625 El Camino Del Mar

The Heller House: A Sea Cliff Treasure

The distinctive home at the corner of El Camino Del Mar and 30th Avenue in Sea Cliff was built for the Heller family in 1927. The Sea Cliff neighborhood began to take shape in 1913 as one of San Francisco’s “residence parks.” These neighborhoods were rich in landscape and suburban in feel. With strict deed covenants controlling defined minimum construction costs, setback requirements, landscaping guidelines, architectural character, as well as ownership restrictions, which excluded many minorities, these park-like neighborhoods were often referred to as “restricted parks.” These exclusionary practices based on race were curbed in 1948 after the United State Supreme Court ruling in Shelly v. Kraemer.