There’s a new kid on the block. The Portola Planet is a new blog dedicated to covering The Portola, a neighborhood that reliable sources tell us lies on the other side of I-280, immediately to the south of glamorous Bernal Heights.
Moreover, in much the same way that Bernalwood loves, loves, loves looking at photos of Bernal Hill, The Portola Planet apparently loves looking at photos of The Portola — even if that means climbing Bernal Hill to get the job done.
The photo above is fascinating, because it shows what a Portolan sees when they look south:
Turning my back on our majestic city I realized [Bernal Hill] is also a fantastic viewpoint for our own hidden neighborhood. I took a few photos and here is one (with a few landmarks highlighted) which shows the Portola as the great little city suburb that it is.
Ah! Wow! I get it! All that sprawling, buildingy stuff visible from atop Bernal Hill corresponds to local, familiar places if you live in The Portola. Who knew???
Thus enlightened, Bernalwood would like to warmly welcome The Portola Planet to the cybersphere, and we kindly remind them to please stay off our lawn.
PHOTO: Portola Planet
Bernalwood 
“Bernal Hill is also a fantastic viewpoint for our own hidden neighborhood” hidden by the fog screaming down that valley from the mighty pacific, or by the particulate matter emmitted by the autos in the spaghetti bowl- ah, if only those poor folks were a bit higher so the bad particles of vehicle combustion didn’t cause such a high rate of asthma and lung disease down there….
Actually we get very little fog down here. Unlike you poor Bernal folks up in the sky with the pressure changes between hills. The Portola is often sunny when you peeps are grey.
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Thanks for the Portola info. Good to see other ‘hoods following Bernalwood’s example. I’d like to see all SF neighborhoods do this kinda thing – helpful especially if there are neighborhood street fairs or community garage sales coming up, special walks, interesting goings-on in the local parks, etc.
Looking forward to keeping up with the happenings with our next-door neighbors in Portola! Have some friends that live there, and they’ve been by main source of info. The blog will be of great interest!
I would like a definitive answer as to how to properly pronounce the name of the neighborhood. I have heard both “POR tuh luh” and “por TOE luh.” Both have been said to be the correct pronunciation by residents of the neighborhood, even longtime residents. I suppose I should go over to the Portola Planet and ask over there.
I’d love to know this, too! The awesome women of the Portola Steering Committee seem to pronounce it something like POR duh luh.
Carol, This is probably one of the most important articles we prepared for the Portola Planet. An answer to your quesiton is here, http://portolaplanet.com/2011/12/por-da-lah-or-por-toe-la/
Interesting indeed. I’ve heard PORdullah all my life, and then PorTOLLuh for the street.
What interesting timing! I stopped in Portola for the first time ever since I moved to SF just this weekend. Had brunch at Breakfast at Tiffany’s :). Food was quite good and the atmosphere was great.
Portola. the next Noe?
Only if the Google bus stops there.
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