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| City Guide - San Francisco - City Overview | ||
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City Overview Situated on a 120-sq-kilometre (46.6-sq-mile) peninsula bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by the Golden Gate Strait, and from north to east by the Bay, San Francisco was once simply Yerba Buena (Good Herb), another obscure Spanish colonial fishing village, with a population of 400. In 1847, when the region became US territory, it was renamed San Francisco after the old Franciscan mission nearby. The city quickly mushroomed - the Gold Rush of 1849 inspiring a migration so rapid that seekers almost fell into the Pacific in their desperation for a new life. They came from the west, but also from the east: thousands of Chinese escaping famine for a hard life on railroads and in mines and Japanese immigrants who became farmers. Later came Mexicans and Filipinos, while slave owners and their slaves came up from the south. The slaves were soon freed: an early indicator of the tolerant, even progressive society that seems to live in harmony on the 43 hills - including Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill and Twin Peaks - that make up this dynamic, vibrant city. Today, it remains a miraculously successful mix of natural brilliance and manmade ingenuity, drawing on the capabilities and cultural differences of peoples from around the world. Devastation came with the earthquake of 1906, but San Franciscans, ever ready to make a silk purse from a sow's ear, rebuilt their environment: the Golden Gate Bridge, finally opened in 1937, charting yet another horizon for man and nature working as one and soon becoming the symbol of a city that has it all. Modern San Francisco retains its relationship between materialism and money on the one hand and cutting-edge thought and radicalism on the other. The counter culture flowered here during the Summer of Love in 1967 and gays fought for and found a home in Castro and Polk Street, where they could live openly and happily. Distinct neighbourhoods, like Chinatown, the biggest Asian enclave outside Asia, Japantown and North Beach, reflect the cultural and historical background of diverse groups of people. The city has a more settled air these days, although there is rapid growth in dotcom industries, located South of Market, and in nearby Silicon Valley. San Francisco is the financial capital of the West Coast and once a prime shipping gateway to the Pacific, although most cargo ships now head for Oakland. Tourism is the key industry and nets San Francisco billions of dollars each year (US$6.5 billion in 1998). The Bay, which fits neatly between the Golden Gate Bridge to the west and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to the east, is home to 14 small islands, including Alcatraz, Angel, Yerba Buena and Treasure. These can be the perfect escape from the second most densely populated city in the USA. Visitors may be disturbed by the growing band of dispossessed people, attracted by welfare programmes and the year-round mild climate. September and October are the hottest months, with spring the best time to visit, although the weather changes rapidly so a handy coat or pullover is always advised. Alistair Cooke, the British-born commentator, summed up this most beautiful and breathtaking of American cities as a 'fortuitous mating of marine grandeur and terrestrial snugness'. It remains the best summation on record of this city perched precipitously at the edge of the world. |
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