: San Francisco" redirects here.
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| City and County of San Francisco
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| Nickname: "The City by the Bay; Fog City"
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Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California
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| Coordinates: 37°46′0″N, 122°26′0″W
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| Country
| United States of America
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| State
| California
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| City-County
| San Francisco
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| Mayor
| Gavin Newsom
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| Area |
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| - City
| 122 km² (47 sq mi)
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| - Land
| 121.0 km² (46.7 sq mi)
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| - Water
| 479.7 km² (185.2 sq mi)
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| - Metro
| 8,869.3 km² (3,424.4 sq mi)
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| Elevation
| 16 m (52 ft)
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| Population |
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| - City (2006)
| 798,680 (est)[E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State with Annual Percent Change — January 1, 2005 and 2006 (PDF). California Department of Finance (May 1, 2006). Retrieved on November 16, 2006.]
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| - Density
| 6,115/km² (15,837/sq mi)
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| - Urban
| 3,385,000
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| - Metro
| 4,152,688[Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 (CBSA-EST2005-01). (Microsoft Excel) U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 24, 2006. Information does not include San Jose or the South Bay.]
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| Time zone
| Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
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| - Summer (DST)
| Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
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| Website: http://www.sfgov.org
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The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the fourteenth-most populous in the United States,[State & County QuickFacts: San Francisco County, California. U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed September 3, 2006.] with a 2006 population of 798,680 (estimate).[ It is located on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and is the focal point of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city][Of cities greater than 200,000 population; New York City is the densest.] in the United States.[2000 Census: US Municipalities Over 50,000: Ranked by 2000 Population. Demographia. Retrieved on August 16, 2006. Information cited for cities greater than 200,000]
In 1776, the Spanish settled the tip of the San Francisco peninsula, establishing a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi. As a result of the California Gold Rush in 1848, the city entered a period of rapid growth. After being devastated by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt.
San Francisco is renowned for its months-long episodes of fog, steep rolling hills, an eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture, its peninsular location (surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay), and its liberal cultural and political identity. Famous hallmarks and landmarks include the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, the Transamerica Pyramid, Coit Tower, and Chinatown.
History
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The earliest archaeological evidence of inhabitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC.[Stewart, Suzanne B. (November, 2003). Archaeological Research Issues for the Point Reyes National Seashore - Golden Gate National Recreation Area p. 55 (PDF) Sonoma State University - Anthropological Studies Center. Accessed October 13, 2006.] The Yelamu group of the Ohlone people resided in several small villages when a Spanish exploration party, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European discovery of San Francisco Bay.[Visitors: San Francisco Historical Information. City and County of San Francisco. Retrieved on September 3, 2006.] Seven years later, on March 28, 1776 the Spanish established a fort, followed by a mission, Mission San Francisco de AsÃs (Mission Dolores).
Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the area became part of Mexico. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first significant homestead outside the immediate vicinity of the Mission Dolores,[From the 1820s to the Gold Rush. The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Retrieved on August 28, 2006.] near a boat anchorage around what is today Portsmouth Square. Together with Mission Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7, 1846, during the Mexican-American War, and Captain John B. Montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco the next year.[History of Yerba Buena Gardens. Yerba Buena Gardens. Accessed August 28, 2003] Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.
The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers. With their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia,[San Francisco's First Brick Building. The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Accessed August 28, 2006.] raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.[Richards, Rand (1992). Historic San Francisco: A Concise History and Guide. Heritage House. ISBN 1-879367-00-9.] The promise of riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor.[Harris, Ron. "Crews Unearth Shipwreck on San Francisco Condo Project", Associated Press, November 14, 2005.] California was quickly granted statehood and the U.S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate and a fort on Alcatraz island to secure the San Francisco Bay. Silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, and gambling.
Entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush. Early winners were the banking industry, which saw the founding of Wells Fargo in 1852, and the railroad industry, as the magnates of the Big Four, led by Leland Stanford, collaborated in the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The development of the Port of San Francisco established the city as a center of trade. Catering to the needs and tastes of the growing population, Levi Strauss opened a dry goods business and Domingo Ghirardelli began manufacturing chocolate. Immigrant laborers made the city a polyglot culture, with Chinese railroad workers creating the city's Chinatown quarter. The first cable cars carried San Franciscans up Clay Street in 1873. The city's sea of Victorian houses began to take shape, and civic leaders campaigned for a spacious public park, resulting in plans for Golden Gate Park. San Franciscans built schools, churches, theaters, and all the hallmarks of civic life. The Presidio developed into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast.[Under Three Flags. (PDF) Presidio of San Francisco, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed September 4, 2006.] By the turn of the century, San Francisco was a major city known for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions on Nob Hill, and a thriving arts scene.
