SAN FRANCISCO Oakland Berkeley Golden Gate , City Plan,1894 Antique Colour Map

HISTORICAL RAIL AND ROUTE CITY PLAN

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth-largest city in California and the fourteenth-largest in the United States. In 1776, the Spanish became the first Europeans to settle in San Francisco, establishing a mission named for Francis of Assisi. With the advent of the California gold rush in 1848, the city entered a period of rapid growth. After being devastated by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt and is today one of the most recognizable cities in the world.The Yelamu group of the Ohlone people inhabited the San Francisco Peninsula from at least 8000 BC until the early 19th century. A Spanish exploration party, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà, arriving on November 2, 1769, was the first documented European visit to San Francisco Bay. Six years later a Spanish mission, Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores), was established with a small settlement, and an associated military fort was built in what is now the Presidio. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the area became part of Mexico. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first significant homestead outside the immediate vicinity of the Mission Dolores,near a boat anchorage around what is today Portsmouth Square. Together with Mission Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7, 1846, during the Mexican-American War, and Captain John B. Montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco the next year. Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California gold rush brought a flood of treasure seekers. With their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.The promise of riches was so strong that arriving crews abandoned their vessels and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Franciso harbor. California was quickly granted statehood and the U.S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate and a fort on Alcatraz island to secure the San Francisco Bay. Silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. This period was also marked by lawlessness and chaotic growth, and the Barbary Coast area in the city gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, and gambling. Entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the gold rush. Early winners were the banking industry, which saw the founding of Wells Fargo in 1852, and the railroad industry, as the magnates of the Big Four, led by Leland Stanford, collaborated in the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The development of the Port of San Francisco established the city as a center of trade. Catering to the needs and tastes of the growing population, Levi Strauss opened a dry goods business and Domingo Ghirardelli began manufacturing chocolate. Immigrant laborers made the city a polyglot culture, with Chinese railroad workers creating the city's Chinatown quarter. The first cable cars carried San Franciscans up Clay Street in 1873. The city's sea of Victorian houses began to take shape, and civic leaders campaigned for a spacious public park, resulting in plans for Golden Gate Park. San Franciscans built schools, churches, theaters, and all the hallmarks of civic life. The Presidio developed into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast. By the turn of the century, San Francisco was a city of international renown, celebrated for a flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions on Nob Hill, and a thriving arts scene.

1890s Wood Engraving, Antique Map

Approximate Overall Size: 6 X 9 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate Map - Excellent Condition.German Text. Beautiful with excellent detail. Text on Reverse Side