San Francisco: Fun Facts and Resources
Fisherman’s Wharf
What is Fisherman’s Warf?
One of the busiest and well known tourist attractions in North America, it is best known for being the location of Pier 39, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, the Cannery Shopping Center, Ghirardelli Square, a Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum, the Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf, Forbes Island and restaurants and stands that serve fresh seafood, most notably dungeness crab and clam chowder served in a sourdough bread bowl. Some of the restaurants, like Pompeii’s and Alioto’s #8, go back for three generations of the same family ownership. Nearby Pier 45 has a chapel in memory of the “Lost Fishermen” of San Francisco and Northern California.
Other attractions in Fisherman’s Wharf area are the Hyde Street Pier which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the USS Pampanito a decommissioned World War 2 era submarine, and the Balclutha, a 19th century whaling ship
Fisherman’s Wharf plays host to many San Francisco events, including a world-class fireworks display for Fourth of July, and some of the best views of the Fleet Week air shows.
One of the city’s most popular figures is a harmless but controversial resident of Fisherman’s Wharf called the World Famous Bushman, a local street performer who sits behind some branches and startles people who walk by. He has gained notoriety during the 28 years he has been doing this.
In 1985, the wharf was used as a filming location in the James Bond film A View to a Kill, where Bond (played for the last time by Roger Moore) met with CIA agent Chuck Lee (David Yip) in his quest to eliminate the villain of the film Max Zorin.
Covering about half a dozen blocks along the waterfront, constitute much of the stereotypical San Francisco image and together are perhaps the most popular things to do in San Francisco. Street performers entertain and souvenir shops and restaurants tempt spending. These places are popular and many people feel they haven’t visited San Francisco unless they’ve seen them, but keep in mind that this tourist haven bears little resemblance to the rest of the City of San Francisco.
Where is Fisherman’s Wharf?
It roughly encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Avenue east to Pier 35 or Kearny Street. The F Market streetcar runs through the area, the Powell-Hyde cable car lines runs to Aquatic Park, at the edge of Fisherman’s Wharf, and the Powell-Mason cable car line runs a few blocks away.
The Golden Gate Bridge
What is the Golden Gate Bridge?
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, it connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed during the year 1937, and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California. Since its completion, the span length has been surpassed by eight other bridges. It still has the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. In 1999, it was ranked fifth on the List of America’s Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.Not only is it one of the city’s most enjoyable things to do, but it’s also one of the most-photographed sights in the world. A walk on it is a must.
Alcatraz
What is Alcatraz?
Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles offshore from San Francisco, California. Often referred to as The Rock, the small island early-on served as a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison until 1963. Later, in 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986.
Today, the island is a historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. In 2008 the nation’s first hybrid propulsion ferry started serving the island. Alcatraz has been featured in many movies, TV shows, cartoons, books, comics, and games. The former prison, wasn’t always a place people wanted to go, but today it’s one of the city’s most popular sights. Reserve your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.
Union Square
What is Union Square?
Union Square is a 2.6 acres plaza bordered by Geary, Powell, Post and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California. It also refers to the central shopping, hotel, and theater district that surrounds the plaza for several blocks. Today, this one-block plaza and nearby area is one of the largest collections of department stores, upscale boutiques, tourist trinket shops, art galleries, and salons in the Western United States, which continue to make Union Square a major tourist draw, a vital, cosmopolitan place in downtown San Francisco, and one of the world’s premier shopping districts. Grand hotels and small inns, as well as repertory, off-Broadway, and single-act theaters also contribute to the area’s dynamic, 24-hour character. One of the city’s three original parks, is now a public space atop a multi-level underground parking garage and ringed with elegant shops and hotels. The Powell cable car line begins about a block away, and the theatre district is nearby.
Cable Cars
What is Cable Cars?
A cable car is any of a variety of transportation systems relying on cables to pull vehicles along or lower them at a steady rate, or a vehicle on these systems. San Francisco has some of the most well know cable cars in the US. Cable car rides are one of the cornerstones of visiting San Fancisco.
Chinatown expresses
What is Chinatown Expresses?
What early 20th Century Western architects thought Chinese buildings should look like. There’s much here that’s created just for the tourist, but with our hints, you can get a glimpse of the “real” Chinatown in its alleys and shops.
Lombard, the “Crookedest” Street
What is Lombard, the “Crookedest” Street?
Lombard Street begins at Presidio Boulevard inside The Presidio and runs east through the Cow Hollow neighborhood. For 12 blocks between Broderick Street and Van Ness Avenue, it is a principal arterial road that is co-signed as U.S. Route 101. Lombard Street then continues through the Russian Hill and Telegraph Hill neighborhoods, breaks off at a point becoming Telegraph Hill Boulevard. That leads to Pioneer Park and Coit Tower. Lombard Street starts again at Winthrop Street and finally terminates at The Embarcadero as a collector road.
Lombard Street is best known for the one-way section on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, in which the roadway has eight sharp turns that have earned the street the distinction of being “the crookedest street in the world”. The switchbacks design, first suggested by property owner Carl Henry[citation needed] and instituted in 1922, was born out of necessity in order to reduce the hill’s natural 27% grade,[citation needed] which was too steep for most vehicles to climb. It is also a serious hazard to pedestrians, who are accustomed to a more reasonable sixteen-degree incline. The crooked section of the street, which is about 1/4 mile long, is reserved for one-way traffic traveling east and is paved with red bricks. The speed limit in this section is a mere 5 mph. Is neither the crookedest street in San Francisco nor the steepest, but it’s surely the best-known. The “crooked” section is the block below Hyde Street. No car to drive down? Take the cable car to Hyde and Lombard and walk.
Coit Tower
What is Coit Tower?
Coit Tower was built in Pioneer Park atop Telegraph Hill in 1933 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the City of San Francisco; Lillie bequeathed one-third of her estate to the City of San Francisco “to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved”.Offers panoramic bay and city views from the top of Telegraph Hill and a bit of 1930s San Francisco captured in its murals.
Sausalito
What is Sausalito?
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, located in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is located 8 miles south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet. The population was 7,330 as of the year 2000 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to the building of that bridge served as a terminus for rail, car and ferry traffic. Developed rapidly as a shipbuilding center in World War II, the city’s industrial character gave way in postwar years to a reputation as an artistic enclave, as a picturesque residential community, and as a tourist destination. It is adjacent to, and largely bounded by, the protected spaces of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Just across San Francisco Bay, has some of the best views OF San Francisco in the area. Take a ferry over, browse a few art galleries and have lunch or dinner at Spinnaker, one of the area’s best restaurants for a meal with view.
Cliff House
What is Cliff House?
The Cliff House is a restaurant perched on the headlands on the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach on the western side of San Francisco, California. It overlooks the site of the former Sutro Baths and a room-sized camera obscura and is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, operated by the National Park Service. On Ocean Beach has been a San Francisco standard since 1863, when the first Cliff House was built. Today’s version is the third building and fourth restaurant to stand on this spot.
Related Research For Teachers, Students, and Kids
Fun Facts about California When was California First Settled? 1686 Who Founded California? Hernando...
Fun Facts about San Francisco 49ers Who is the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers? Mike Singlet...
Fun Facts about Nevada When did Nevada become a state? October 31, 1864 Who first explored Nevada? ...
Fun Facts about Rhode Island When did Rhode Island become part of the United States? May 29, 1790 W...
Fun Facts about Hawaii When was Hawaii Founded? 1778 Who Founded Hawaii? Captain James Cook First s...
Follow and Socialize The Free Resource