At 5:12 AM on the morning of April 18 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, ruptured gas lines ignited fires that would spread across the city and burn out of control for several days. With water mains out of service, the Presidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain the inferno by dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks.[Presidio of San Francisco: Firefighting and Dynamiting. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.] More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost all of the downtown core.[Montagne, Renée (April 11, 2006). Remembering the 1906 Earthquake National Public Radio, Morning Edition. Accessed August 29, 2006.] Contemporary accounts reported that 498 people lost their lives, though modern estimates put the number in the several thousands.[Casualties and Damage after the 1906 earthquake U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards Program - Northern California. Accessed September 3, 2006.] More than half the city's population of 400,000 were left homeless.[Presidio of San Francisco:1906 Earthquake and Fire National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Accessed August 29, 2006.] Refugees settled temporarily in makeshift tent villages in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, on the beaches, and elsewhere. Many fled permanently to the East Bay.
Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.[Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 56-62. ISBN 0-471-19120-5.] Amadeo Giannini's Bank of Italy, later to become Bank of America, provided loans for many of those whose livelihoods had been devastated. The destroyed mansions of Nob Hill became grand hotels. City Hall rose once again in splendorous Beaux Arts style, and the city celebrated its rebirth at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915.
In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed.[San Francisco Gold Rush Banking The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Accessed August 27, 2006.] Indeed, it was at the height of the Great Depression that San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937 respectively. It was in this period that the island of Alcatraz, a former military stockade, began its service as a federal maximum security prison, housing notorious inmates such as Al Capone. San Francisco later celebrated its regained grandeur with a World's Fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939-40, creating Treasure Island in the middle of the bay to house it.
During World War II, the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard became a hub of activity and Fort Mason became the primary port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific theater of operations.[World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed August 29, 2006.] The explosion of jobs drew many people, especially African Americans from the South, to the area. After the end of the war, many military personnel returning from service abroad and civilians who had originally come to work decided to stay. The UN Charter creating the United Nations was drafted and signed in San Francisco in 1945 and, in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco officially ended the war with Japan.
Urban planning projects in the 1950s and 1960s saw widespread destruction and redevelopment of westside neighborhoods and the construction of new freeways.[Fang, Eric C.Y. (February, 1999). Urban Renewal Revisited: A Design Critique. San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. Retrieved on August 26, 2006.] The Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972,[Pyramid Facts and Figures Transamerica.com "About the Pyramid," Accessed 2006-10-29] and in the 1980s the Manhattanization of San Francisco saw extensive high rise development downtown.[Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 95-96. ISBN 0-471-19120-5.] Port activity moved to Oakland, the city began to lose industrial jobs, and San Francisco began to turn to tourism as the most important segment of its economy. The suburbs experienced rapid growth and San Francisco underwent significant demographic change, as large segments of the white population left the city, supplanted by an increasing wave of immigration from Asia and Latin America.[Willia, James et al.. San Francisco Planning Department Census Data Analysis (Microsoft PowerPoint). San Francisco State University Department of Urban Studies. Retrieved on August 31, 2006.][Minton, Torri (September 20, 1998). Race through Time San Francisco Chronicle. Accessed September 1, 2006.] The 1967 Human Be-In galvanized hippies in Haight-Ashbury. Over this same period, San Francisco became a magnet for America's counterculture. Beat Generation writers fueled the San Francisco Renaissance and centered on the North Beach neighborhood in the 1950s. Hippies flocked to Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, reaching a peak with the 1967 Summer of Love. In the 1970s, the city became a center of the gay rights movement, with the emergence of The Castro as an urban gay village, the election of Harvey Milk to the Board of Supervisors, and his assassination, along with that of Mayor George Moscone, in 1978.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused destruction and loss of life throughout the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the quake severely damaged structures in the Marina and South of Market districts and precipitated the demolition of the damaged Embarcadero Freeway and much of the damaged Central Freeway, allowing the city to reclaim its historic downtown waterfront.
During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, startup companies invigorated the economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing and sales professionals that changed the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became gentrified. When the bubble burst in 2001, many of these companies folded and their employees left, although high technology and entrepreneurship continued to be mainstays of the San Francisco economy.
Geography
San Francisco is located on the west coast of the U.S. at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several islands are part of the city, notably Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island. Also included are the uninhabited Farallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The land within the city limits roughly forms a seven by seven mile square, which has become a colloquialism referring to the city's shape.
 The San Francisco Peninsula: San Francisco and, below it, northern San Mateo CountySan Francisco is famous for its hills, which are defined as elevations over 100 feet (30 m). There are a total of 43 hills within city limits.[Hansen, Gladys (1995). San Francisco Almanac. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-0841-6.] Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, Potrero Hill, and Telegraph Hill.
Near the geographic center of the city, southwest of the downtown area, are a series of less densely populated hills. Dominating this area is Mount Sutro, the site of Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower. Nearby is Twin Peaks, a pair of hills resting at one of the city's highest points and a popular overlook spot for tour groups. San Francisco's tallest hill, Mount Davidson, is 925 feet (282 m) high, and is capped with a 103 feet (31.4 m) tall cross built in 1934.
The San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, even though neither passes through the city itself. It was the San Andreas Fault which slipped and caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. New buildings must meet high structural standards, and older buildings and bridges must be retrofitted to comply with new building codes.
San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as the Marina and Hunters Point, as well as large sections of the Embarcadero sit on areas of landfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from tunneling through Yerba Buena Island during the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes; the resultant liquefaction causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.
