San Francisco
City and County of San Francisco | |
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City | |
![]() San Francisco from the Marin Headlands, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground | |
Nickname(s): | |
Motto(s): Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra (Spanish for "Gold in Peace, Iron in War") | |
![]() Location of San Francisco, California | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
Founded | June 29, 1776 |
Incorporated | April 15, 1850 |
Founded by | Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga and Father Francisco Palóu |
Named for | Saint Francis of Assisi |
Government | |
• Type | Consolidated city-county |
• Mayor | Gavin Newsom |
• Board of Supervisors | Supervisors |
• State Assembly | Assemblymembers |
• State Senate | State senators |
• U.S. House | Representatives |
Area | |
• City | 231.92 sq mi (600.7 km2) |
• Land | 46.7 sq mi (121 km2) |
• Water | 185.2 sq mi (480 km2) 79.8% |
• Metro | 3,524.4 sq mi (9,128 km2) |
Elevation | 52 ft (16 m) |
Highest elevation | 925 ft (282 m) |
Lowest elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Population | |
• City | 764,976 |
• Density | 16,380/sq mi (6,320/km2) |
• Urban | 3,228,605 |
• Metro | 7,264,887 |
Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific Standard Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
ZIP Code | 94101–94112, 94114–94147, 94150–94170, 94172, 94175, 94177 |
Area code | 415 |
Website | www.sfgov.org |
The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 14th most populous city in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 764,976.[6] Among the most densely populated cities in the country,[8] San Francisco is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan area, which is home to more than 7.2 million people.[9] The city is located at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, San Francisco Bay to the east, and the Golden Gate to the north.
In 1776, the Spanish settled the tip of the peninsula, establishing a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi. The California Gold Rush in 1848 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth, transforming it into the largest city on the West Coast at the time. After being devastated by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. During World War II, San Francisco was the send-off point for many soldiers to the Pacific Theater. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors gave rise to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a liberal bastion in the United States.
San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination famous for its landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, Coit Tower, and Chinatown, its steep rolling hills, and its eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture. The city is also known for its diverse, cosmopolitan population, including large and long-established Asian American, and LGBT communities.
History
The earliest archaeological evidence of inhabitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC.[10] 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 visit to San Francisco Bay.[11] Seven years later, on March 28, 1776, the Spanish established the Presidio of San Francisco, followed by a mission, Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores).
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Mission_San_Francisco_de_Asis_old.jpg/220px-Mission_San_Francisco_de_Asis_old.jpg)
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,[12] 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.[13] Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.[14]
The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers. With their sourdough bread in tow,[15] prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia,[16] raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.[17] The promise of fabulous 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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/SanFrancisco1851a.jpg/220px-SanFrancisco1851a.jpg)
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.[21] 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.[22]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/San_francisco_fire_1906.jpg/550px-San_francisco_fire_1906.jpg)
At 5:12 am on 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.[24] More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost all of the downtown core.[25] Contemporary accounts reported that 498 people lost their lives, though modern estimates put the number in the several thousands.[26] More than half the city's population of 400,000 were left homeless.[27] 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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/PalaceofFineArts1915.jpg/220px-PalaceofFineArts1915.jpg)
Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.[28] 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.[29]
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.[30] 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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/USS_San_Francisco_%28CA-38%29_enters_San_Francisco_Bay%2C_December_1942.jpg/220px-USS_San_Francisco_%28CA-38%29_enters_San_Francisco_Bay%2C_December_1942.jpg)
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.[31] 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 west side neighborhoods and the construction of new freeways, of which only a series of short segments were built before being halted by citizen-led opposition.[32] The Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972,[33] and in the 1980s the Manhattanization of San Francisco saw extensive high-rise development downtown.[34] 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.[35][36] 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.[37] Hippies flocked to Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, reaching a peak with the 1967 Summer of Love.[38] 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.[39]
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.[40]
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/San_Francisco_Landsat7_Lg.jpg/170px-San_Francisco_Landsat7_Lg.jpg)
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, together with small portions of Alameda Island, Angel Island, and Red Rock Island. Also included are the uninhabited Farallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square," a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape.
San Francisco is famous for its hills. There are more than 50 hills within city limits.[41] Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, Potrero Hill, and Telegraph Hill.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Lombardst.jpeg/170px-Lombardst.jpeg)
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 foot (31 m) tall cross built in 1934.[42]
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. The city has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction.[43] However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage.[44]
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.[45]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/GGB_Fog_Crissy_Field.jpg/220px-GGB_Fog_Crissy_Field.jpg)
Climate
A quotation incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain is "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."[46][47] San Francisco's climate is characteristic of California’s Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and dry summers.[48] In addition, since it is surrounded on three sides by water, San Francisco's climate is 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 in nearby inland locations like Livermore.[49] The highest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco was 103 °F (39 °C) on July 17, 1988 and June 14, 2000.[50] 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.[51] May through September is very dry, but rain is common from November through March. Snowfall is extraordinarily rare, with only 10 instances recorded since 1852. The greatest snowfall on record is 3.7 inches (9.4 cm) in downtown San Francisco, and up to 7 inches (17.8 cm) elsewhere, on February 5, 1887.[52] The last measurable snowfall in San Francisco was on February 5, 1976, when most of the city received an inch of snow.[53]
The combination of cold ocean water and the high heat of the California mainland create the city's characteristic fog that can cover the western half of the city all day during the spring and early summer. The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods, in the late summer, and during the fall, 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 percent variance in annual rainfall between different parts of the city.[52] They also protect neighborhoods directly to their east from the foggy and cool conditions experienced in the Sunset District; for those who live on the eastern side of the city, San Francisco is sunnier, with an average of 260 clear days, and only 105 cloudy days per year.[54]
Climate data for San Francisco, California | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Source: Weatherbase[55] |
Cityscape
Neighborhoods
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/SF_Chinatown_CA.jpg/170px-SF_Chinatown_CA.jpg)
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 area 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 Little Italy, and Telegraph Hill, which features Coit Tower. Nearby is San Francisco's Chinatown, established in the 1860s. The Tenderloin is known as the crime-infested underbelly of the city.[56]
The Mission District was historically predominantly working-class and populated by immigrants from Mexico and Central America, but in recent years has seen rapid gentrification primarily along the Valencia Street corridor which is strongly associated with the modern hipster sub-culture. Haight-Ashbury, famously associated with 1960s hippie culture, later became home to expensive boutiques[57] and a few controversial chain stores,[58] although it still retains some bohemian character. Historically known as Eureka Valley, the area now popularly called the Castro is the center of gay life in the city.[59]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6a/Balmy_Alley_Mission_SF2.jpg/220px-Balmy_Alley_Mission_SF2.jpg)
The city's Japantown district suffered when its Japanese American residents were forcibly removed and interned during World War II. 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.[60]
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.[61] The Richmond and the Sunset are largely middle class and, together, are known as The Avenues. Bayview-Hunter's Point in the southeast section of the city is one of the poorest neighborhoods and suffers from a high rate of crime, though the area has been the focus of controversial plans for urban renewal.
