20 Fun Facts About San Francisco

Some of the following San Francisco facts don’t sound true:

• During the Great Depression, no bank in San Francisco failed.
• Before it was renamed San Francisco in 1847, the city was called Yerba Buena, which means “good herb” in Spanish.
• After years of mixed performance, the San Francisco Giants became the most successful baseball team of the 2010s, winning the World Series three times (2010, 2012 and 2014) while playing at their ballpark, now known as Oracle Park, which replaced Candlestick Park in 2000 (CBS Sports).
• Wild parrots descended from escaped house pets now live on Telegraph Hill.
• Presidio Pet Cemetery was founded in the 1950s as a resting place for military pets.
• There is a city named San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ok, that one was mean-spirited.

In this article, we’ll cover San Francisco fun facts that would stump most San Franciscans.

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2. San Francisco’s Chinatown survived destruction when residents rebuilt faster than the city could evict them

After the 1906 earthquake destroyed San Francisco’s Chinatown, residents rapidly rebuilt in Chinese style before city officials could relocate them.

Today, with 15,000 residents in 24 blocks, Chinatown has the highest population density in the United States, outside Manhattan in New York. In fact, compared to other cities, San Francisco, writ large is the second most densely populated city in the United States.

>> Learn more about visiting San Francisco: USA: Design Thinking – Silicon Valley

3. San Francisco’s cable cars were invented to stop horses sliding to their deaths

In 1873, Andrew Smith Hallidie developed the cable car system after witnessing horses die on wet cobblestones. The system expanded to 23 lines by 1890. Today, 27 cars operate on 3 remaining lines, carrying 7 million passengers annually at 9.5 mph.

The cable car is worth a ride, but most San Francisco residents take the Muni or BART. Very few San Franciscans have ever ridden a cable car.

>> Learn more about cable cars in San Francisco: Fun Facts About California

4. San Francisco turned sand dunes into America’s largest urban park

In 1870, engineers transformed San Francisco’s sand dunes into Golden Gate Park, a 1,017-acre space that’s 20% larger than New York’s famous Central Park. Workers produced soil from municipal compost, planted 155,000 trees and built America’s oldest wooden conservatory.

Today, Golden Gate Park has a bison herd established in 1891, the oldest public Japanese garden in America, the LEED Platinum-certified California Academy of Sciences and the de Young Museum with its 144-foot observation tower. 24 million people visit the park annually.

• Address: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94117
• Hours: Open daily, 5 AM–12 AM

5. A Japanese immigrant might have created the “Chinese” fortune cookie in San Francisco or maybe not

Both Makoto Hagiwara of the Japanese Tea Garden and the Chinese-run Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory claim the invention of the fortune cookie.

The Hagiwara claim holds that Golden Gate Park’s Japanese Tea Garden is where fortune cookies were introduced in the 1890s. Then after WWII internment closed Japanese bakeries, Chinese businesses adopted the cookies.

Japanese Tea Garden

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6. Two Jewish immigrants invented Levi’s jeans in San Francisco using tent canvas and copper rivets

In 1873, tailor Jacob Davis and merchant Levi Strauss patented riveted “waist overalls” made from brown tent canvas in San Francisco. The first pair of jeans were sold at an auction for $100,000 to an anonymous online bidder.

The company switched to blue denim from Amoskeag Manufacturing Company and introduced the “XX” designation, now known as the 501, in 1890.

7. Gold Rush ships form the foundation of San Francisco’s Financial District

Over 60 abandoned ships are underneath downtown San Francisco. The ships Rome and Niantic became hotels before being built over, while construction in 2016 revealed the perfectly preserved “City of Rio de Janeiro.”

The Gold Rush grew San Francisco from 1,000 residents in 1848 to 25,000 in 1849. Daily wages jumped from $1 to $20, and basic supplies reached extreme prices:

8. Spanish settlers named San Francisco after wild mint before the Gold Rush

European settlers established Yerba Buena in 1776, naming it after a wild mint growing in the area. In 1847, the settlement of 200 people was renamed San Francisco.

The name change came just before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo transferred California to U.S. control for $15 million in 1848.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

9. San Francisco’s fog appears so regularly it has its own social media accounts

San Francisco’s fog is called “Karl” by locals. He visits San Francisco 220 days each year. The fog forms when warm inland air meets cool Pacific currents and covers the Golden Gate Bridge two-thirds of summer mornings.

