian paseos reaching into the neighborhood.
The park is designed to reduce risk from sea level rise and storm events, while also enhancing connections to the water, creating immersive experiences of the San Francisco Bay and McCovey Cove.
“The park is a place for people to gather and feel energy coming from really diverse contexts — from the ballpark on gameday, to the rhythms of daily life from the Mission Rock neighborhood, to the majesty of the bay horizon beyond to the intimacy of China Basin’s watery edge. The park responds to all of these forces. “We’ve designed a mosaic of destinations that are in dialogue with this context: sunny open plazas, shady lifted groves, active stadium seating, expansive community lawns, a massive immersive stormwater garden, and a beachfront ecosystem all within a modest five-acre footprint—and all supercharged by the Bay Trail that loops them altogether.”
Kate Orff, Founding Principal of SCAPE
The park includes a wide variety of amenties that create an urban public space for local residents and vistors and includes
- Handshake Plaza is on the west side of the park and serves as the main entry from 3rd Street. On game days, it’s a gathering spot.
- Gathering Grove,just past Handshake Plaza, is lit by catenary lights and ideal for events, fitness classes, music, art fairs, and programs. Sheltered by native Arbutus trees, it reduces wind impacts.
- Central Plaza, at the heart of China Basin Park, captures the park’s energy, including an all-gender restroom by Min Design integrated into the landscape. It offers views of McCovey Cove, Bay Bridge, and downtown.
- A statue of Willie McCovey, unveiled in 2003, overlooks the stadium. Mccovey, a Giants legend, played 19 seasons, hit 521 home runs, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986. The statue is a Giants fan pilgrimage site.
- Shoreline Sands, near the waterfront, features reclaimed eucalyptus seating for gathering, relaxation, and recreation.
- Stadium Seats provide views of Oracle Park and Shoreline Sands, allowing groups to watch events across McCovey Cove. Accessed from pathways, they mimic Oracle Park’s terraced seating.
- Great Lawn, with views of water, ballpark, skyline, and Bay Bridge, offers space for play, picnics, and events. Its slope creates a natural amphitheater, echoing regional headlands with windswept Monterey cypress.
- Stormwater Garden manages runoff with an 11,000-square-foot green space along Pier 48. Elevated boardwalks cross the garden, which uses native species to enhance biodiversity and provide a tranquil natural space.
San Francisco Bay Trail runs through the park as part of a 350-mile system, offering views of the Bay Bridge, Berkeley Hills, Yerba Buena Island, Oracle Park, and downtown SF. Elevated about five feet, it also protects the park from flooding.
China Basin Park
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Lead Designer: SCAPE
Local Landscape Architect: Miller Company
Local Architect: Min Design
Soils Designer: Pine and Swallow
Structural Engineer: Pannu Larsen McCartney
Civil Engineer: BKF Engineers
Local Civil Engineer: Urban Design Consulting Engineers
Geotechnical Engineer: Langan
Irrigation Designer: Brookwater
Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing Engineer: Peterson Associated Engineers
General Contractor: Webcor
Lighting Designer: PritchardPeck
Images Credit: as captioned