Ferry Plaza

marketplace

Port of San Francisco

c1915 Before any of the bridges were built, ferry was the only way to reach the City other than coming north from the Peninsula.

Embarcadero Freeway

c1970 In 1957 the double-decker Embarcadero Freeway was constructed in front of it, cutting the building off from the city.

present The restoration of the building in 2003 removed the 50s-era office partitions and converted the first floor into a world famous farmer's market and boutique shops, with offices above.

Marketplace

1903 Rand, McNally & Co.'s San Francisco. (with) Map of San Francisco and Vicinity

1905 Daniel Burnham showing areas recommended for public places

1980 Bay Area Collectives Map 2012 San Francisco Google Map

Dolores Park

community

Jewish Cemeteries

c1876 in 1880, the city passed a resolution banning graveyards in San Francisco to help reduce the pressures of a growing population and limited space. The neighborhood began looking at an old pair of adjacent Jewish cemeteries to build the park

Earthquake Refugee Camp

c1906 When the 1906 earthquake struck, the park became a refuge for more than 1600 families who had lost their homes. Camps quickly sprouted throughout the park, and many remained until the summer of 1908.

New Streetcar

c1935 In 1917, the city began running the J line streetcar along the park, bringing more visitors.

Hip Hangout

c1973 Since the 1960s, Dolores Park has been a neighborhood magnet for cultural and political expression. The San Francisco Mime Troupe has performed here for 25 years.

Outdoor Relaxation

Dolores park offers several features: several tennis courts and a basketball court, a soccer field, a children's playground, and a dog play area. The park lies east of Twin Peaks in the warm and sunny microclimate of the Mission neighborhood. The park is popular among San Franciscans looking for outdoor relaxation and recreation.

Portsmouth Square

community

c1851 Portsmouth Square, located on the site of the first public square established in the Mexican community, served as a cow pen, surrounded by tents and adobe huts in 1848, and by brick and stone buildings, hotels, business offices, shops, gambling places and restaurants by the late 1850's.

First Public Square

Chinatown Formation

c1896-1906 At that time hundreds of Chinese strategically chose to locate their laundries, restaurants and shops close to the center of the city, Portsmouth Square to cater to mining related needs.

Heart of Chinatown

Portsmouth Square is a community treasure and meeting point. If you have children, they will enjoy the playground. Checkers/Chess players come here too to enjoy the unique competitive vibe. There is Tai Chi practiced here very early in the morning.

Yerba Buena Gardens

arts

As early as 1870, almost one-third of San Francisco’s boarding houses and half of its lodging houses were located South of Market. The area’s distinctive demographic pattern grew more pronounced over the following decades, reaching a peak when war workers flooded into the port during the 1940s. Building codes and aesthetic standards fell by the wayside as housing the massive influx of workers took first priority; temporary shelters and illegally subdivided apartments became the order of the day, dominating the South of Market area.

Workers’ Housing

Redevelopment

In 1953, 19.5 blocks South of Market were designated a redevelopment zone. For the next decade, conceptualizations of “Yerba Buena Center” featured large-scale commercial development – convention center, sports arena, theaters, a museum, office buildings, and retail – designed to promote gentrification of the surrounding areas. Yerba Buena Gardens opened on October 11, 1993.

Arts and Urban Amenities

Today, there is a world-class cultural community comprising more than two dozen museums and galleries, and a well-used cultural and artistic public space for SOMA locals and other San Franciscans centered around nearly six acres of public gardens.

Union Square

shopping/tourism

First Two Public Squares

Union Square was built in 1850 and named for the pro-Union rallies that happened there before and during the United States Civil War. By the 1880’s, the Square had become the center of a fashionable residential district. Three prominent churches faced into the square.

Shopping District

By the turn of the century, offices and stores gradually squeezed out the residences and churches surrounding the Square. After the 1906 earthquake, Union Square became the center of San Francisco’s premiere shopping district. A large underground parking garage was built under the square that relocated the plaza's lawns, shrubs and the Dewey monument to the garage "roof“ was built between 1939-1941.

Competition and Transformation

The winning entry entitled “All the Square is a Stage” sought to transform the Park from an imposing, seldom used urban space into an inviting oasis that would be used by all the inhabitants surrounding the area. The design is notable for its easy access, a café with lots of open air seating, and a symphony-sized stage that will serve as the center point for a week of concerts celebrating the completion of this project in July of 2002.

South Park

community/commercial

Housing Development

The South Park block was assembled in 1852 by English entrepreneur. The park was originally constructed in 1855 as the center of an exclusive residential community. It was modeled after a square in London, England, as a housing development of seventeen mansions plus townhouses (a total of 58 residences) on a 550-foot oval around a private grassy park.

Area Decline

The neighborhood began to lose exclusivity after the construction of Second Street, which made the area accessible to less affluent residents. After the quake the neighborhood was rebuilt as warehouses, light manufacturing, nightclubs, and hotels. Immigrants from various countries came to the neighborhood, as well as longshoremen, drug addicts, and vagrants. The neighborhood began to attract artists and young professionals beginning in the 1970s.

The area flourished during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, due to flexible office space at initially low rent. It was sometimes described as "ground zero" of the dot com revolution, with many start-up Internet companies based in the area.

Dot-com Boom