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 (see Manhattanization). Following the success of nearby South Beach, another neighborhood, Mission Bay, underwent redevelopment, anchored by a second campus of the University of California, San Francisco. Just southwest of Mission Bay is the Potrero Hill neighborhood featuring sweeping views of downtown San Francisco.
Beaches and parks
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/SF_Conservatory_of_Flowers_2.jpg/220px-SF_Conservatory_of_Flowers_2.jpg)
Ocean Beach runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline, but is not suitable for swimming because the waters off the coast are perennially cold and form deadly rip currents. Fort Funston, a former coastal fort along the Southwestern shore, is popular with both dog owners and hang gliders. Baker Beach is located in a picturesque cove just inside the Golden Gate and west of the Golden Gate Bridge. The largest and best-known city park is Golden Gate Park,[62] which stretches from the center of the city west to the Pacific Ocean. Once covered in native grasses and sand dunes, the park was conceived in the 1860s and was created by the extensive planting of thousands of non-native trees and plants. The large park is rich with cultural and natural attractions such as the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden and Strybing Arboretum. The Presidio, a former military base, and its rehabilitated Crissy Field section, recently restored to its natural salt marsh ecosystem, are a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which also encompasses Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz island and other regional parks and preserves both inside San Francisco and nearby. Lake Merced, in the southwestern quadrant of the city, is a popular fresh-water lake surrounded by parkland.
Culture and contemporary life
San Francisco is characterized by a high standard of living.[63] The great wealth and opportunity generated by the Internet revolution continues to draw many highly educated and high-income workers and residents to San Francisco. Numerous lower-income neighborhoods consequently have become increasingly gentrified, and many of the city's traditional business and industrial districts have experienced a renaissance driven by the redevelopment of the Embarcadero, including the neighborhoods South Beach and Mission Bay. The city's property values and household income have escalated to among the highest in the nation,[64][65][66] allowing the city to support a large restaurant and entertainment infrastructure. Because the cost of living in San Francisco is exceptionally high, many middle class families have decided they can no longer afford to live within the city and have left.[67]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Fillmore-sidewalk-1.jpg/220px-Fillmore-sidewalk-1.jpg)
Although the centralized commerce and shopping districts of the Financial District and the area around Union Square, are well-known around the world, San Francisco is also characterized by its culturally rich streetscapes featuring mixed-use neighborhoods anchored around central commercial corridors to which residents and visitors alike can walk. Because of these characteristics, San Francisco was rated "most walkable" city by the website Walkscore.com.[68][69] Many neighborhoods feature a mix of businesses, restaurants and venues catering to the daily needs of the community while also drawing in visitors. Some neighborhoods are dotted with boutiques, cafes and nightlife, such as Union Street in Cow Hollow, and 24th Street in Noe Valley. Others are less so, such as Irving Street in the Sunset, or Mission Street in the Mission. This approach especially has influenced the continuing South of Market neighborhood redevelopment, with businesses and neighborhood services rising alongside high-rise residences.[70]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Castro_Rainbow_Flag.jpg/170px-Castro_Rainbow_Flag.jpg)
The international character San Francisco has fostered since its founding is continued today by large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. With 39 percent of its residents born overseas,[71] San Francisco has numerous neighborhoods filled with businesses and civic institutions catering to new arrivals. In particular, the arrival of many ethnic Chinese, which accelerated beginning in the 1970s, has complemented the long-established community historically based in Chinatown throughout the city and has transformed the annual Chinese New Year Parade into the largest event of its kind outside China.[72]
Following the arrival of writers and artists of the 1950s—who established the modern coffeehouse culture—and the social upheavals of the 1960s, San Francisco became an epicenter of liberal activism, with Democrats and Greens dominating city politics. Indeed, San Franciscans have not provided a Republican presidential candidate more than 20 percent of the vote since the 1988 election.[73] The city's large gay and lesbian population has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decades, developing a powerful presence in San Francisco's civic life. A popular destination for gay and lesbian tourists, the city hosts San Francisco Pride, an annual parade and festival.
Entertainment and performing arts
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/SFWMOHLobbySouth.jpg/220px-SFWMOHLobbySouth.jpg)
San Francisco's War Memorial and Performing Arts Center hosts some of the most enduring performing-arts companies in the U.S. The War Memorial Opera House houses the San Francisco Opera, the second largest opera company on the North American continent[74] as well as the San Francisco Ballet, while the San Francisco Symphony plays in Davies Symphony Hall. The Herbst Theatre stages an eclectic mix of music performances, as well as public radio's City Arts & Lectures.
The Fillmore is a music venue located in the Western Addition. It is the second incarnation of the historic venue which gained fame in the 1960s under the legendary concert promoter Bill Graham, housing the stage where now-famous musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane first performed, fostering the San Francisco Sound. Beach Blanket Babylon is a zany musical revue and a civic institution that has performed to sold-out crowds in North Beach since 1974.
