San Francisco’s Top 10 : Historic Sites

1. Mission Dolores

   The
   18th-century Spanish mission, site of the area’s earliest settlement,
   is worth a visit for its tranquility, as well as for the education it
   provides about the city’s early history .

2. Jackson Square

   The
   area that witnessed the worst misbehavior of the Barbary Coast days
   contains some of the city’s oldest, loveliest buildings. One of the very
   few areas that were spared in the 1906 conflagration .

   
   

   
   
   

   Jackson Square

3. Nob Hill

   Erstwhile
   site of the mansions of Golden Age moguls and potentates, from these
   lofty heights now rise the city’s most lavish hotels and the Gothic
   spires of one of its best-loved cathedrals .

   
   

   
   
   

   Fairmont Hotel, Nob Hill

4. Fisherman’s Wharf

   Remnants
   of the early fishing industry that contributed to San Francisco’s
   growth are still found here, just layered over with a slick veneer of
   tourism. Fishing boats still come in and deliver their catch of the day,
   and nature makes its presence known with a colony of sea lions that
   lounge on the pier .

5. War Memorial Opera House

   This building was inaugurated in 1932 with a performance of Puccini’s Tosca,
   giving the art form a permanent home here. Modeled on its European
   forbears, with a marble lobby, huge chandelier, balconies, and vaulted
   ceilings, it is dedicated to the memory of World War I soldiers. In 1945
   the Opera House hosted the plenary sessions that preceded the founding
   of the United Nations and, in 1951, it was the site of the signing of
   the peace treaty between the US and Japan.

6. North Beach

   The
   entire area resonates with the history of the early Italian residents,
   but even more with the iconoclastic legacy of the revolutionary Beats,
   who brought the neighborhood worldwide fame. Historic churches stand as
   clear landmarks, while equally historic saloons and cafés take a little
   snooping around to find .

7. Haight-Ashbury

   The
   matrix of yet another Bohemian movement that San Francisco has given
   birth to, this area nurtured idealistic hippies in the late 1960s. They
   brought international awareness to alternative ways of life, living in
   harmony with nature and espousing humane values .

   
   

   
   
   

   Café sign, Haight-Ashbury

   
   
   

   Intersection, Haight-Ashbury

8. Fillmore Auditorium

   One
   of the legendary homes of psychedelic rock during the 1960s. Along with
   the Avalon Ballroom and the Winterland (both now gone), this is where
   the San Francisco Sound found its first audience.

   • 1805 Geary Blvd

9. City Hall

   On
   November 28, 1978, ex-Supervisor Dan White went to City Hall and
   assassinated Mayor George Moscone and gay Supervisor Harvey Milk. In a botched trial, he was convicted of manslaughter, sparking riots from the gay community .

   • 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

   
   

   
   
   

   City Hall

10. Sutro Baths

    Built
    in 1896 by silver magnate Adolph Sutro, these were at one time the
    world’s largest heated swimming pools, overarched by a stunning glass
    roof. The complex was destroyed by fire in 1966, but you can access the
    ruins by steps at the Merrie Way parking lot.

Top 10 Historic Figures