THEATER DISTRICT
Lotta's Fountain
Located at the traffic triangle at intersetion of 3rd, Market, Kearny and Geary Streets, the golden fountain was a way of saying thanks to her fans from Lotta Crabtree. She is an actress, singer and dancer. After each performance, Lotta was showered by golden nuggets and silver dollars. The fountain was dedicated to the city in 1875. Since then, it became a meeting place for the survivors after the 1906 earthquake. San Franciscans gather at this monument every April 18 at 5:12 AM for the Great Quake commemorative ceremony. Lotta's fountain is the oldest standing monument of SF.
CHINATOWN
Gold Rush
On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered flakes of gold at Sutter's Mill, in the American River at the base of Sierra Nevada Mountains near Coloma, California. It did not take long for the publisher, Samuel Brannan, to spread the gold discovery in the Sacramento Valley across the world. Struggling with famine and political change, thousands of Chinese from the Pearl River Delta region, in the Guangdong Province, speaking different Cantonese dialects decided to take a chance and therefore, installed in San Francisco. The majority of the new arrivals were bachelors. Due to the convenience, most Chinese businesses circled around Portsmouth Square (花園角). By 1853, this area became the Chinatown. SF Chinatown is the oldest in North America.
Chineses were harassed during the Gold Rush period and while working on the Transcontinental Railroad.
There were laws:
- Forbidding the Chinese from moving outside of Chinatown.
- Restricting immigration.
- Imposing special taxes.
- Forbidding men from marrying a white women.
- Preventing existing Chinese residents and American-born children from becoming naturalized citizens.
San Francisco hoped that the Chinatown will fade away. However, following the 1906 earthquake, a Chinatown businessman Look Tin Eli proposed to rebuild Chinatown in a tourist-friendly style.
好旺角
This restaurant does not have table service. It serves only take-out. It provides fresh dim sums everyday. People select their dim sum, pay and eat.
If you ever get lost in SF, simply take bus #8. It ends up in Chinatown!
NORTH BEACH
Also known as the "Little Italy", North Beach is the historic center of the Italian community. There is an Italian flag drawn on each street light pole.
Have a gelato at:
Mara's Italian Pastries
503 Columbus Avenue
94133
415-397-9435
FISHERMAN'S WHARF
Pier 45
Boudin SF Sourdough
This French bakery is established in 1849 by Isidore Boudin. In 1873, Isidore married Louise Erni. They had 2 sons and 1 daughter together. He died in 1890. During the 1906 Earthquake, Louise saved the "mother dough" in a bucket. In 1941, Boudin faced bankruptcy. Steve Giraudo Sr. purchased the bakery from Isidore's granddaughter. In 1962, his oldest son Steve Giraudo Jr. started working at the bakery full-time. In 1974, Boudin's unique logo was created and designed by Primo Angeli. Boudin's wholesale grocery business discontinued and began emphasis on the development of Bakery-Cafés in 1984. Steve Giraudo Sr. died at the age of 84, in 1997. Master Baker Fernando Padilla continues the San Francisco Sourdough French bread tradition. Boudin celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1999. The bakers carry on the tradition to hand craft each loaf by using a portion of the original mother dough every morning. On May 11, 2005, Boudin opened its new 26 000 square feet facility to the public at Fisherman's Wharf, including a restaurant, café, bistro, private dining room and a museum.
Steve Giraudo Sr. a.k.a. "Papa Steve" is born in San Francisco in 1913. In 1919, the Giraudo family returned to Italy, where his mother taught him to bake bread. In 1926, Steve left his family farm in Busca to apprentice at a local bakery. In the following year, the Boulangerie Hugo in Toulon, in the South of France hired him as a baker. In 1935, Steve returned to SF and found work at Boudin Bakery.
Boudin has a wide variety of handcrafted sourdough bread: crab, teddy bear, turkey and more.
In-N-Out
This fast chain has a special way to order food. I had a... my friend ordered for me.
Historic Streetcars
The Streetcar I rode was a 1938 from Philadelphia on the F-Line.
EMBARCADERO/ WATERFRONT
Ferry Building
Built in 1896, this building contains a 230-foot clock tower inspired by the campanile of the cathedral in Seville, Spain. The tower's four clock faces were powered by the swinging of a 14-foot pendulum. On the morning of April 18, 1906, all four clock faces stopped at 5:17 and remained still for 12 months. Renovated in 2003, the Ferry Building is a marketplace with shops and restaurants.
Have an oyster for $2 at
San Francisco Fish Company and a cup of coffee at
Blue Bottle Coffee.
FINANCIAL DISTRICT
Japanese Sweets
(Minamoto Kitchoan)
Looking for Wagashi? A traditional Japanese confectionery.
648 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94104
Sources: Fodor's, history.com, pbs.org, SFMTA and Boudin.