The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has been a leading force in Bay Area performing arts since its arrival in San Francisco in 1967, regularly staging original productions. San Francisco frequently hosts national touring productions of Broadway theatre shows in a number of vintage 1920s-era venues in the Theater District including the Curran, Orpheum, and Golden Gate Theatres.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Yerba-Buena-Gardens-MOMA.jpg/220px-Yerba-Buena-Gardens-MOMA.jpg)
Museums
- See also: List of museums in San Francisco
The Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. It moved to its iconic building in the South of Market neighborhood in 1995 and now attracts more than 600,000 visitors annually.[75] The Palace of the Legion of Honor holds primarily classic European works of art, while the city's De Young Museum and Asian Art Museum have significant anthropological and non-European holdings.
The Palace of Fine Arts, built originally for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, today houses the Exploratorium, a popular science museum dedicated to teaching through hands-on interaction. The California Academy of Sciences is a natural history museum which also hosts the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium. The San Francisco Zoo maintains more than 250 animal species, many of which are designated as endangered.[76]
Media
The San Francisco Chronicle, in which Herb Caen famously published his daily musings, is Northern California's most widely circulated newspaper.[77] The San Francisco Examiner, once the cornerstone of William Randolph Hearst's media empire and the home of Ambrose Bierce, declined in circulation over the years and now takes the form of a free daily tabloid.[78][79] Sing Tao Daily claims to be the largest of several Chinese language dailies that serve the Bay Area.[80] Alternative weekly newspapers include the San Francisco Bay Guardian and SF Weekly. San Francisco Magazine and 7x7 are major glossy magazines about San Francisco. The national newsmagazine Mother Jones is also based in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Bay Area is the sixth-largest TV market[81] and the fourth-largest radio market[82] in the U.S. The city's oldest radio station, KCBS (AM), began as an experimental station in San Jose in 1909. KALW was the city's first FM radio station when it signed on the air in 1941. All major U.S. television networks have affiliates serving the region, with most of them based in the city. There also are several unaffiliated stations, and CNN, ESPN, and BBC all have regional news bureaus in San Francisco. The city's first television station was KPIX, which began broadcasting on December 24, 1948. Other prominent stations include KGO, KRON, and KTVU.
Public broadcasting outlets include both a television station and a radio station, both broadcasting under the call letters KQED from a facility near the Potrero Hill neighborhood. KQED-FM is the most-listened-to National Public Radio affiliate in the country.[83] San Francisco–based technology companies such as CNET and Salon.com pioneered the use of the Internet as a media outlet. Leading global media targeted toward gay and lesbian audiences also are centered in San Francisco, with PlanetOut the parent company of major print newsmagazines and online communities, located in the city.
Sports
The San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) are the longest-tenured major professional sports franchise in the city. The team began play in 1946 as an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) league charter member, moved to the NFL in 1950 and into its present stadium in Candlestick Park on Candlestick Point in 1971. The 49ers dominated the league in the 1980s and 1990s, winning five Super Bowl titles behind stars Joe Montana, Steve Young, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/SFBaseballPark.jpg/220px-SFBaseballPark.jpg)
Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants left New York for California prior to the 1958 season. Though boasting stars such as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Barry Bonds, the club has yet to win the World Series while based in San Francisco. The Giants' cross-bay rivals, the Oakland Athletics, swept the Giants in the 1989 World Series, after Game 3 in San Francisco was infamously pre-empted by the Loma Prieta earthquake. The Giants play at AT&T Park which was opened in 2000, a cornerstone project of the South Beach and Mission Bay redevelopment.[84]
Kezar Stadium, near the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood formerly hosted the 49ers, as well as the San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse, and the now defunct California Victory of United Soccer League (USL) First Division. The semiprofessional San Francisco Bay Seals of the USL developmental league are the second soccer team based the city.
At the collegiate level, the Dons of the University of San Francisco compete in NCAA Division I play, where Bill Russell guided the program to NCAA men's basketball championships in 1955 and 1956. The San Francisco State Gators compete in Division II.
With an ideal climate for outdoor activities, San Francisco has ample resources and opportunities for amateur and participatory sports and recreation. The Bay to Breakers footrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit.[85] The San Francisco Marathon is an annual event that attracts more than 7,000 participants.[86] There are more than 200 miles (320 km) of bicycle lanes in the city,[87] and the Embarcadero and Marina Green are favored sites for in-line skating. Extensive public tennis facilities are available in Golden Gate Park and Dolores Park, as well as at smaller neighborhood courts throughout the city.
Boating, sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing are among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in the Marina District. San Francisco residents have often ranked among the fittest in the U.S.[88]
Economy
Tourism is the backbone of the San Francisco economy. Its frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. It is the city where Tony Bennett left his heart, where the Birdman of Alcatraz spent many of his final years, and where Rice-a-Roni[90] was said to be the favorite treat. San Francisco attracts the fourth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the U.S.[needs update][91] and claims Pier 39 near Fisherman's Wharf as the third-most popular tourist attraction in the nation.[92] More than 16 million visitors arrived in San Francisco in 2007, injecting nearly $8.2 billion into the economy—both all-time high figures for the city.[93] With a large hotel infrastructure and a world-class convention facility in the Moscone Center, San Francisco is also among the top-ten North American destinations for conventions and conferences.[94]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/FinancialNorth.jpg/220px-FinancialNorth.jpg)
The legacy of the California Gold Rush turned San Francisco into the principal banking and finance center of the West Coast in the early twentieth century. Montgomery Street in the Financial District became known as the "Wall Street of the West", home to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Wells Fargo corporate headquarters, and the site of the now-defunct Pacific Coast Stock Exchange. Bank of America, a pioneer in making banking services accessible to the middle class, was founded in San Francisco and in the 1960s, built the landmark modern skyscraper at 555 California Street for its corporate headquarters. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks and venture capital firms are based in or have regional headquarters in the city. With over 30 international financial institutions,[95] six Fortune 500 companies,[96] and a large support infrastructure of professional services—including law, public relations, architecture and design—also with significant presence in the city, San Francisco is designated as one of the ten Beta World Cities.[97] The city ranks fifteenth in the world's list of cities by GDP and eighth in the United States.[98]
San Francisco's economy has increasingly become tied to that of its Bay Area neighbor San Jose and Silicon Valley to its south, sharing the need for highly educated workers with specialized skills.[99] San Francisco has been positioning itself as a biotechnology and biomedical hub and research center. The Mission Bay neighborhood, site of a second campus of UCSF, fosters a budding industry and serves as headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the public agency funding stem cell research programs statewide.
Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms make up 85 percent of city establishments.[100] The number of San Franciscans employed by firms of more than 1,000 employees has fallen by half since 1977.[71] City government has made it intentionally difficult for national big box and formula retail chains to expand in the city; the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods in which formula retail establishments can operate,[101] an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters.[102]
Government
San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, a status it has held since 1856.[103] It is the only such consolidation in California.[104] The mayor is also the county executive, and the county Board of Supervisors acts as the city council. Under the city charter, the government of San Francisco is constituted of two co-equal branches. The executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other citywide elected and appointed officials as well as the civil service. The 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a president and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use of direct ballot initiatives to pass legislation.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Sfcityhall.jpeg/220px-Sfcityhall.jpeg)
The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.[105] If the mayor dies or resigns, the President of the Board of Supervisors assumes the office, as Dianne Feinstein did after the assassination of George Moscone in 1978.
Because of its unique city-county status, local government exercises jurisdiction over property that would otherwise be located outside of its corporation limit. San Francisco International Airport, though ostensibly located in San Mateo County, is legally in San Francisco because it is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco was also granted a perpetual leasehold over the Hetch Hetchy Valley and watershed in Yosemite National Park by the Raker Act in 1913.[104]
In 2006, the Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance making San Francisco the first city in the nation to provide health care services to all uninsured residents, with creation of the Healthy San Francisco program.[106] The municipal budget for fiscal year 2007–2008 was just over $6 billion.[107]
The federal government utilizes San Francisco as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the U.S. Mint. Until decommissioning in the early 1990s, the city had three major military installations—the Presidio, Treasure Island, and Hunters Point—a legacy still reflected in the annual celebration of Fleet Week. The State of California uses San Francisco as the home of the state supreme court and other state agencies. Foreign governments maintain more than thirty consulates in San Francisco.[108]
Demographics
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/SFPopulationGrowth.jpg/220px-SFPopulationGrowth.jpg)
The estimated 2007 population of San Francisco is 764,976.[6][110] With nearly 16,000 people per square mile, San Francisco is the second-most densely populated major American city.[111] San Francisco is the traditional focal point of the San Francisco Bay Area and forms part of the greater San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area (CSA) whose population is over 7 million: the fifth largest in the U.S. as of the 2000 Census.[112]
Like many larger U.S. cities, San Francisco is a minority-majority city, as non-Hispanic whites comprise less than half of the population. As of 2006, the Census Bureau estimated that 44.6 percent of the population was non-Hispanic white.[113] Asian Americans make up about a third of the population; Chinese Americans constitute the largest single racial group in San Francisco at about a fifth of the population. Hispanics of any race make up about 14 percent of the population. San Francisco's African American population has declined in recent decades, from 13.4 percent of the city in 1970 to 7.2 percent of the population in 2006.[113] The current percentage of African Americans in San Francisco is similar to that of the state of California.[113]
Relatively few of the city's residents are native San Franciscans. Only 35 percent of its residents were born in California; 39 percent were born outside the U.S.[71]
According to the 2005 American Community Survey, San Francisco has the highest percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S cities, with 15.4%.[114] San Francisco also has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any other metropolitan area.[115]
The San Francisco median household income is $57,833 and the median family income, at $67,809 in 2005, is the third-highest for any large city in the nation.[65] Following a national trend, an out-migration of middle class families is contributing to widening income disparity[67] and has left the city with a lower proportion of children, 14.5 percent, than any other large American city.[116]
The city's poverty rate, at 7.7 percent, is lower than the national average and among the lowest for cities ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau.[117]
Homelessness has been a chronic and controversial problem for San Francisco since the early 1980s. The city is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city.[118][119]
The rates of violent and property crime, reported for 2006 as 875 and 4,958 incidents per 100,000 residents respectively,[120] are higher than the national average.[121] In 2007, the city recorded 98 homicides, the highest number in more than a decade.[122]
Education
Colleges and universities
The University of California, San Francisco is part of the University of California system but is solely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top-five medical schools in the U.S.[123] and also operates the UCSF Medical Center, ranked among the top 10 hospitals in the U.S.[124] UCSF is a major local employer, second in size only to the city and county government.[125] A 43-acre Mission Bay campus was opened in 2003, complementing its original facility in Parnassus Heights. It contains research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurship and will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise.[126] The University of California, Hastings College of the Law, founded in Civic Center in 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution.[127]
San Francisco State University is part of the California State University system and is located near Lake Merced.[128] The school has close to 30,000 students[129] and awards undergraduate and master's degrees in more than 100 disciplines.[128] The City College of San Francisco, with its main facility in the Ingleside district, is one of the largest two-year community colleges in the country. It has an enrollment of about 100,000 students and offers an extensive continuing education program.[130] Founded in 1855, the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco, located on Lone Mountain, focuses on the liberal arts and is one of the oldest universities established west of the Mississippi.[131]
Notable schools providing higher education in the arts include San Francisco Art Institute, the Academy of Art University, and an extension of the Oakland-based California College of the Arts. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the only school of its kind on the West Coast, grants degrees in orchestral instruments, chamber music, composition, and conducting.
The California Culinary Academy, associated with the Le Cordon Bleu program, offers programs in the culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality and restaurant management.
