Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-02-26
REBUILDING
SAN.FRANC|SCO

captain OF the Portsmouth landed at
montgomery street, to which street
ne gave his name, until compare
lively recent period that thorough
rare has occupied position of prime
Importance In the community Here
were grouped the great retail stores;
here, and In It's immediate vicinity,
were the hotels and theatres, and
here gathered the gayety of the town.
For many years Montgomery street
held its own without rival. To the
east, Yerba Buena cove was filled In
from North Point to Rincon Point
and the made land, half mile wide,
was occupied by Wholesale, produce.
and commission houses. The banks
located on California, Clay, and San
some streets. The region south of
Market street, In the Hundred Vara
survey, provided quiet and accessi-
Bile residence section, and wealth,
fashion and aristocracy gathered
about South Park and Rincon Hill.
After time the growing trade of the
town demanded more space and the
street next west of Montgomery,
named In honor of General Samuel
w. Kearny, military governor of
California, was occupied. Market
cGVCts tu0 TcdI anu IudBuIucSuI, was
a dreary waste pushing 1t way amid
the sand dunes and lined with shah
by, disreputable shacks The OPEN
ing of the Grand Hotel in. 1890 and
the Palace In 1874, made a great
change In this street and the people
began to realize Its possibilities. The
nat lands of the Hundred Vara sur
vey and their proximinity to the wat
er front made them valuable for busi-
ness purposes. Iron works, brass
fonndries, machine shops, and kind
red trades began to invade the realm
of fashion, and soon residents could
only reach their homes by passing
through a region known by the sug-
gestive name of Tar Flat" In 1873
the invention by San Franciscan of
the cable road enabled the citizens to
surmont the steep hills rising from
Kearnys street north of 6utter, and
these with their noble prospects
gradually became covered with resi-
dences of the better class
After the fire the retail men met
and agreed to establish themselves on
Van Ness avenue. a broad street In
the Western Addition one mile west
of Kearpy street. Here, under three
years leases, they built wooden struc-
lures In which their business could
be carried on, leaving their former
locality free for rebuilding. Hun
dreds of thousands of dollars have
been spent on these temporary build
ings, and many of them are spacious
and handsome These contain stocks
of goods unsurpassed by any prey
ious period of trade and the amount
Of business they have done and are
doing. is amazing 81. t,ss H..
All are. however, anxious to get
down town; not to their previous To-
cations, for here Is where the shifting
process comes in, but further west to
the vicinity of Union Square. Here.
then, will be the new retail section.
With its center at Stockton and O'Far-
rell streets.
The wholesale trade, which for
several years has been mOving south,
has taken possession of Mission,
Howard and Folsom streets in the
Hundred Vara survey, and the cross
streets east of Sixth. Certain lines of
trade Will remain In the old whole
sale district, but that section will be
largely given up to produce and com
mission. The new wholesale section
will be south of Market street, fol-
lowing up that thoroughfare on the
parallel streets to the south from
Folsom street west.
A new center will also be created
by the railroads. Heretofore all ap-
proacheS to San Francisco were by
sea or across the bay at the foot of |
Market street. The completion of |
the Coast Line of the Southern Pa
cif1c Company few years, ago gave
an entrance from Los Angeles and !
the south by way of the peninsula. |
Now that the project of a bridge |
across the bay at Dumbarton Point. /
about thirty miles south Of the CITY.
has taken definite form, the trans
continental railroads will run their
trains, passenger and freight, direct
ly into the city. The Southern Pacific
Railroad will probably build their
great passenger depot at Seventh and
Townsend streets, the Western Pa
cifc at Ninth. the Ocean Shore at
Eleventh, and the Santa Fe~ some
where In that vicinity. The financial
district will remain as 1t was before
the firer--from California to Market
street, with Montgomery street as the
center, the Wall street of San Fran
cisco.
The work of rebuilding the city is
being pushed with great vigor Per-
sons coming from abroad are aston
ished at the present appearance of
the city and the activity displayed.
1t is true that many cheap and tenn
porary buildings are being construct
ed but every day increases the per-
centage of Class az buildings, and :
the new city will present a far finer .
appearance than did the old. Per-
mtfG 0QIItnn FIR a ~fl
more than $4,000, 900 have been is
sued since the fire and architects and
contractors assert that plans are al
ready made which will call for fur
ther expenditure during the year for
building purposes of $1,000, 900.
The sturdy walls of the Palace Hotel
have been taken down. They were I
built before the steel age, but were |
built on honor. They withstood the
shock of earthquake and the fury of
the flames and now ather months of