San Francisco County

San Francisco City/County Map (expandable)
Sources

• San Francisco: The name, honoring St. Francis of Assisi, was first given to the bay itself. The town of Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco in 1847 and that name was given when the county was created in 1850 as one of the original twenty-seven.

• San Francisco Bay: The drowned mouth and floodplain of the extensive Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and their many tributaries, was surrounded by hundreds of Indian villages when first seen by explorers from Spain. After 1858 it was a major port for ships from around the world and from California inland and coastal ports.

• Golden Gate: Entrance to the San Francisco Bay, so named by John C. Fremont in an 1848 report to Congress.

• Golden Gate Bridge: Completed in 1937 with Joseph Strauss as chief engineer, the bridge replaced ferries for transportation to San Francisco from the north and east. Visitors center at south terminus.

• San Francisco: The 1776 Spanish settlement of Juan de Anza was marked by the Mission and the Presidio. With permission of the Mexican government, Englishman William Richardson established a trading post in 1835. The rich subsequent history of the city and its many historic landmarks are described in numerous books and brochures.

• (Nearby) Fort Point: Located just under the south terminus of the bridge, the present 1853 fort replaced a 1794 Spanish fort. Coastal artillery commanded Golden Gate entry. Open to the public.

• (Nearby) Presidio of San Francisco: Adjacent to the trail, the extensive Presidio with its historic buildings became National Park property after it was declared surplus as a military post. Its many features are described at the visitors center and museum.

• Baker Beach: Named for a San Franciscan killed in the Civil War, the area also contains coastal defense installations open to visitors on a limited basis.

• China Beach: Site of a Chinese fishing camp before 1900 was formerly known as James D. Phelan Beach.

• (Nearby) Palace of the Legion of Honor: Designed like the Napoleonic Legion of Honor in Paris, the 1924 gift to the city by Alma and Adolph Spreckels honors California soldiers who died in World War I.

• Sutro Baths: Ruins of the salt water swimming pools, built in 1890 to resemble Roman baths by Adolph Sutro and which were destroyed by fire in 1937. Nearby Sutro Heights Park was the site of the Sutro mansion.

• Cliff House: Built in 1909, this is the third roadhouse/restaurant on the rocky site. A visitors center gives the history of the 1863 roadhouse and the 1881 Seal Rock House, and that of the Sutro Baths. Fake rocks of the bluff across the street are for erosion control.

• Ocean Beach: Four mile walk along the beach or the Esplanade, a wide cement sidewalk between the 1920's seawall and the beach, adjacent to the Great Highway.

• Golden Gate Park: Across the Great Highway, the park first purchased by San Francisco in 1868 and developed by John McLaren beginning in 1877. Visible from the Great Highway are the two windmills and the Chalet, designed by Willis Polk and opened in 1925. Closed for many years, the chalet has reopened with restaurant, visitors center, 1930's murals, and a micro brewery.

• Fort Funston: Military reservation named for former Presidio commander Frederick Funston, later a World War II Nike base, now a center for environmental education and hang glider activity.