St Mary's Square Garage

Came by the other day to park in the Financial District and it was a lackluster experience. Upon arrival, it appears that only some of the entrances were open. More specifically, the Kearny Ave entrance was closed on a Saturday morning...

Upon arrival, there was signage for $6 flat rate weekend parking. Parking spaces were tight and ramps were one-way with a traffic-light signal to direct traffic.

Elevators were available inside the parking garage but non-operational. Stairs were well lighted and fire doors were all propped open...

Upon returning to the garage, the payment kiosk timed out when taking my card. Luckily, an employee saw me attempting to pay and invited me to his office to settle payment, all the while other parkers were calling the office informing the garage that they were unable to pay... Apparently the card payment system was down...

With an event to attend in Chinatown, I was thinking where I was going to park. Also, I was planning to have lunch in Chinatown before attending the three hour event. I was planning to park at Portsmouth Square Garage until my friend recommended that I park at St. Mary's Square since they have a flat rate for Saturdays and Sundays.

Enter after 5am and exit within 12 hours, you pay only $6. Regular rate apply over 12 hours. I parked for about 5 hours and paid $6. This is a parking deal! Parking lot hours are 5am to 11pm.

So if you need inexpensive parking in the area on Saturdays and Sundays, check out St. Mary's Square.

Used this parking spot to go to Chinatown after driving around the area a couple of times with no luck. It was a fast in and out and reasonably priced. No complaints.

Parked at the garage on Monday May 17th at 2 PM , came back and my car window was smashed at 7 PM , luggage stolen, told it was a regular occurrence in this garage , terrible , strange response from staff. by the way , the garage door that was suppose to be locked except ticket holders was wide open - basically told by the staff that I was stupid to park in this garage because this happens all the time , no video I was told which I find hard to believe.

Weekend parking is difficult. I am handicapped, and the Kearny Street exit is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, which means exiting the garage on foot either onto California Street (in the middle of the block on a VERY sleep decline/incline) or onto Pine Street, also a steep incline/decline in that block. I just started working in the 601 California St building and reasonably expected that I would be able to use an elevator into the building (there is elevator access into that building IF the elevators are working), but was shocked to learn that THEIR ELEVATORS ARE OUT OF SERVICE - AND APPARENTLY HAVE BEEN FOR SOME TIME. My next door neighbor, also handicapped, told me that she stopped attending Old St. Mary's Cathedral for the same reason.

My car was vandalized with a fire extinguisher on 7/22/22, while parked at this garage. There does not appear to be any security provided at this location. When I called their attendant to report, was faced with apathy and instructions to call the police.

$3.50 per hour public parking garage in Union Square and within walking distance to plenty of attractions.

The garage is easily accessible and safe. There is a service desk on the first floor just past the entrance and across from the elevators. An attendant is always staffed to assist with any issues.

The garage is clean, has plenty of leveled parking and even shops inside the main lobby. The self-parking garage was much mire affordable than any of the surrounding hotel valet's and totally not worth risking a parking ticket or tow on the street during my little San Fran walking tour.

If you look for user convenience, great location, fine service and outstanding value when you're selecting a garage for your ride, go to St. Mary's Square Garage and pull in via the Kearney St. Entrance.

Where else can you park in a world class city for 30 mins for $1.50? Where else will one of 4-6 ever-present valets hop to your car, inspect it, and then courteously park it for you...ready to retrieve it fast when you return?

It's clean. It's safe. It's open early (with early bird pricing at $23 for the full day). It's open late.

PS--
If you don't like convenience, location, service and value, you can always drive around and around lower Chinatown, North Beach and the financial district for 10-15 mins, maybe circle up on Nob Hill too for a bit, before you "win" a poorly-signed on-street slot 20 blocks and 650 vertical feet of walking away from your destination... and then wind up getting ticketed or towed for your efforts.

Design of the parking spots are terrible. They're double or quadrupled parking so if you're not careful, you'll be blocked in or block others..(in which case you'll be towed) not too sure how it works, there are no signs..

first floor is valet parking, as i assume most the double/quadruple spots on the other floors are as well...lots of restrictions and only a few regular parkings available on weekdays. Come early to get the end (outer) spots or it'll be a mission to find one. I always hear the AM attendants yelling--at the tourist or non-regular--in the lot. but the cashiers have always been pretty nice.

I park here a few times a week in the afternoons (I work nights in fidi). I hardly ever carry cash and feel awful if I don't tip so I usually self-park which goes pretty smoothly. I've always found somewhere to park during the weird hours of 3-7pm. I return to my car without any damage, theft, etc. Some of the guys there recognize me and are friendly. One star taken off because I feel like pricing is inconsistent; I've paid anywhere from $10-13 (good pricing for a few hours, yes, but still inconsistent). Long story short: a safe place to park only two blocks from my workplace that doesn't cost me an arm, leg, and the blood of a virgin.

Tips for newbies and cheap people like me: check the signs for free parking! I park my car on the left side of Montgomery after 7pm; on the right side of Sacramento on weekends before 7pm; on any meter at any time of the day on Sundays. Any other times I settle for St. Mary's. Don't over pay at a garage or feed a meter during times you could park for free.