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools are run by the San Francisco Unified School District as well as the State Board of Education for some charter schools. Lowell High School, the oldest public high school in the U.S. west of the Mississippi,[132] and the smaller School of the Arts High School are two of San Francisco's magnet schools at the secondary level. Just under 30 percent of the city's school-age population attends one of San Francisco's more than 100 private or parochial schools, compared to a 10 percent rate nationwide.[133] Nearly 40 of those schools are Catholic schools managed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco.[134]
Transportation
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Sfbaybridge_at_night.jpg/220px-Sfbaybridge_at_night.jpg)
Roads and highways
Because of its unique geography—making beltways somewhat impractical—and the results of the freeway revolts of the late 1950s,[135] San Francisco is one of the few American cities that has opted for European-style arterial thoroughfares instead of a large network of freeways. This trend continued following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, when city leaders decided to demolish the Embarcadero Freeway, and voters approved demolition of a portion of the Central Freeway, converting them into street-level boulevards.[135]
Interstate 80 begins at the approach to the Bay Bridge and is the only direct automobile link to the East Bay. U.S. Route 101 extends Interstate 80 to the south along the San Francisco Bay toward Silicon Valley. Northbound, 101 uses arterial streets Van Ness Avenue and Lombard Street to the Golden Gate Bridge, the only direct road access from San Francisco to Marin County and points north. Highway 1 also enters San Francisco at the Golden Gate Bridge, but diverts away from 101, bisecting the west side of the city as the 19th Avenue arterial thoroughfare, and joining with Interstate 280 at the city's southern border. Interstate 280 continues this route along the central portion of the Peninsula south to San Jose. Northbound, 280 turns north and east and terminates in the South of Market area. Highway 35, which traverses the majority of the Peninsula along the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, enters the city from the south as Skyline Boulevard, following city streets until it terminates at its intersection with Highway 1. Major east–west thoroughfares include Geary Boulevard, the Lincoln Way/Fell Street corridor, and Market Street/Portola Drive.
Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with about 40,000 residents commuting to work regularly by bicycle.[136] There are 68 miles (109 km) of bicycle lanes and paths throughout the city.[137]
Public transportation
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Cable_Car.jpg/220px-Cable_Car.jpg)
Many people in San Francisco use public transportation, nearly a third of commuters in 2005.[138] Public transit solely within the city of San Francisco is provided predominantly by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). The city-owned system operates both a combined light rail/subway system (the Muni Metro) and a bus network that includes trolleybuses, standard diesel motorcoaches and diesel hybrid buses. The Metro streetcars run on surface streets in outlying neighborhoods but underground in the downtown area.[139] Additionally, Muni runs the highly visible F Market historic streetcar line, which runs on surface streets from Castro Street to Fisherman's Wharf (through Market Street),[139] and the iconic San Francisco cable car system,[139] which has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.[140]
Commuter rail is provided by two complementary agencies. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is the regional rapid transit system which connects San Francisco with the East Bay through the Transbay Tube. The line runs under Market Street to Civic Center, where it turns south to the Mission District, the southern part of the city, and through northern San Mateo County, to the San Francisco International Airport, and Millbrae.[139] The Caltrain rail system runs from San Francisco along the Peninsula down to San Jose.[139] The line dates from 1863, and for many years was operated by Southern Pacific.
The Transbay Terminal serves as the terminus for long-range bus service (such as Greyhound) and as a hub for regional bus systems AC Transit (Alameda County), SamTrans (San Mateo County), and Golden Gate Transit (Marin and Sonoma Counties).[141] Amtrak also runs a shuttle bus from San Francisco to its rail station in Emeryville.[142]
A small fleet of commuter and tourist ferries operate from the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Marin County, Oakland, and north to Vallejo in Solano County.[139]
Airports
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/International_Terminal_of_San_Francisco_International_Airport2.jpg/220px-International_Terminal_of_San_Francisco_International_Airport2.jpg)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), though located 13 miles (21 km) south of the city in San Mateo County, is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. SFO is primarily adjacent to the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno, but also borders the most southern part of the city of South San Francisco. SFO is a hub for United Airlines, its largest tenant,[143] and the decision by Virgin America to base its operations out of SFO[144] reverses the trend of low-cost carriers opting to bypass SFO for Oakland and San Jose. SFO is an international gateway, with the largest international terminal in North America.[145] The airport is built on a landfill extension into the San Francisco Bay. During the economic boom of the late 1990s, when traffic saturation led to frequent delays, it became difficult to respond to calls to relieve the pressure by constructing an additional runway as that would have required additional landfill. Such calls subsided in the early 2000s as traffic declined, and, in 2006, SFO was the 14th busiest airport in the U.S. and 26th busiest in the world, handling 33.5 million passengers.[146]
Seaports
The Port of San Francisco was once the largest and busiest seaport on the West Coast. It featured rows of piers perpendicular to the shore, where cargo from the moored ships was handled by cranes and manual labor and transported to nearby warehouses. The port handled cargo to and from trans-Pacific and Atlantic destinations, and was the West Coast center of the lumber trade. The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike, an important episode in the history of the American labor movement, brought the port to a standstill. The advent of container shipping made pier-based ports obsolete, and most commercial berths moved to the Port of Oakland.
Many piers remained derelict for years until the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway reopened the downtown waterfront, allowing for redevelopment. The centerpiece of the port, the Ferry Building, while still receiving commuter ferry traffic, has been restored and redeveloped as a gourmet marketplace. The port's other activities now focus on developing waterside assets to support recreation and tourism.
See also
Notes
- ^ Sullivan, James (2003-10-14). "Frisco, that once-verboten term for the city by the bay, is making a comeback among the young and hip. Herb Caen is spinning at warp speed". Datebook. San Francisco: San Francisco Chronicle. p. D-1. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- ^ Many tourists refer to San Francisco as "Frisco", a name popularized through songs like Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay and Sweet Little Sixteen. However, locals discourage this use and prefer the nickname The City by the Bay. Samuel D. Cohen writes that many credit "Friscophobia" to newspaper columnist Herb Caen, whose first book, published in 1953, was "Don't Call it Frisco." Caen was considered by many to be the recognized authority on what was, and what was not, beneath the city's dignity, and to him, Frisco was intolerable. Cohen, Sam (1997-09-11). "Locals Know best: only tourists call it 'Frisco'". Golden Gater Online. San Francisco State University. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ San Francisco Public Library (2005-03-29). "PPIE: The City That Knows How". Amusing America. San Francisco Public Library, Online Exhibitions. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ Caen, Herb (1949). Baghdad-by-the-Bay. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0891740476. LC F869.S3 C12.
