The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-04-24
SAN FRANCISCO.
The City Described-Its Marvellous
Growth Fires and
Earthquakes.

racine coast. IS llie IdlSoS7' oAA>> 1
important citv Of the region west OF
the Mississippi river. 1t is built on a
penisular washed by the waters OF
the Pacific ocean on one side and the
waters of the Bay of San Francisco on
the other. It occupies central posi-
ton on the coast line Of California.
The city's area is Al square miles.
Its site is large and hilly. and it pre-
sents picturesque appearance from
the harbor. The part devoted to COM
merce lies along the shores of the bay,
, and is moderately level, with the resi-
Dental district on elevated ground.
The most fashionable quarters are
those which overlook the ocean, bay
and town. Knob Hill, upon which the
men who constructed the first over
land railroad built their palatlal resi-
dences, is about 800 feet above the
ocean.
A part of the site Of San Francisco
was reclaimed from the bay. Some OF
the most substantial structures IN the
business section are reared on piles
driven to bed rock through made
Ground. Market street is thorough
fare several miles long and the streets
south Of it are level, but those from
the north and west intersectlng 1t
have grades in some places as great as
so per cent. It's thisfeature that gives
the town a striking skyline, and from
the bay it presents the appearance OF
a city with houses piled on top OF one
another.
Except the thoroughfares and
verv small area near the waterfront,
the streets are of ample width. Mar
ket street, the main artery, starts at
the Ferry building and cuts across the
town in a southwesterly direction. 1t
is intersected on the north side by
streets laid in conformity with the
cardinal points. This arrangement
produces irregular blocks, which have
left some space at points of lntersec-
tion for placing monuments. The
streets south Of Market, with the ex-
ception Of Mission, which describes
lenethened arc. cut each other at right
angles.
There are in all $50 miles Of streets
open to travel. Of these 104 are paved
with rock laid on a foundation OF con-
crete. Market street presents at all
times an animated appearance. Some
of the largest department stores IN the
citv are on this street, but the chief
shopping district is still in the streets
to the north Of that thoroughfare-
Kerney, Sutter, Post, Gerry and Grant
avenue and Stockton streets. Union
Souare, in this locality, is a fashion
able shopping centre. An extensive
system Of boulevards exists, furnish
inc a continuous drive Of nearly ~
miles. II 1908 there were 274 miles
Of street car tracks-176 electric and
Sc cable, 4 horse and S steam. There
are many hotels, the most prominent
being the Palace, the Occidental and
the St. Francis. The latter is mod
ern History building Of steel and
stone and is admirably situated on
Union Square. The Palace is perhaps
the best known hotel west OF the MIS-
sissippi.
San Francisco is growing very rap
idly. The population in 1860 was oo,-
so2 and in 1870, 49,473; in 1880, 1885,
$50; in 1890, 29S,997; and in 1900,
342, ,7s2. One-third Of the popula-
tion is of foreign birth. Of these the,
Germans number 1914; Irish 1893;
English, Scotch and Welsh 1892;
Chinese live in a, distinct quarter:
Italians 1903; Chinese 1884. The
which has taken on many OF the char
acteristies Of their own native land,
and Chinatown of San Francisco is
one of the sights to be visited by the
tourists.
The city has had a number OF de-
structive fires, and an earthquake did
some damage on October 21, 1868. In
the five big fires of December IA, lS49,
May 4, 1850, June IA, 1850, and May
2, 1851, June 2, 1851, the property de-
stroyed reached an aggregate value of
sixteen million dollars. With the CON-
:pletion of the Union Pacific road to
the coast in 1869 the city entered upon
. VAN, o,.o of ,,,ocnaritv