The San Francisco call., 1906-12-23
CITY IS RISING ON
HOME CAPITAL
Without Outside Aid Recon
construction Goes Ahead
at a Marvellous Stride
FUTURE rs RosEATE

cntinued from Page 40, Column 4
which permits have been asked or is
sued from May 1e to December 90 in
elusive, is estimated at ss4,52o,ls7
What is the future of the city? The
reply is that it will be larger. better,
hancsomer then ever before. OF this
there is not the slightest doubt But
the question is, will the character of
san Francisco be changed2 This is not
so easily answered. People who know
the city and are watching it's present
course cannot help acknowledging that
altered
In the first place the new San Fran
cisco viii be upon broader lines. Twen-
" years ago, it viii be remembered
the shopping district OF San Francisco
was confined to the district bounded
by California, Kearny, Market and
Powell streets. The first brave man
VINO went farther west was looked
upon as insane. Post street shortly
aIter loomed up as a shopping thor
oughfare, and the merchants on Post
street went so far at the holiday time
as TO erect poles and garnish them
with green and pay for the bright
lighting of the street at night to at
tract shoppers.
The first business street to the west
was Polk, and it grew steadily in
IaNor Big wholesale grocers opened
handsome stores there and won up
town trade. Then came Fillmore and
then Devisadero.
Polk street is reviving and stores and
boaroing-houses are being rebuilt
there Van Ness avenue has become
tne great retail street and in the opin-
ION or those who have a right to an
opinion IL viii remain so for many a day.
there are many reasons to support this
belief. At the foot OF the street is
Fort Mason and the Government is TO
spend millions in making this the depot
for stores and the point of embarkatiofl
OF the troops TO and from the Philip-
pines his viii attract trade and small
shops viii be built at the lower end
Of the avenue
Then again the theaters will have an
lnnGence in keeping life on the uptown
streets. With the exception of the Or
pheum. which will rebuild on its old
site, ali the other theaters will be up-
s9wn- The Columbia. which is to be
enormous building, will be at the
Worner OF Van Ness avenue and Geary
Ntreet and near a first-cIass theafer
here viii always be first-class restau-
rants.
san Francisco has been famous the
wide world over for its restaurants and
the gayety OF its life and this. il is
said, viii not be confined, as it was
before the IRE, to downtown streets.
but VIII be spread over a larger area
In other words, San Francisco will
have outgrown the limits of a narrow
city and VIII be more extended
Take the Mission for example. Here
is city by itself. 1t was so before
the fire, but ii is more so now. 1t has
gained one-third in population, ii is
building larger and finer buildings, its
stores are TO be envied, its markets
contain all the delicacies that can be
found and in a short time it will have a
distinct life Of its own, with its own
theaters and places Of amusement The
same may be said Of the Richmond
district, which is fast growing in i'm
portance
There is no part Of the city which has
shown such wonderful recuperative
powers as North Beach. A few days
after the fire, while the embers were
yet hot, the Italians began to rebuild.
There is no nationality in the city
more thrifty and prosperous There is
no nationality more attached to its