As a tourist, to understand the City of San Francisco use the SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA MAP to see San Francisco in its context on the Peninsula. The terrain of the region is versatile, with many views of the Bay from the hills to the north and east of San Francisco. ‘The City’ is inviting whether you want to see it on foot, car, public transportation, or see it from the outside – by boat. It is easily accessible from San Francisco International Airport by BART, shuttle bus, taxi or car. Major hotels are located in Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Embarcadero, Civic Center, Nob Hill or along Lombard or Van Ness Streets.
San Francisco Bay Area Topography
There are 40 hills located within the city limits, each with its own unique view. Twin Peaks (910ft/277m) affords a panoramic view of much of the City and the Bay. Public transportation is quite good, and taxis are plentiful. Driving is either fun or scary. It all depends on your feelings about steep inclines, two-lane streets, cable car tracks and lots of pedestrians. Or use the SAN FRANCISCO TRANSIT MAP to navigate public transportation.
History of the San Francisco Bay Area
History has given San Francisco a few profound experiences. Among the first residents were the Yuki Indians, prior to the Europeans. “Founded” in 1776 by Franciscan friars, the peninsula was later inhabited by Mexican soldiers at the ‘Presidio’ military post. The pueblo (town) of “Yerba Buena” was sleepy until the 1848 discovery of gold in the Sacramento area to the east. San Francisco then boomed as a port city, the gateway to the riches of the Gold Rush. It was a depository for the riches coming through the post. San Francisco mercantile and financial wizards catered to the immigrants from all over the world. From less than 1,000 inhabitants in 1848 (coincidentally, California joined the Union in 1848), the city swelled to 56,000 by 1860, albeit in a disorderly, uncontrolled and sometimes violent manner.
People still talk about the Earthquake of 1906. Particularly the fires which at that time laid waste to much of the downtown area. Many Victorian homes throughout the central city were untouched by the fires. Social upheavals have also shaken San Francisco, such as union strikes, the ’flower children’ during the 1968 “Summer of Love”, a mayoral assassination in 1978, the influx and growth of the gay community into a political force. The Earthquake of 1989, devastated the Marina district of San Francisco as well as parts of Oakland.
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