Being a San Francisco citizen is a great honor and a joy to behold. It is famous as the 13 largest city in the United States and still shine with its interesting historical facts. Unwavering Golden Gate Bridge, Steep streets built on the hilltops, Alcatraz, Cable cars and Full House give it a massive attraction as a fun travel destination.
San Francisco prides itself on being an open-minded city with a bohemian soul for being at the epicentre of the hippie movement in 1960s. Its diverse history dating back to 1835, and the first European settlers arrived in the city. There are much interesting facts you need to know about the city. Check out these 20 interesting San Francisco facts:
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1. Good Herb named as ‘San Francisco’
A San Francisco fun fact that might surprise you. ‘Yerba Buena’, which means ‘good herb’ in Spanish was the first name of San Francisco. City was founded in 1776 and renamed as San Francisco in 1846. Its name came from the wild mint which grew around where the first European settlers made their tents.
2. San Francisco is Not a Large City
Population of the city is more than 800,000 people according to the 2019 census. But, the city is actually pretty small. Both length and width is only seven miles in San Francisco and therefore visiting the city is easy. Actually it’s not difficult to look around lot in one day.
3. Golden Gate Park is larger than Central Park
Do you know that the Central Park in New York City is smaller than San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Park by 20%? Yes, Golden Gate Park covers 1017 acres while Central Park in New York is 778 acres.
4. Chinese Fortune Cookies were originally created in San Francisco
In the late 1890’s Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant of San Francisco who served at the Golden Gate Park’s Tea Garden has invented the modern-day fortune cookie.
5. Karl, The Famous San Francisco Fog’s Name
Citizens’ are saying it as Karl and its origins is undefined. Some people said that the fog has been called Karl for decades, and others have believe the fog was called after the giant Karl from the film Big Fish in 2003. So, amazing fact is, Karl having an Instagram account with more than 250K followers.
6. The Famous Pier 39 Sea Lions
The famous sea lions are the major tourist attraction there. This famous Pier 39 sea lion’s only arrived after the earthquake in 1989 and no one knows the reason for that.
7. Oldest Chinatown in North America located in San Francisco
San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest in North America and also the second largest Chinatown outside of Asia.
8. City Standing on More Than 50 Hills
The city is built on more than 50 hills and some of the most famous are Russian Hill, Nob Hill, Telegraph Hill and Twin Peaks, Golden Mine Hill, Excelsior Heights and Tank Hill.
9. Amazing Pet Cemetery – Military Pets Live On
Presido Pet Cemetery was founded in the 1950’s. It is a small cemetery and more than 400 pets that belonged to military families are resting in this place. There’s a famous sign board to read ‘The love these animals gave will never be forgotten’.
10. 1906 Earthquake and fire
In 1906 an earthquake and fire destroyed 3/4 of the city. The earthquake was the first natural disaster to be documented in photographs. The blaze, which lasted four days, resulted in more than $ 8 billion in damage today’s value.
11. Moving National Historical Monument
San Francisco’s cable cars are the only moving National Historical Monument in USA. Cars run at a constant speed of 9.5 MPH.
12. Alcatraz Military Fort
Before Alcatraz convert as a prison in 1934, it was used as a military fort. Alcatraz name means ‘pelican’ in Spanish.
13. International Orange Color of Golden Gate Bridge
The U.S. Navy originally planned to color wash the Golden Gate Bridge black with golden yellow stripes. The well-known “International Orange” color was intended to be sealant.
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Source: Wikipedia
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