- ^ "Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007" (XLS). US Census Bureau. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ a b c "San Francisco County, California". Population Finder. US Census Bureau. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- ^ "Table 2. Annual Estimates of the Population of Combined Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007" (XLS). US Census Bureau. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- ^ "2000 Census: US Municipalities Over 50,000: Ranked by 2000 Population". Demographia. 2006-08-01. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ Stewart, Suzanne B. (2003). "Archaeological Research Issues For The Point Reyes National Seashore - Golden Gate National Recreation Area" (PDF). Sonoma State University - Anthropological Studies Center. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ "Visitors: San Francisco Historical Information". City and County of San Francisco. n.d. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
- ^ The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco (2004-07-16). "From the 1820s to the Gold Rush". The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "History of Yerba Buena Gardens". MJM Management Group. 2004. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. pp. 4–5. ISBN 9780471191209. OCLC 44313415.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Sourdough bread was a staple of western explorers and miners of the 19th century. It became an iconic symbol of San Francisco, and is still a staple of city life today.Tamony, Peter (1973). "Sourdough and French Bread". Western Folklore. 32 (4). Western States Folklore Society: 265–270. doi:10.2307/1498306.
{{cite journal}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help); Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "San Francisco's First Brick Building". The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. 2004-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ Richards, Rand (1992). Historic San Francisco: A Concise History and Guide. Heritage House. ISBN 1-879367-00-9.
- ^ Harris, Ron (2005-11-14). "Crews Unearth Shipwreck on San Francisco Condo Project". Associated Press. Retrieved 2006-09-04.
- ^ Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. pp. 31–33. ISBN 9780471191209. OCLC 44313415.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ “The miners came in forty-nine, / The whores in fifty-one, / And when they got together / They produced the native son.” Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. pp. 237–238. ISBN 9780471191209. OCLC 44313415.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^
"Under Three Flags" (PDF). Golden Gate National Recreation Area Brochures. US Department of the Interior. 2004. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. pp. 44–55. ISBN 9780471191209. OCLC 44313415.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ London, Jack (May 5, 1906). "The Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London". Collier's, The National Weekly. The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- ^ "Presidio of San Francisco: Firefighting and Dynamiting". Golden Gate National Recreation Area. US Department of the Interior. 2003-12-24. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ Montagne, Renée (2006-04-11). "Remembering the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake". People & Places. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "Casualties and Damage after the 1906 earthquake". Earthquake Hazards Program - Northern California. US Geological Survey. 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "Presidio of San Francisco:1906 Earthquake and Fire". Golden Gate National Recreation Area. US Department of the Interior. 2004-08-25. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. pp. 56–62. ISBN 9780471191209. OCLC 44313415.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 9. ISBN 9780471191209. OCLC 44313415.
- ^ "San Francisco Gold Rush Banking - 1849". The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. 2004-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "Port of Embarkation Essay--World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area". A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary:. US Department of the Interior. 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Fang, Eric CY (1999). "Urban Renewal Revisited: A Design Critique". SPUR Newsletter. San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "Pyramid Facts and Figures". Company Profile. Transamerica Insurance and Investment Group. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. pp. 95–96. ISBN 9780471191209. OCLC 44313415.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Willis, James (2004-04-19). "San Francisco Planning Department Census Data Analysis" (PPT). San Francisco State University. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ Minton, Torri (1998-09-20). "Race Through Time". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. SC-4. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. pp. 240–242. ISBN 9780471191209. OCLC 44313415.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ "American Experience: Summer of Love: Film Description". Website for American Experience documentary on the Summer of Love. PBS. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ^ "San Francisco History: The 1970s and 1980s: Gay Rights". Destinations: San Francisco. Frommers.com. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ^ Ted Egan (2006-04-03). "City and County of San Francisco: An Overview of San Francisco's Recent Economic Performance" (PDF). Report prepared for Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. ICF Consulting. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
Another positive trend for the future is San Francisco's highly entrepreneurial, flexible and innovative economy...San Francisco's very high reliance on small business and self-employment is typical of other dynamic, fast-growing, high-technology areas across the country.
- ^ Graham, Tom (2004-11-07). "Peak Experience". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. PK-23. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ Lee, Henry K. (1997-01-16). "Mount Davidson Cross Called Landmark by Panel". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ^ Smith, Charles (2006-04-15). "What San Francisco didn't learn from the '06 quake". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ Selna, Robert (2008-06-29). "S.F. leaders ignore weak buildings' quake risk". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A-1. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ "Liquefaction Damage in the Marina District during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake" (PDF). California Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ^ Nolte, Carl (2005-08-19). "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. Hearst Communications. p. A-1. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "And Never the Twain Shall Tweet". Urban Legends Reference Pages. Snopes.com. 2007-09-26.
- ^ "Climate of San Francisco - Narrative Description". Golden Gate Weather Services. 2002. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "Historical Weather for Livermore, California, United States of America". Weatherbase.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "June 2000 City/State Extremes". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. US Department of Commerce. 2004-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "San Francisco - Top 10 Temperatures". Golden Gate Weather Services. 2001-06-28. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ a b Null, Jan (1995). "Climate of San Francisco (Third Revision)". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. US Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "Climate of San Francisco - Snowfall". Golden Gate Weather Services. 2006. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "Historical Climate Information". Western Regional Climate Center. Desert Research Institute. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "Historical Weather for San Francisco, California, United States of America". Weatherbase.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "The Tenderloin". SfGate San Francisco Neighborhood Guide. Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ "The Haight". SfGate San Francisco Neighborhood Guide. Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
- ^ Bishop, Katherine (1988-10-13). "Haight-Ashbury Journal; Love and Hate Linger In Ex-Hippie District". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ "The Castro". SfGate San Francisco Neighborhood Guide. Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ "The Marina". SfGate San Francisco Neighborhood Guide. Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ Chow, Andrew (2002-03-22). "Dismal APA Turnout at First Redistricting Meetings". Asian Week.
