Fontana West

Bay Views and the Only Pool on the Block

Fontana West is about 137 co-op homes in a 17-story tower at 1050 North Point Street, on the water at Aquatic Park, with an attended lobby, assigned garage parking, a swimming pool, the Fontana Room club room and kitchen opening onto the pool deck and a gas BBQ. Every home has the water on its north side, with the bay, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate out the window wall, and nothing taller will ever block it. It’s a stock cooperative, not a condo, and it’s its own one: Fontana West Apartment Corporation owns this tower and nothing else, with its own board, staff, budget and house rules. Fontana East next door is a separate building run by a separate corporation, and its rules, dues and pet policy tell you nothing about this one. We’ve sold in both towers, so we can walk you through how board approval works here.

Quick Facts

• Street address: 1050 North Point St, San Francisco, CA 94109
• Built: 1963
• Homes: About 137
• Stories: 17
• Sizes: ≈ 350–1200 sq ft
• Parking: Assigned garage
• Pets: Restrictive, consult current rules
• Floor plans: Studio, 1BR, 2BR and a few larger homes
• Ownership: Stock cooperative with its own board approval
• Developer: Robert D. Fraser
• Architect: Hammarberg & Herman
• Co-op corporation: Fontana West Apartment Corporation
• Sister tower: Fontana East at 1000 North Point, a separate co-op with no shared amenities
• MLS district: 8E, Russian Hill

West, Not East

The two towers look like a matched pair and share a name, a driveway and a view. That’s where it ends. Fontana West Apartment Corporation owns 1050 North Point; Fontana East Apartment Corporation owns 1000. Each has its own board, its own door staff and management office, its own budget, reserves and dues, its own pet rules and its own rules for showings and open houses. The amenities aren’t reciprocal either: the pool and the Fontana Room are for Fontana West residents and their guests, and West owners don’t get East’s garden or community room. See the two side by side →

Amenities

• Swimming pool and pool deck
• Fontana Room club room and kitchen, opening onto the pool
• Gas BBQ grill at the pool
• Attended lobby with door staff
• Assigned garage parking
• Guest parking
• Bike parking
• Laundry room on each floor
• Storage locker assigned to each home

The Fontana West Pool and Fontana Room

The Good

• Every home has the water on its north side: bay, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate
• South-facing bedroom windows in many layouts
• A real swimming pool, which almost nothing else in Russian Hill can offer
• The Fontana Room is a proper place to host, with a kitchen and the pool deck outside
• Aquatic Park, Ghirardelli Square, Fort Mason and the Hyde Street cable car turnaround are at the door

The Tradeoffs

• Pet rules are restrictive; consult the co-op’s current rules before you fall for a home here
• Co-op purchases mean board approval and fewer lenders to choose from
• No renting in your first year, and the co-op caps how many homes can be rented at once
• Ghirardelli Square and the Wharf bring visitors, especially on summer weekends

Location: Fontana West on the Map

The pool is downstairs, Aquatic Park is across the street, and the tower next door is somebody else’s co-op.

Walk rings Transit The waterfront Beyond the park

Fontana WestFontana East, a separate co-opBuilding guidesCable car & streetcarPlaces5 and 10 minute walks

Rings are 5 and 10 minute walks from the Fontana West lobby doors. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Who It's For

Fontana West is for buyers who want the water, a staffed building and a pool at a price that’s hard to match in a condo: people downsizing from a house, lap swimmers, and anyone who walks the waterfront every morning. If you have a pet, need maximum lender choice or plan to rent the place out, talk to us first about how this co-op’s rules work.

The Backstory: The Towers That Lowered the Waterfront

Developer Robert D. Fraser built the Fontana on the old Fontana cannery and warehouse site, modeling the design on a tower he had built in Waikiki. Russian Hill neighbors hired Caspar Weinberger to stop them and lost. They won the bigger fight: the city put a temporary 40-foot height limit on the northern waterfront in 1961, and the Board of Supervisors made it permanent in 1964 across about 100 blocks. Look east toward Fisherman’s Wharf and everything you see is low because of these two buildings, which is also why their views aren’t going anywhere. Fontana West opened in 1963 and Fontana East in 1965.

Floor Plans

Studios start around 350 square feet, one-bedrooms run about 525 to 750, and two-bedrooms are about 1,000 to 1,200, with a few larger homes. We don’t have the original floor plans posted for the Fontana; ask us for the plan of any home you’re considering. Insiders will find every recent sale here, unit by unit, at the bottom of this page.

Monthly Dues

Fontana West sets its own budget, so dues here have nothing to do with dues next door. When we last listed here, the monthly figure covered the door staff, the pool, water, trash, building insurance, management and upkeep of the building and grounds. Dues at Fontana West vary by home size and change with each year’s budget, so we don’t publish a number that could be out of date by the time you read it. Reach out and we’re happy to share what’s current.

Pets

Fontana West’s pet rules are restrictive, and they aren’t Fontana East’s. If you have an animal or plan to get one, consult the co-op’s current rules before you write an offer. Ask us and we’ll get them for you.

Parking, Transit & Getting Around

Homes come with an assigned space in the garage; confirm the space and storage locker that come with a specific home. There are six guest spaces with a 12-hour limit, a bike parking area, and EV charging can be installed in your own space with board approval. The Hyde Street cable car turnaround is a short walk away, the F Market streetcar runs along the waterfront to Fisherman’s Wharf and the Embarcadero, and Fort Mason and the Marina are a flat walk west. For how assigned, deeded and leased spaces differ, and what to ask before you count on EV charging, read our guide to condo parking in San Francisco.

Fontana West Questions, Answered