It is one of America’s oldest and most famous of cities. There is so much to do and to see there that it is almost impossible to know where to begin. There was a time in American history when there was nothing between there and Saint Louis but forests, rivers, mountains, Native American tribes and animals. But, there are a few things you really don’t know about San Francisco.
- San Francisco, as well as all of California, Arizona and New Mexico was part of the Mexican empire until America won it from them in a war in 1848.
- It is the hilliest city in America. The streets are so steep that the sidewalks in many places actually are not sidewalks at all but stairs.
- During The Great Depression (1929-1939) not one bank in or around San Francisco failed.
- Actually, the Great Depression barely touched greater San Francisco. In fact, things were so good, that was when it was decided that the Golden Gate Bridge would be built.
- The Chinese fortune cookie was invented there. And, it was actually invented by as San Franciscan who was Japanese.
- Irish coffee, too, was made famous the world over right by the cafes of the bay.
- No one is allowed to be buried after death there. After 1901, all burials have taken place in the tiny town of Colma. In Colma, the living are outnumbered by the dead by 1000 to 1.
- Alcatraz Island, located in the Bay, was a solitary confinement prison that housed America’s most notorious criminals. There was only one successful escape attempt and there was a strict code of silence whereby prisoners were never allowed to speak.
- The charter that established the United Nations was signed in San Francisco.
- San Francisco helped take baseball West. Along with Los Angeles, they became the new home of two of New York’s baseball teams, the Dodgers and the Giants, and took the game truly national. Prior to that, the boundaries of Major League Baseball ended in Saint Louis.
- The first incident, ever, of the bubonic plague in America happened in Chinatown in 1900.
- In 1906, nearly the entire city was destroyed by a gigantic earthquake and fires that took weeks to put out.
PHOTO CREDITS: Flickr / Thewallpapers.org / San Francisco.net / Discover San Francisco / Business Insider/ PCWallart.com