- First inhabited by Yelamu tribe
- Only spotted by Spanish scouts in 1769 and settled in 1808
- Renamed from Yerba Beuna to San Francisco after California was claimed for US (July 7, 1846)
- Then the gold rush of 1849, population exploded with the arrival of the forty-niners
- Then the city was destroyed when the San Andreas Fault slipped and caused an earthquake in April 18, 1906
- The city stood through the 1929 stock market crash as it continued to undertake the Golden Gate and SF Bay Bridges
- The weather pattern for SF is unique due to the bay and ocean
- Wet fog will roll in off the ocean
- Generates cold wind in the summer months
- Winter is warm and sunny
- Oldest building is Mission Delores Church
- US acquired the land after winning the Mexican-American War
- Business that catered to the gold rush miners were the ones that became rich and successful
- Levi, Wells Fargo, Ghiradeli
- The first planner in charge of designing the city neglected SF’s topography and used a cardinal system (Columbus Street was the only street that made sense)
- The second planner designed SoMa and Market Street
- Market Street was wide as possible because the streets doesn’t match up between these two areas
- The topography is hilly and sandy
- The invention of cable car (invented here) allowed further development of SF
- Esp the Westward such as Western Addition
- Turned Sand Dunes (which was called Outsideland) into Golden Gate Park
- 1906 Earthquake significantly changed the city
- Ferry building survived
- Rebuilding of downtown
- Richmond District was built quickly to house the refuge
- Expensive due to the zoning constraints
- Along with Sunset, they are referred to as the Avenues because the avenue numbering of N-S streets and Spanish explorer names’ in alphabetical order of E-W streets
- The streets of Potrero Hill is also numerical
- The Bay Bridge that connects SF to Oakland
- The Golden Gate Bridge connects SF to the north
- During WWII, the port was used to discharge gay soldiers