San Francisco
On the 2nd of November 1769, a Spanish exploration party led by Don Gaspar de Portolá arrived at San Francisco Bay. This marked the first documented European visit to the area that would become one of America's most iconic cities. The Yelamu Ohlone people had inhabited this land for thousands of years before that moment. Their name for the place was Ahwaste, meaning "place at the bay".
Spanish colonists established two key institutions in 1776. On March 28, Juan Bautista de Anza founded the Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate. Just over six months later on October 9, Padre Francisco Palóu established Mission San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores. These structures were named after Francis of Assisi and served as the foundation for what would eventually become a major city.
The early settlement remained small and isolated for decades. By 1847, when American forces captured Yerba Buena, the population numbered only 459 residents. Washington Allon Bartlett, serving as alcalde, officially renamed the town from Yerba Buena to San Francisco on the 30th of January 1847. This change aligned the city with international maps and distinguished it from other planned settlements.
The California gold rush of 1849 transformed San Francisco overnight. Prospectors flooded into the city, raising its population from 1,000 people in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of wealth was so powerful that crews on arriving vessels deserted their ships to rush off to the gold fields. Approximately 500 abandoned ships sat in the harbor, some used as storeships or saloons before being left to rot or sunk to establish underwater property titles.
By 1856, San Francisco became a consolidated city-county after the state government drew a line across the peninsula north of San Bruno Mountain. Everything south of this line became San Mateo County while everything north became the new City and County of San Francisco. The discovery of silver deposits at the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859 further fueled rapid economic expansion.
Lawlessness became rampant during these boom years. The Barbary Coast district became synonymous with vice, attracting criminals, prostitutes, and illicit activities including bootlegging and gambling. William Chapman Ralston emerged as an influential figure who amassed considerable wealth through controlling portions of the Comstock Lode's mines. He founded the Bank of California, the first bank in the Western United States, and built the opulent Palace Hotel.
At 5:12 am on the 18th of April 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and northern California. Buildings collapsed from the shaking, and ruptured gas lines ignited fires that spread out of control for several days. With water mains out of service, the Presidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain the inferno by dynamiting entire city blocks to create firebreaks. Contemporary accounts reported 498 deaths, though modern estimates place the number far higher in the several thousands.
More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including the entire downtown core. Over half of the population of 400,000 was left homeless. Refugees settled temporarily in makeshift tent villages throughout Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, and on the beaches. Jack London famously eulogized the disaster stating "Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone."
Rebuilding happened rapidly on a grand scale. Amadeo Giannini's Bank of Italy provided loans for many whose livelihoods had been devastated. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition opened nine years later in 1915 to celebrate the city's rebirth. Civil Engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy supervised construction of critical infrastructure including the Twin Peaks Reservoir and the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct between 1912 and 1927.
San Francisco contains more than 50 hills within its city limits. Twin Peaks forms one of the highest points overlooking the city. Mount Davidson stands as the tallest hill at 825 feet and is capped with a tall cross built in 1934. Sutro Tower reaches 1,811 feet above sea level, dominating the skyline near the geographic center.
Chinatown anchors the northeast quadrant of the city and remains the oldest Chinatown in North America. The Mission District sits in the southeast quadrant where immigrants from Mexico began to predominate in the 1950s. Pacific Heights lies directly north of the Marina district facing the waterfront. The Sunset District stretches all the way to the Pacific Ocean while the Richmond extends north of Golden Gate Park.
The city's shape roughly forms a seven-by-seven-mile square according to local colloquialism. Entire neighborhoods including the Marina, Mission Bay, and Hunters Point sit on areas of landfill. This reclaimed land tends to be unstable during earthquakes due to soil liquefaction that caused extensive damage during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Montgomery Street in the Financial District became known as the Wall Street of the West. It houses the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and was once home to the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange. Bank of America founded in San Francisco built its landmark modern skyscraper at 555 California Street in the 1960s before relocating headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Technology jobs accounted for just 1 percent of San Francisco's economy in 1990 but grew to an estimated 8 percent by the end of 2013. Companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and Twitter established tech offices in the city during the mid-2000s social media boom. Salesforce employs 11,953 people making it the largest private-sector employer in the city.
Homelessness emerged as a major issue in the late 20th century. In 2019, 8,035 homeless people were counted in San Francisco's point-in-time street and shelter count. The city budgeted $850 million for homelessness services in the proposed 2020-2021 budget year. Tourism remains one of the most important private-sector industries accounting for more than one out of seven jobs.
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Common questions
When did the first documented European visit to San Francisco occur?
The first documented European visit to San Francisco occurred on the 2nd of November 1769 when a Spanish exploration party led by Don Gaspar de Portolá arrived at San Francisco Bay. This event marked the initial recorded contact with the area that would eventually become one of America's most iconic cities.
Who founded the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission Dolores in 1776?
Juan Bautista de Anza founded the Presidio of San Francisco on the 28th of March 1776, while Padre Francisco Palóu established Mission San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores, on the 9th of October 1776. These two institutions served as the foundation for what would eventually become a major city named after Francis of Assisi.
What happened to San Francisco during the earthquake of April 18 1906?
A major earthquake struck San Francisco at 5:12 am on the 18th of April 1906 causing buildings to collapse and ruptured gas lines to ignite fires that spread out of control for several days. Contemporary accounts reported 498 deaths though modern estimates place the number far higher in the several thousands.
Which neighborhood became North America's first gay village in the 1970s?
The Castro emerged as an urban gay village and became North America's first gay village during the 1970s when the city became a center of the gay rights movement. Harvey Milk was elected to the Board of Supervisors before his assassination along with Mayor George Moscone in 1978 cementing this reputation.
How many hills are within the city limits of San Francisco today?
San Francisco contains more than 50 hills within its city limits including Mount Davidson which stands as the tallest hill at 825 feet and is capped with a tall cross built in 1934. Twin Peaks forms one of the highest points overlooking the city while Sutro Tower reaches 1,811 feet above sea level near the geographic center.