I remember the razing and building. I especially remember the garbage dumped into Glen Canyon and the anti-nature rhetoric the planning department used. The canyon was "wasted space" and the hawks, foxes, osprey, and occasional bobcat were lumped together as "pestilence" and "vermin."
Several school friends lived in these houses. Even when new there were lots of heating and electrical problems. A few years down the road, the homeowners were ordered to reinforce the pillars that held the houses onto the mountain. In the late 70s through the 80s the city planted eucalyptus and bamboo rather than replace the oak and evergreen that had been on the hill. the bamboo quickly became a problem, running riot everywhere.
The rock quarry didn't become a play ground until the early 70s. For some reason an ugly shopping center, badly designed public housing, and a driving range were deemed more wonderful than the forest that was there. Douglass Park plus open space went from Douglass and Clipper streets all the way to Glen Canyon.
It was a part of a great, green swath of mixed growth, including a centuries old redwood grove that ran down along the creek on what is now 28th street. The largest redwood grove was mostly in the center of the 28th street block that runs from Douglass down the hill. In 1997 the trees all suddenly died after being poisoned. Coincidentally, the death happened after a coalition of real estate agents & homeowners had lost a suit to force neighbors to cut down the trees because they were blocking views and thereby lowering the property values of the homes at the top of the hill. —FADDE [How Postwar Icon Joseph Eichler Built a Suburb in the Middle of San Francisco]