Silicon Valley Sightings: South Park’s Oval of Innovation
South Park in San Francisco is home to some of the most creative and innovative companies in this modern web movement. It derives it’s name for the small oval park in the center of the area (Google Map). If you take a look at an innovation map (such as this outdated mashup) you’ll find many companies that employs today’s thought and practice leaders.
Companies who have called South Park home:
Adaptive Path (birthplace of MeasureMap, sold to Google, they hosted a Flickr party, and book launch)
Frog Design
Ruby Red Labs
Citizen Agency (my visit)
Satisfaction (why they matter)
Six Apart
Technorati (a quick tour)
Pownce
LaughingSquid (or at least their mailbox)
Blogger (sold to Google)
Odeo
Wired Magazine
VideoEgg
Podshow
Mule Design Studio
LookSmart
Loomia
Sputnik SF
Leverage Software
BuzzLogic
(missed any companies? Leave a comment)
This 2006 article from Dan Fost of SFGate is still talked about as a defining moment in the area’s resurgence. Also read the Wikipedia entry on SouthPark, ValleyWag’s coverage, and Scott captures a moment in time, and remembers when this was called “multimedia gulch” about a decade ago. This area is quite desirable, a quick search in MLS listings yields a 2/2 condo that’s 1321sqf is a mere million dollars!
This area carries a special place in my family’s time, my wife has fond memories of being going through this park as a kid, and you can learn of my family’s long legacy in San Francisco.
(Silicon Valley Sightings is an ongoing PhotoBlog that captures the intersection of Tech Culture in the San Francisco Silicon Valley Bay Area, check out the archives. All photos by Jeremiah Owyang. A special thanks to Thor Muller for the great tour yesterday
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Leverage Software just moved to 150 South Park about a month ago. Stop by for a visit the next time you’re in the hood.
www.leveragesoftware.com
Anna
Thanks for reading! I’ve updated the list. Congrats on the new location, must be fun!
I’ll be speaking on a panel with your CEO Mike today at the Forrester event.
Outdated mashup? Ahh, I’m busted. There definitely seems to be a great hub in that area.
Ryan
Is that your mashup? It’s useful, but just needs more data entered. Why not let crowdsourcing help you with that?
[…] Jeremiah Owyang put together a very handy list of companies working in the South Park area of San Francisco. Some of them include: […]
Heh. Nice list! The Oval of Innovation concept makes me giggle. Jeremiah, if you want to come by Adaptive Path for a tour sometime, just let us know.
Kate
I know AP well, we used JJG and Scott Hirsch when I was the Web Marketing manager at Hitachi Data Systems!
I’d love to come by again…
I was waiting for someone to get a kick out of the oval of innovation –I hope others start saying that, hah!
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Don’t forget Philz Coffee over by the train station… I’m constantly running into folks from the community… just yesterday I ran into Tim O’Reilly, Dave Recordon (Verisign) and Brad Fitzpatrick (Six Apart) there!
Thanks Jeremiah - Silicon Valley’s move northward is certainly evident in South Park. It’s great to see that area spring back to life - but I wish it was easier to park there during Giants’ games!
DAN!!!! Good to hear from you, can’t wait to hear about your next exciting engagement.
-a fan!
[…] night, in SF’s South Park neighborhood, CEO Mike Walsh of Leverage Software gave me a quick tour of their “People […]