The first Europeans to settle in San Francisco were the Spanish, in 1776.
The city grew rapidly due to the California gold rush starting in 1848.
The city was devastated by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but was
rebuilt quickly. Long enjoying a bohemian reputation, the city became a
counterculture magnet in the second half of the 20th century. It was a
center of the dot-com boom at the end of the century.
Widely-recognized landmarks include cable cars, the Golden Gate Bridge and
the Transamerica Pyramid.
Geography and climate
San Francisco lies near the San Andreas Fault; a major source of earthquake
activity in California. The most serious earthquake, in 1906, is mentioned
above. Earlier significant quakes rocked the city in 1851, 1858, 1865, and
1868. The Daly City Earthquake of 1957 caused some damage. The Loma Prieta
earthquake of 1989 which also did significant damage to parts of the city,
is also famous for having interrupted a World Series baseball game between
the Bay Area's two Major League Baseball teams, the San Francisco Giants and
the Oakland Athletics.
The threat of another major earthquake like the 1906 one plays a major role
in the city's infrastructure development. New buildings must be built to
very high structural standards, while many dollars must be spent to retrofit
the city's older buildings and bridges.
San Francisco is famous for its hills and the streets which run straight up
and down them. Three of San Francisco's notable hill neighborhoods are Nob
Hill, Russian Hill, and Telegraph Hill, all located in or near the downtown
area.
Near the geographic center of the city and away from the downtown area, are
a series of less populated hills. Dominating this area is Mount Sutro, which
is the site of Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio transmission tower,
that is a well known landmark to city residents. Nearby are the equally well
known Twin Peaks, which are a pair of hills resting at one of the city's
highest points.
Not to be missed are the beautiful homes and area of the city known as
Pacific Heights. San Francisco is also famous for its cable cars (narrow
gauge, 1067 mm (3'6")), which were designed to carry residents up those
steep hills. It is still possible to take a cable car ride up and down Nob
and Russian Hills. San Francisco's cable cars are the only mobile United
States National Monument. Coit Tower, a notable landmark dedicated to San
Francisco's firefighters, is located at the top of Telegraph Hill.
Surrounded on three sides by water, San Francisco's climate is strongly
influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean. The weather is
remarkably mild all year round, with a so-called Mediterranean climate
characterized by cool, foggy summers and relatively warm winters; average
daily high temperatures in the summer typically range from the upper 60s to
low 70s Fahrenheit, while in the winter it virtually never reaches freezing.
Rain in the summer is extremely rare, but winters can often be very rainy.
Snow is virtually unheard of. The Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the
city is particularly cold year round. The combination of cold ocean water
and the high heat of the California mainland mean that San Francisco's
western half is often shrouded in fog during the months of July and August.
Thus, the summer temperatures are significantly lower in San Francisco than
in other parts of inland California. The fog is less pronounced during the
month of September, which is generally the warmest, most summer-like month
of the year.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city and county has a
total area of 600.7 km˛ (231.9 mi˛). 120.9 km˛ (46.7 mi˛) of it is land and
479.7 km˛ (185.2 mi˛) of it is water. The total area is 79.86% water. The
city itself is often reputed to be roughly a seven mile by seven mile square,
but in fact it is slightly smaller, 46.7 mi˛.
Economy
Some 40 miles south of San Francisco is the Silicon Valley, which holds much
of the computing business in the world.
Because of the California gold rush, San Francisco became and remains the
banking and financial center of the U.S. west coast. It is the home of the
twelfth district of the U.S. Federal Reserve as well as major production
facilities for the U.S. Mint. The Pacific Exchange, a regional stock
exchange, is located in the financial district. Many major American and
international banks and venture capital firms have all set up their regional
headquarters in the city.
[edit]
Companies headquartered in San Francisco
Charles Schwab
CNET
The Gap
Ghirardelli division of Lindt & Sprüngli
Levi Strauss & Co.
Macromedia
Pacific Gas & Electric
SEGA of America
The Sharper Image
Viz Communications
Wells Fargo
Apple Computer is based in nearby Cupertino. Oracle Corporation is based in
nearby Redwood City. Yahoo! is headquartered in nearby Sunnyvale.
ChevronTexaco and IPIX are based in nearby San Ramon. Safeway is based in
nearby Pleasanton. Google is headquartered (at the "Googleplex") in Mountain
View, Santa Clara County, California.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 776,733 people, 329,700 households, and
145,068 families residing in the city. The population density is 6,423.2/km˛
(16,634.4/mi˛). There are 346,527 housing units at an average density of
2,865.6/km˛ (7,421.2/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 49.66% White,
7.79% African American, 0.45% Native American, 30.84% Asian, 0.49% Pacific
Islander, 6.48% from other races, and 4.28% from two or more races. 14.10%
of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 329,700 households out of which 16.6% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 31.6% are married couples living together, 8.9% have
a female householder with no husband present, and 56.0% are non-families.
38.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.8% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.30 and the average family size is 3.22.
In the city the population is spread out with 14.5% under the age of 18,
9.1% from 18 to 24, 40.5% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100
females there are 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 103.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $55,221, and the median
income for a family is $63,545. Males have a median income of $46,260 versus
$40,049 for females. The per capita income for the city is $34,556. 11.3% of
the population and 7.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 13.5% are under the age of 18 and 10.5% are
65 or older.
