Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE HISTORY OF
SAN FRANCISCO
Even by the standards of the New World,
San Francisco remained
terra incognita
for
a surprisingly long time. A few early
European explorers, including
Portuguese-born João Cabrilho and
England's Sir Francis Drake, sailed up and
down the California coast in the 16th
century, but they all sailed past the
Golden Gate without noticing the bay
that lay beyond it. It was not until 1769
that the first non-natives laid eyes on
what is now San Francisco; thereafter the
area was colonized swiftly by the Spanish,
who established both missions and
presidios
(forts). In 1821, when Mexico
declared independence from Spain, it
became Mexican territory.
the world, leading to the Gold Rush of
1849 (the prospectors of this time were
known as '49ers). This coincided with
the United States' takeover of the West
Coast and, by 1869, San Francisco had
grown into an international city
renowned both for its wild “Barbary
Coast,” stretching west from the
waterfront, and for the fortunes that were
made speculating on the newfound
riches of the American frontier.
Earthquake and Recovery
As the population increased, the city grew
westward to fill the narrow peninsula: cable
cars were invented to conquer the steep
hills, and blocks of ornate Victorian houses
were built. The great earthquake and fire of
1906 destroyed most of the city but not its
spirit, and reconstruction was soon
underway. Throughout all of this, San
Francisco retained its unique character and
seemingly limitless energy. The following
pages illustrate significant periods in the
city's history.
The Growing City
The first significant boost to growth
occurred in 1848, when gold was
discovered at Sutter's Mill in the Sierra
Nevada foothills near Sacramento.
Hundreds of thousands of prospectors
were attracted to California from all over
Telegraph Hill and North Beach at the time of the Gold Rush
An 1873 print of the city looking south, with Market Street running from the center of the waterfront
