San Francisco History of San Francisco Museum
A guide to the History of San Francisco! Visit Get-Packing.com for San Francisco History and read up-to-date information, reviews and articles on San Francisco art and museums...
Originally a small Spanish Fishing Village called Yerba Bueno, San Francisco was taken over by America in 1847, just in time for the 1849 gold rush in the nearby Sierra Nevada Mountains, which boosted the population to around 25,000.
Following the Silver rush a decade later, San Francisco was established as the West Coast financial capital and as a vital port for trade.
Tragedy struck with the massive earthquake in 1906, after which, fires caused by leaking gas mains destroyed around half of the city.
Rebuilding took place over a decade, and San Francisco's shiny new face was shown off to the world in 1915 at the Panama Pacific Exposition.
The Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937, and has since been the symbol of the bay city.
The 1950s sat the beatnik movement led by Jack Kerouac move into the city, and the bohemian feel continued into the 1960s with the hippies converging on the scruffy Haight Ashbury neighbourhood to spread a message of love and poor hygiene.
The 1970s were a gay time for the city, and to this day, the lesbian and gay movements are very strong and active, with several parades each year.
The 1990s saw Silicon Valley become the centre of a gold.com rush, as new media companies set up and exploited the technology of the Internet. On the back of the wealth, a building boom saw many of the older parts of the city replaced by shiny new buildings and plenty of new bars and attractions open to attract tourists to the city.
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