Contemporary life
San Francisco is one of the most densely populated cities in the United
States. The city is serviced by several public transit systems. Muni is the
city-owned public transit system which operates buses, electric trolleybuses,
streetcars and the famous cable cars (see above). BART (Bay Area Rapid
Transit) is the regional transit system, which connects San Francisco with
the East Bay and the San Mateo County, California communities on the San
Francisco Peninsula. In addition, a commuter rail service, Caltrain,
operates between San Francisco, San Jose, California and Gilroy, California.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) opened in 1995.
San Francisco is the home of the San Francisco 49ers National Football
League team and the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball team.
The city is also the home of the annual Bay to Breakers footrace, which
holds the world records for greatest number of participants in a footrace
(110K in 1986) as well as longest consecutively running footrace (annually
since 1912). Records aside, the race is best known for its colorful costumes
and celebratory community spirit (it was initiated after the disastrous 1906
earthquake as a way to boost the city's spirits).
Neighborhoods
Bernal Heights
The Castro
Chinatown
Financial District
Golden Gate Park
Haight-Ashbury
Hunters Point
Japantown
Marina District
Mission District
Noe Valley
North Beach
Pacific Heights
Potrero Hill
Richmond District
South of Market (SoMa)
Sunset District
The Tenderloin
Western Addition
Parks
Alamo Square
Balboa Park
Buena Vista Park
Dolores Park
Glen Canyon Park
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate View Park
Grand View Park
Lincoln Park
The Presidio
Sutro Park
Yerba Buena Park
Culture
Architectural and Engineering achievements
Transamerica Pyramid
Ferry Building
"Painted Ladies", terraced houses
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Civic Center
California Palace of the Legion of Honor
Sutro Tower
Sutro Baths
Golden Gate Bridge
Bay Bridge
Lombard Street
Museums and galleries
Among San Francisco's famous museums and galleries are:
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
The California Palace of the Legion of Honor
The De Young Museum
The Exploratorium in the Palace of Fine Arts, remaining from the Panama-Pacific
International Exposition (1915)
The Internet Archive
The Cartoon Art Museum
Offbeat Museums
Some of San Francisco's other museums:
Antique Vibrator Museum
Hello Gorgeous -A small museum devoted to Barbra Streisand.
Musee Mecanique - A museum dedicated to penny arcade machines.
Museum of Ophthalmology
Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum
Stamp Francisco/Stamp Art Gallery -rubber stamps not postal stamps.
Tattoo Art Museum - display of old tattoo machines and instruments.
UFO, Big Foot and Loch Ness Monster Museum
Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf
Airports
Local
San Francisco International Airport, 8 miles south of the city in San Mateo
County
Further Away
Oakland International Airport, 20 miles from San Francisco
San Jose International Airport, 44 miles from San Francisco
Famous San Franciscans
Albert Abrams, medical equipment inventor
Ansel Adams, photographer
Gracie Allen, comedian
Abe Attell, boxer
Bill Bixby, actor
Barry Bonds, baseball player
Bobby Bonds, baseball player
Lisa Bonet, actress
Benjamin Bratt, actor
Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court Associate Justice
Jerry Brown, former Governor of California
Pat Brown, former Governor of California
Margaret Cho, comedian and actress
Isadora Duncan, "mother" of Modern Dance
Clint Eastwood, actor and movie director
Dianne Feinstein, US Senator
Abigail Folger, Charles Manson murder victim
Robert Frost, poet
Jerry Garcia, singer
Clifford Geertz, anthropologist
Danny Glover, actor
Vince Guaraldi, composer of music for Peanuts animated cartoons
Kirk Hammett, musician
William Randolph Hearst, publisher
Shirley Jackson, author
Lewis Lapham, editor of Harper's
Mervyn LeRoy, film director and producer
Huey Lewis (of Huey Lewis & the News), Singer and actor
Jack London, author
Courtney Love, musician
Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense
Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel Corporation and the author of Moore's
law
Liev Schreiber, actor
Alicia Silverstone, actress
Gary Snyder, poet
Mia St. John, boxer and model
O.J. Simpson, football player, murderer
Lincoln Steffens, journalist
Phillip Terry, actor
Walter Tevis, author
William Ware Theiss, costume designer
Courtney Thorne-Smith, actress
Alice B. Toklas, lover of writer Gertrude Stein, Toklas' memoirs and
autobiography after the death of Stein
Jay Ward, creator and producer of animated TV series (E.G. Rocky &
Bullwinkle)
Caspar Weinberger, former Secretary of Defense
Stuart Whitman, actor
Naomi Wolf, writer
Beatrice Wood, artist
Natalie Wood, actress
John W. Young, astronaut
Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., US Navy Admiral
Notable non-native San Francisco residents:
Tony Bennett, singer
Clark Blaise, Canadian author
Victor Burgin, artist
Chris Columbus, film director
M.C. Hammer, rapper
George Hearst, politician
Phoebe Hearst, first woman Regent of the University of California
Jason Kidd, NBA player
James Lick, real estate investor
Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, activists, first same-sex couple to get a
marriage license in San Francisco
Harvey Milk, former city supervisor of San Francisco
The Mitchell brothers, Jim and Artie, adult industry pioneers
Joe Montana, football player
Emperor Norton, notable local eccentric
Gary Payton, NBA player
Michael Savage, conservative radio personality
Danielle Steele, author
Robert Louis Stevenson, from 1879 to 1880
Mark Twain, author
Robert Wartenberg, neurologist
Robin Williams, actor
Martin Yan, television chef