- ^ "The Most Visited City Parks" (PDF). Center for City Park Excellence. The Trust for Public Land. 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ^ Schwarzer, Michelle (2001). "San Francisco by the Numbers: Planning After the 2000 Census". SPUR Newsletter. San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ Sadovi, Maura Webber (2006-04-12). "San Francisco's Home Prices Remain Among the Highest in U.S." Real Estate Journal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ a b "Median Family Income (In 2003 Inflation-adjusted Dollars)". American Community Survey. US Census Bureau. 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ Hawn, Carleen (2007). "It may not feel like it, but your shot at the good life is getting better. Here's why". San Francisco magazine. Modern Luxury. Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ a b Hendricks, Tyche (2006-06-22). "Rich City Poor City: Middle-class neighborhoods are disappearing from the nation's cities, leaving only high- and low-income districts, new study says". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. A-1. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ Temple, James (2008-07-17). "S.F. a step ahead as most 'walkable' U.S. city". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A-1. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ "WalkScore #1 San Francisco". Walkscore.com. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ Wach, Bonnie (2003-10-03). "Fog City rises from the funk". USA Today. Gannett Company, Inc. Retrieved 2006-09-04.
- ^ a b c Egan, Ted (2006-04-03). "An Overview of San Francisco's Recent Economic Performance - Executive Summary" (PDF). ICF Consulting. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ Lam, Eric (2005-12-22). "San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade Embroiled in Controversy". The Epoch Times. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ Leip, Dave (2008-06-04). "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Dave Leip. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ The San Francisco Opera is second in size only to New York City's Metropolitan Opera
- ^ "Corporate Sponsorship - Why Sponsor". San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "What to See at the Zoo". San Francisco Zoo. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "Top 200 Newspapers by Largest Reported Circulation". Audit Bureau of Circulations. 2007-03-31. Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ Rosenberg, Scott (2000-03-21). "The San Francisco Examiner, 1887–2000". Salon.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Nolte, Carl (2000-11-22). "Examiner Staff Ends an Era With Tears, Newsroom Tales". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. A-1. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Hua, Vanessa (2004-08-03). "Newspaper war in the Bay Area: Ming Pao becomes 6th Chinese-language daily". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. B-1. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "Local Television Market Universe Estimates" (XLS). Nielsen Media. 2007-09-22. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ "Arbitron Radio Market Rankings: Spring 2008". Arbitron. 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "Top 30 Public Radio Subscribers - Winter 2004 Arbitron" (PDF). Radio Research Consortium. Arbitron Media Research. 2004-06-17. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ "Federal Brownfields Tax Incentive: SBC Park" (PDF). Brownfields. US Environmental Protection Agency. 2005. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "About Us - History". ING Bay to Breakers. ING Group. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Winitz, Mark (2004-06-18). "San Francisco Marathon Expands Cool Reputation". Press Release. The San Francisco Marathon. Archived from the original on 2006-12-30. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ "Bicycle Network Facilities". Commuting and Resources. SF Municipal Transportation Authority. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Hübler, Eric (2008). "The Fittest and Fattest Cities in America". Men's Fitness. American Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Gonzales, Richard (2006-05-22). "New Parts of Alcatraz Revealed to Public". People and Places. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Finz, Stacy (2006-07-16). "Rice-a-Redux After a 7-year hiatus, it's billed once again as the San Francisco treat". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. A-1. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ "Overseas Visitation Estimates for U.S. States, Cities, and Census Regions: 2007" (PDF). International Visitation in the United States. US Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, US Department of Commerce. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ "Sights in San Francisco". City and County of San Francisco. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
- ^ Raine, George (2008-05-30). "Visitors to S.F. in 2007 set record for spending". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A-1. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Spain, William (2004-11-13). "Cost factors: Top convention cities boast most-affordable lodging". CBS Marketwatch. Marketwatch Inc. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ "San Francisco: Economy". City-Data.com. Advameg Inc. n.d. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ "2008: Cities". Fortune 500. Fortune magazine, Time Inc. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Beaverstock, J.V. (1999-07-28). "Research Bulletin 5: A Roster of World Cities" (HTML). Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network. Geography Department, Loughborough University. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ PriceWaterhouseCoopers, "UK Economic Outlook, March 2007", page 5. ""Table 1.2 – Top 30 urban agglomeration GDP rankings in 2005 and illustrative projections to 2020 (using UN definitions and population estimates)"" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-09-26.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Selna, Robert (2008-05-15). "New jobs, houses spur S.F. population in 2007". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. B-1. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Tan, Aldrich M. (2006-04-12). "San Francisco is gateway city for immigrants and Silicon Valley Technology". Fogcityjournal.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ Hetter, Katia (2004-03-21). "Supervisors OK limits on chain-store expansion". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
- ^ "Proposition G: Limitations on Formula Retail Stores, City of San Francisco". smartvoter.org. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
- ^ Coy, Owen Cochran (1919). Guide to the County Archives of California. Sacramento, California: California Historical Survey Commission. p. p. 409.
{{cite book}}
:|page=
has extra text (help) - ^ a b "Board of Supervisors - Does San Francisco have a City Council?". SFGov SF311. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "Board of Supervisors District Information". City and County of San Francisco, Board of Supervisors. Retrieved 2006-01-29.
