In January 2016, the park was closed temporarily in order to undergo a $2.8 million renovation, which will include comprehensive infrastructural and cosmetic upgrades.

It was modeled after a square in London, England, as a housing development of seventeen mansions plus townhouses[5] (a total of 58 residences) on a 550-foot oval around a private grassy park.

[6] From the late 19th to the early 20th century, South Park was also the center of one of San Francisco's largest Japanese American communities.

Sandwiched between the waterfront and the South Pacific Railroad terminus, the area featured Japanese owned and operated hostels, hotels, baths, and shops.

[4] The area flourished during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, due to flexible office space at initially low rent.

Many of the nearby streets are one-way, and many carry traffic to and from the bridge, the stadium, and Interstate 280, which terminates slightly to the south of the neighborhood.