YOUR KEY TO THE CITY
US Facts 
Footsteps of History 
It Happened Here 
Mottos, Slogans and Nicknames 
Noted Notables
Welcome To KEY TO THE CITY's Page For
San Francisco
San Francisco County, California
ZipCodes
94102, 94103, 94104, 94105, 94107, 94108, 94109, 94110, 94111, 94112, 94114, 94115, 94116, 94117, 94118, 94121, 94122, 94123, 94124, 94127, 94129, 94130, 94131, 94132, 94133, 94134
Motto
The City by the Bay
Baghdad by the Bay
Golden Gate City
History & History-related items
Chamber of Commerce.
Organizations, Churches, and Sports.
A history page for San Francisco.
The Spanish ship, San Carlos, was the first to sail into San Francisco Bay. On 28 March 1776, a mission site of the California mission chain was dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. The village of Yerba Buena began near the mission. It remained a small place for many years until in 1836, it began to be a major trading post for the area. In 1846, American rule began here when Captain John B. Montgomery of the USS Portsmouth came ashore and flew the American flag over the village. The name was changed the next year to San Francisco, after its namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. Soon gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill further inland. Though not a part of San Francisco, it had a large impact on the development of the area. An average of 50 ships a month came into the bay and anchored there, mostly deserted, while their crews hunted for gold. San Francisco became a large tent city at first with all the gold hunters. The city flourished with all its new inhabitants. Stores, homes and businesses were built while many new fortunes were made. Disaster struck on 18 April 1906 with the great San Francisco earthquake (8.6 Richter scale). What the earthquake didn't destroy, raging fires did. The residents fought right back and rebuilt the city, which was mostly completed by 1915. The famed San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge was completed in 1936. The Golden Gate Bridge was finished in 1937. Now the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit System) has been added to tie all the bay area cities together. San Francisco remains a busy metro0olitan area with cultures of all kinds.
FOOTSTEPS OF HISTORY home page
Click here for the California Missions trail.
Return to Index
For a virtual Whale site.
The highest bridge towers in the world are still the art-deco towers of the Golden Gate Bridge at 750 feet, completed in 1937. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge across San Francisco Bay and completed in 1936 still holds three world records: 1) the largest diameter bore tunnel which is the double-decker vehicle tunnel through Yerba Buena Island in the Bay connecting the two halves of the bridge; 2) the world's largest toll booth - 18 lanes; and 3) still the world's longest and highest bridge over ocean-navigable waters - the San Francisco Bay.
San Francisco is the most popular city in the world for tourists, and has held that record for the last 25 years. Paris is second.
The California Academy of Sciences
fine Arts museums of San Francisco
The Golden Gate Bridge website
The Port of San Francisco website
The Presidio and the Presidio Museum - Lincoln Blvd. and Funston Ave
Phone: (415) 556-0856
Fort Point National Historic Site
Presidio of San Francisco reached via Lincoln Blvd. to Long Ave.
Phone: (415) 556-1693
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
175 Jefferson Street (Fisherman's Wharf)
Phone: (415) 771-6188
Wells Fargo History Museum
420 Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94163
Phone: 415-396-2619
Return to Index
Economy & Industry
San Francisco has a busy and diverse economy. It has established its prominent position as a finance center for the entire western US coast. Montgomery Street, in the Financial District, is well known as the Wall Street of the West. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is also located here. Though big business is lured here by the financial prowess of the area, small businesses and self-employed companies make up 85 percent of the city establishments.
Tourism is the backbone of the San Francisco economy. The scenery and landmarks
of San Francisco are well known throughout the world due to movies, television,
radio, and books. Tourists come in droves to visit Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown,
museum and to shop. They come for concerts, shows and myriad other cultural
art performances. The city that lured the adventurous and outgoing continues
to draw people to it for the same reasons. The Information Era with its IT,
computer chips and high tech business is growing and acts as a magnet for new
concepts and development.
Return to Index
San Francisco is the birthplace of both the burrito and the fortune cookie, and not Mexico or China, as is popularly believed.
San Francisco is also known as "Shakey Town" probably due to the earthquakes felt in the area.
the population of San Francisco was:
1860 - 56,802
1870 - 149,473
1880 - 233,959
1890 - 298,997
1900 - 342,782
1910 - 416,912
1920 - 506,676
1930 - 634,394
1940 - 634,536
1950 - 775,357
1960 - 740,316
1970 - 715,674
1980 - 678,974
1990 - 723,959
1992 - 728,921
1999 - 746,777
2000 - 776,733
2003 - 751,682
2004 - 744,230
2005 - 739,426
2009 - 815,358
The number of Housing Units:
1990 - 328,471
Population Density:
2008 - 17,323 persons per square mile
Median age:
2000 - 36.5 years
Median House value:
2000 - $ 422,700
2008 - $ 824,300
San Francisco is located in the Pacific Time Zone and does participate in daylight savings time during a portion of the year.
Contribute information for this community or any other community on the Key To TheCity website
Be sure to include the name of the community and its state when contacting Key to the City as you are NOT directly contacting this community.
Thanks for visiting Key to the City. Come back again! Soon!