- ^ "Key Facts: Healthy San Francisco" (PDF). Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ Vega, Cecilia (2007-07-28). "Newsom signs the city's largest budget". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "Search for consulates in San Francisco, CA". Yellowpages.com. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
- ^ Gibson, Campbell (1998). "Population of the 100 Largest Cieties and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2006-01-29.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ The city of San Francisco has announced it will contest the Census Bureau figure, stating that its own estimate is closer to 864,000. Ref: Steve Rubenstein (2008-04-01). "Newsom says U.S. census missed 100,000; City to officially fight '07 population estimate of 764,000". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ For cities with greater than 200,000 population. "2000 Census: US Municipalities Over 50,000: Ranked by 2000 Density". Demographia. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- ^ "Population in Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs) in Alphabetical Order and Numerical and Percent Change for the United States and Puerto Rico: 1990 and 2000" (Excel). Census 2000 and 1990 Census. U.S. Census Bureau. 2003-12-30. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ a b c "State & County QuickFacts: San Francisco County, California". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ Gates, Gary (2006). "Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey" (PDF). The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help); Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "Gay and Lesbian Families in the United States: Same-Sex Unmarried Partner Households" (PDF). Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
- ^ "Families Struggle To Stay: Why Families are Leaving San Francisco and What Can Be Done" (PDF). Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth. 206-03-01. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Table 689 - Household Income, Family Income, Per Capita Income, and Individuals and Families Below Poverty Level by City: 2004" (PDF). Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007, Section 13: Income, Expenditures and Wealth. U.S. Census Bureau. 2004. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "Care Not Cash". PBS. 2005-04-05. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
- ^ Pratt, Timothy (2006-08-12). "Critics say regional plan won't solve the problem". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2006-08-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Uniform Crime Reports: Table 8 Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City, 2006". 2006 Crime in the United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "Uniform Crime Reports: Table 1 Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1987–2006". 2006 Crime in the United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ Vega, Cecilia (2008-01-15). "Guns, crack cocaine fuel homicides in S.F. - 98 killings in 2007". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools: Best Medical Schools". U.S. News and World Report. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "America's Best Hospitals 2007". U.S. News and World Report. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "San Francisco Business Information: Largest Employers in San Francisco" (Microsoft Word). San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2007. San Francisco Center for Economic Development. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ Wallace Ravven (2003-07-22). "New UCSF Mission Bay campus: country's largest biomedical university expansion". UCSF. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "Hastings Quick Facts". University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Retrieved 2006-08-30.
- ^ a b "SF State Facts 2006–2007: Today". SFSU. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "SF State Facts 2006–2007: Students". SFSU. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "City College of San Francisco Fact Sheet" (PDF). City College of San Francisco. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "University of San Francisco Fact Book and Almanac 2007" (PDF). University of San Francisco. 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ "The Oldest Public High School West of the Mississippi". About Lowell: Lowell History. San Francisco Unified School District. 2002-02-22. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ Knight, Heather (2006-05-31). "Many reluctantly chose private schools". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. A-1. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "School Directory August 2007" (PDF). Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2008-06-16. School Directory Archdiocese of San Francisco, Department of Catholic Schools. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.
- ^ a b Gordon, Rachel (2005-09-08). "Boulevard of dreams, the premiere". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. p. B-1. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ Wood, Daniel B (2006-09-12). "Bicyclists winning a war of lanes in San Francisco". Christian Science Monitor. Church of Christ, Scientist. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "Bicycle Network Facilities". San Francisco Municipal Transporation Agency. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ Les Christie (2007-06-29). "New Yorkers are Top Transit Users". CNNMoney.com. Cable News Network. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bay Area Traveler: Transportation Information". SF Gate.com. Hearst Communications Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite news}}
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ignored (help) - ^ "Report on San Francisco's Cable Cars" (PDF). San Francisco Beautiful. 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "Project Overview - Regional Transit". Transbay Transit Center. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ "Profile of Emeryville Station". Amtrak. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ Young, Eric (2004-04-02). "Pact keeps United from flying away". San Francisco Business Times. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ Raine, George (2005-12-09). "Taking to the air: Low-fare startup Virgin America says it has the funding to fly". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc. p. C-1. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "Fact Sheet: International Terminal" (PDF). San Francisco International Airport. 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ "Passenger Trafic 2006 Final". Airports Council International. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
References
- De La Perouse, Jean Francois (1989). Life in a California Mission: Monterey in 1786: The Journals of Jean Francois De La Perouse. Heyday Books. ISBN 0-930588-39-8.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - Hansen, Gladys (1995). San Francisco Almanac: Everything you want to know about the city. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-0841-6.
- London, Jack (May 5, 1906). "The Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London". Collier's, The National Weekly.
- Richards, Rand (1991). Historic San Francisco: A Concise History and Guide. Heritage House. ISBN 1-879367-00-9.
- Ungaretti, Lorri (2005). San Francisco's Richmond District. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-3053-0.
- Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-19120-5.
Further reading
- Asbury, Hubert (1989). The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld. Dorset Press. ISBN 0-88029-428-0.
- Bronson, William (2006). The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-5047-1.
- Cassady, Stephen (1987). Spanning the Gate. Square Books. ISBN 0-916290-36-0.
- Dillon, Richard H. (1998). High Steel: Building the Bridges Across San Francisco Bay. Celestial Arts (Reissue edition). ISBN 0-88029-428-0.
- Ferlinghetti, Lawrence (1980). Literary San Francisco: A pictorial history from its beginnings to the present day. Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-250325-1.
- Hartman, Chester (2002). City for Sale: The Transformation of San Francisco. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-08605-8.
- Holliday, J. S. (1999). Rush for Riches: Gold Fever and the Making of California. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21402-1.
- Lotchin, Roger W. (1997). San Francisco, 1846–1856: From Hamlet to City. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06631-6.
- Margolin, Malcolm (1981). The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area. Heydey Books. ISBN 0-930588-01-0.
- Thomas, Gordon and Witts, Max Morgan (1971). The San Francisco Earthquake. Stein and Day. ISBN 0-8128-1360-X.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
- Bay Area Public Transit Info, Schedules and Maps
- Official website for the City and County of San Francisco
- Template:Wikitravelpar
- Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
Template:USLargestCities Template:USLargestMetros