Climate
A quotation incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain goes, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."[Nolte, Carl (August 19, 2005). FOG HEAVEN: The sun will come out tomorrow. Or maybe not. It's summer in the city, and that means gray skies. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.] San Francisco benefits from California’s Mediterranean climate, characterized by mild wet winters and warm dry summers.[Climate of San Francisco: Narrative Description Golden Gate Weather Services, Accessed on September 5, 2006] However, surrounded on three sides by water, San Francisco has a climate strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean which tends to moderate temperature swings and produce a remarkably mild climate with little seasonal temperature variation. Average summertime high temperatures in San Francisco peak at 70 °F (21 °C) and are 20 °F (9 °C) lower than they are in nearby inland locations like Livermore.[Weatherbase.com climate data for Livermore, California. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.] The highest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco was 103 °F (39 °C) on June 14, 2000.[National Climatic Data Center, Climate-2000/June/Climate-Watch/Selected Extremes, "Climatography of the United States," National Climatic Data Center, Accessed 2006-12-03] Winters are mild, with daytime highs near 60 °F (15 °C). Lows almost never reach freezing temperatures, though the lowest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco was 27 °F (-3 °C) on December 11, 1932.[Climate of San Francisco: Top 10 Temperatures Golden Gate Weather Services, Accessed on 2006-12-03] May through September are quite dry, and rain is a common occurrence from November through March. Snow is extraordinarily rare, with only 10 instances recorded since 1852.[Null, Jan (January 1995). CLIMATE OF SAN FRANCISCO (Third Revision). U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service. Retrieved on September 5, 2006.] The last measurable snowfall in San Francisco was on February 5, 1976, when parts of the city experienced as much as five inches.[Climate of San Francisco: Snowfall Golden Gate Weather Services, Accessed on 2006-12-03]
The combination of cold ocean water and the high heat of the California mainland creates the city's characteristic fog that can cover the western half of the city all day during the summer and early fall. The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods, in late spring, and during September and October, which are the warmest months of the year. Due to its sharp topography and maritime influences, San Francisco exhibits a multitude of distinct microclimates. The high hills in the geographic center of the city are responsible for a 20% variance in annual rainfall between different parts of the city.[Historical Climate Information Western Regional Climate Center, Accessed September 5, 2006]
Neighborhoods
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The historic center of San Francisco is the northeast quadrant of the city bordered by Market Street to the south. It is here that the Financial District is centered, with Union Square, the principal shopping and hotel district, nearby. Cable cars carry residents and tourists alike up steep inclines to the summit of Nob Hill, once the home of the city's business tycoons, and down to Fisherman's Wharf, a tourist playground featuring Dungeness crab from a still-active fishing industry. Also in this quadrant are Russian Hill, a residential neighborhood with the famously crooked Lombard Street, North Beach, the city's version of Little Italy, and Telegraph Hill, which features Coit Tower, a landmark dedicated to San Francisco's firefighters. Nearby is San Francisco's Chinatown, established in the 1860s. The Tenderloin is often portrayed as the crime-infested underbelly of the city.
The Mission District is predominantly working-class and populated by immigrants from Mexico and Central America, but is also gentrifying. Haight-Ashbury, though heavily gentrified, still has some bohemian character. The Castro is the center of gay life in the city, having recovered from the devastation it suffered during the AIDS epidemic.
The city's Japantown district suffered when its residents were forcibly removed during the second world war, while the nearby Western Addition became established with a large African American population at the same time. The "Painted Ladies", a row of well-restored Victorian homes, stand alongside Alamo Square, and the mansions built by the San Francisco business elite in the wake of the 1906 earthquake can be found in Pacific Heights. The Marina to the north is a lively area with many young urban professionals.
The Richmond, the vast region north of Golden Gate Park that extends to the Pacific Ocean, today has a portion called "New Chinatown", but also attracts immigrants from other parts of Asia and Russia. South of Golden Gate Park lies the Sunset with an Asian majority population.[Chow, Andrew (March 22, 2002). Dismal APA Turnout at First Redistricting Meetings Asian Week. Accessed September 3, 2006.] The Richmond and the Sunset are largely middle class and, together, are known as The Avenues. The southern neighborhoods of the city are ethnically diverse and populated primarily with students and working class San Franciscans.
The South of Market, once filled with decaying remnants of San Francisco's industrial past, has seen significant redevelopment. The locus of the dot-com boom during the late 1990s, by 2004 South of Market began to see skyscrapers and condominiums dot the area. Following the success of nearby South Beach, another neighborhood, Mission Bay, underwent redevelopment, anchored by a second campus of UCSF.
Beaches and parks
 The Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park -
Ocean Beach runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline, and Baker Beach occupies a picturesque setting just west of the Golden Gate Bridge. They are not suitable for swimming because the waters off the coast are cold and have deadly rip currents. The biggest and most well-known park is Golden Gate Park, stretching from the center of the city to the ocean. Once covered only in grass and sand dunes, the park is planted with thousands of non-native trees and plants and is rich with attractions including the Conservatory of Flowers, the Japanese Tea Garden, and Strybing Arboretum. The Presidio, a former military base, and its Crissy Field section, restored to its natural salt marsh condition, are part of the
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