The fog influenced major city decisions, from the Bridge’s International Orange color to the design of fog-catching nets that provide water for local parks.

10. Alcatraz Island was a military fort before it became a prison in 1934

In 1934, Alcatraz became a federal prison designed to be escape-proof. It was the only federal prison with hot-water showers, which they added to discourage inmates from acclimating to cold bay waters. The prison housed Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly before closing in 1963.

How to visit Alcatraz Island

• Address: Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, CA 94133 (accessed via ferry from Pier 33)
• Hours: Visiting hours vary by season, typically 8:45 AM–9:25 PM

11. San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts is the last survivor of a world’s fair

The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition built the Palace of Fine Arts to celebrate San Francisco’s recovery from the 1906 earthquake. The structure, designed by Bernard Maybeck, was the only major building kept after the fair.

The Palace was rebuilt in concrete from 1964 to 1974. Its central rotunda is 162 feet high.

• Address: 3601 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94123
• Hours: Open daily, 6 AM–9 PM

12. San Francisco banned city burials in 1902, creating a city of the dead next door

The 1902 law forced the historic city of San Francisco to relocate its cemeteries to Colma, California. The city moved most graves by the 1940s. Today, Colma has 1.5 million dead residents and 1,700 living ones across 17 cemeteries in 2.2 square miles.

13. The United Nations Charter made San Francisco the birthplace of global cooperation

In 1945, representatives from 50 nations gathered at San Francisco’s War Memorial Veterans Building to draft the United Nations Charter. The city hosted 3,500 delegates for the two-month conference. The Charter was inked on June 26, 1945.

Transamerica Pyramid Skyscraper in San Francisco

14. San Francisco’s first television broadcast happened in a Green Street lab

In 1927, 21-year-old Philo Farnsworth transmitted the first electronic television image at 202 Green Street. The breakthrough cost $25,000 (roughly $450,000 in 2025) and sparked a 20-year patent war with RCA.

Farnsworth’s system displayed 60 lines at 20 frames per second and earned him a $1 million settlement plus licensing fees.

15. San Francisco’s steepest street requires stairs instead of sidewalks

Filbert Street reaches a 31.5% grade between Leavenworth and Hyde Streets. The city built the Filbert Steps when standard sidewalks proved impossible.

The wooden stairs pass Telegraph Hill’s wild parrots, art deco buildings and Coit Tower. The parrots descended from escaped pets in the 1990s.

• Address: Filbert Street Steps, San Francisco, CA 94133 (Between Leavenworth & Hyde Streets)
• Hours: Open 24 hours

Town in San Francisco

16. Famous Beat poets turned San Francisco into America’s literary rebellion capital

City Lights Bookstore opened in San Francisco’s North Beach in 1953. The shop published Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” in 1956, leading to a landmark obscenity trial victory.

The Beat movement attracted Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Neal Cassady. City Lights remains an independent bookstore and publisher.

• Address: 261 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
• Hours: Open daily, 12 PM–8 PM

17. A self-proclaimed emperor ruled San Francisco with imaginary powers

Joshua Abraham Norton declared himself “Emperor of the United States” in 1859 after losing his fortune. San Francisco businesses accepted his self-printed currency, and local papers published his proclamations until his death in 1880. The city paid for his funeral and 30,000 people attended.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

18. San Francisco’s Japantown is one of few in the United States

San Francisco is home to the largest and oldest Japantown in the United States, covering 6 blocks in the Western Addition. The neighborhood dates to 1906 and survived the internment of its residents during WWII. The other Japantowns are in San Jose, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Today, the district has a 100-foot Peace Pagoda from Osaka, Japan and the annual Cherry Blossom Festival draws 200,000 visitors.

19. San Francisco’s zoo began with a grizzly bear in Golden Gate Park

The San Francisco Zoo opened in 1929 after moving the Golden Gate Park bear collection to its current site. The original grizzly bear, Monarch, appears on California’s state flag.

San Francisco Zoo

• Address: 2945 Sloat Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94116
• Hours: Open daily, 10 AM–5 PM

20. San Francisco’s hills were named for millionaires, graves and tanks

San Francisco has 40+ named hills which are named after historical features related to wealth, cemeteries and infrastructure. For example, Golden Mine Hill is named after a gold mine that was once located there during the California Gold Rush. Miners found gold in the area and the hill was named for the mine, though gold was limited so it didn’t last long. The hill is near the Mission District.

Among the 40+ named hills in San Francisco, here are some of the most famous, along with their origins: