Polk's Crocker-Langley San Francisco city directory, 1938, Part 2

Author: R.L. Polk & Co
Publication date: 1930
Publisher: San Francisco, Cal. : R.L. Polk & Co.
Number of Pages: 1908

USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > Polk's Crocker-Langley San Francisco city directory, 1938 > Part 2

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Years before, however, Sir Francis Drake brought his vessel, the Golden Hind, close to the Golden Gate and ran her ashore at what is now known as Drake's Bay. This was in 1579 and the first religious service in the English language was held on the Pacific Coast by the chaplain of the Golden Hind.

In 1776 a land expedition commanded by Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza arrived on the San Francisco peninsula and established the Presidio and the Mission Dolores. In 1777 Padre Junipero Serra, father of the California missions, ar- rived in San Francisco. The settlement was known as Yerba Buena until 1847, when it became San Francisco.

In 1806 the Russians attempted to establish themselves in and about San Francisco. They established a settlement at Fort Ross, near Santa Rosa, but after a few years gave it up, disposing of all movable fixtures and arms to Capt. John A. Sutter of Sacramento.

In 1846 war was declared by the United States on Mexico and on July 9, 1848, Capt. John B. Montgomery of the United States Navy arrived in the sloop-of-war "Portsmouth" and raised the American flag in what is now Portsmouth Square; thus without great excitement San Francisco passed from Spanish to Mexican and finally American rule.

San Francisco's greatest excitement perhaps came with the discovery of gold in 1848. People rushed here by every known mode of transportation and in thousands. The popu- lation increased steadily and the port became the most im- portant on the Pacific Coast, which position it has steadily maintained.

Because of the number of lawless individuals during the fifties, the citizens organized the Vigilance Committee and after a short campaign succeeded in ridding the city of the law breakers.

GOVERNMENT

San Francisco has a combined City and County Govern- ment functioning as a Municipal Corporation, which began January 8, 1932, to operate under a new Charter (Freehold- ers). Under this new Charter the Legislative Powers are vested in a Board of Supervisors consisting of 11 members. The Administrative Powers are vested in a Mayor and a Chief Administrative Officer, the latter appointed by the Mayor. The people elect the Mayor, Assessor, Treasurer, Sheriff, Public Defender, Supervisors, District Attorney, City Attorney, Municipal and Superior Court Judges and the members of the Board of Education.

The salary of the Mayor is $10,000 per year and the major Departments under him include the Police, Fire, Park, Rec- reation, and Library, the Art Commission, the Utilities Com- mission, Civil Service Commission, and City Planning Com- mission.

The Chief Administrative Officer, appointed by the Mayor, receives a salary of $12,000 a year and has under him the following Departments of Finance and Records. Purchasing. Real Estate. Department of Public Works, Department of Electricity, Street Traffic Advisory Board, Department of Public Health, County Welfare Department, Coroner's Of- fice. Horticultural Inspection Department, and Department of Weights and Measures.

The Controller is responsible to the Mayor and is ap- pointed by him subject to the confirmation and approval of the Board of Supervisors.

HARBOR AND COMMERCE

Centered in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco is an important port of general commerce, handling a large and valuable domestic and foreign trade. It is the main gate- way of commerce for the vast territory of the Central Pacific Coast Area and Intermountain States. The Bay extends from the Golden Gate to the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers on the northeast, and to a point near San Jose on the south, covering an area of 450 square miles. The deep-water commerce enters San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate, which is but one mile wide, thus affording nat- ural protection from the ocean to the waters of the San Fran- cisco Bay. To this has been added the most comprehensive docking and berthing facilities, rail and freight connections, modern and well-equipped warehouses, etc. San Francisco harbor has 17 miles of berthing space and this is constantly being added to; there are 8,122,524 square feet of cargo area, with a capacity of 2,030,600 tons of cargo; 43 modern piers; facilities to dock the largest vessels; seven drydocks; 160 spur tracks; 66 miles of harbor trackage connecting piers and warehouses; car capacity for 3600 cars; 42 cranes, der- ricks and aerials.

The harbor is controlled by the State of California and is governed by a board of harbor commissioners appointed by the Governor. Of the 43 piers, most of them are assigned to steamship companies having their own fleets and operat- ing their own schedules. San Francisco harbor facilities are valued at $100,000,000.

The water-borne commerce of San Francisco has trebled since pre-war days and now ranks second in value of all ports in the United States and 50 per cent above any other Pacific Coast port.

Arrivals and departures of vessels show the following in- creases :

Registered

Arrivals Tonnage

Departures Tonnage

1923.

6792 15,049,446

6830

14,802,870

1936. 5016 15,801,076 4981 15,730,364

Exports during 1936 amounted to.

.$97,296,822

Imports during 1936 amounted to.

.$67,853,252

The principal exports by tons are mineral oil, gasoline, dried and canned fruits, barley, fresh fruits, petroleum as- phalt, lumber, iron, steel scrap, salt.

The principal imports are copra, sugar, paper, coffee, bur- lap and bags, bananas, fertilizers, and ores.

The 1936 report of the U. S. Army Engineers shows the distribution of the tonnage, domestic and foreign, during 1935 as follows:

Total tonnage, San Francisco Bay. 26,962,032 Tons

Foreign tonnage 3,302,338

Inland waterway tonnage .. 8,898,495

Domestic Coastwise and Intercoastal tonnage. 14,761,199

Besides the movement of commodities by water, there is a large rail traffic in San Francisco; during 1936 it reached 207.080 carloadings and unloadings, not including less-than- carload business.

San Francisco is also the ocean port for the great inland empire of California, 500 miles in length, 50 miles wide and containing 16,100,000 acres of irrigable land. 5,000,000 acres of which is under irrigation. Approximately 33 per cent of the tonnage of the port is received from points on the Sac- ramento and San Joaquin Rivers, which drain a large portion of the "back country."

San Francisco is the port of call for 181 steamship lines.

TRANSPORTATION

San Francisco is the terminus of three Class 1 railroads and a number of short lines. These railroads thoroughly blan- ket California and neighboring States, and by means of seven major transcontinental routes with convenient connections, provide fast, dependable service to and from all parts of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Passenger trains, second to none, are operated to and from the city.

No Pacific Coast port has lower rates or better service to and from the hinterland than San Francisco. Overnight freight service is provided to Los Angeles and all points in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys as well as to nu- merous points along the coast. A greater proportion of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains is reached to advan- tage from San Francisco than from any other Pacific Coast port.

Store door pick-up and delivery for less than carload traffic is available between San Francisco and many points in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Oregon.

Intercoastal water rates bring San Francisco as close to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts as Chicago and northern Mis- sissippi Valley points. Sailings to Atlantic Coast ports av- erage 35 per month and to Gulf ports six sailings per month.

Departures for the Hawaiian Islands average 15 per month and the applicable freight rates are as low as rates for only 70 miles by rail or truck.

Over sixty steamship lines operate between San Francisco and foreign ports providing frequent passenger and freight service to and from the major ports, the Orient, Australia. New Zealand, the South Sea Islands, both coasts of Central and South America, northern and southern Europe and cer- tain ports in Africa. Round-the-world liners leave San Fran- cisco at least twice a month. San Francisco is the home port of many of the most luxurious passenger liners operating on the Pacific Ocean.

Coastwise lines furnish frequent service between San Francisco and other ports in California. Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. A huge fleet of inland water carriers ranging from palatial passenger steamers to humble barges navigate San Francisco Bay and waters tributary thereto, carrying an immense tonnage to and from the ultra-modern docks of the city.

Over thirty common carrier truck lines provide sched- uled services to and from California and points north, east and south of San Francisco. A dozen or more interstate lines radiate to points in neighboring states and by means of con- nections, reach much of the western half of the United States.

Certificates issued by the Railroad Commission of Cali- fornia and the Interstate Commerce Commission govern these operations.

In addition, more than 60 truck operators having head- quarters or agencies in San Francisco hold intrastate con- tract carrier, radial common carrier or city carrier permits from the Railroad Commission of California or interstate contract carrier permits from the Interstate Commerce Com- mission. All rates and services are subject to regulation by these Commissions.

Bus lines which are also under regulation, radiate north, east and south providing fast, commodious passenger serv- ice between San Francisco and all important points in Cali- fornia and the eleven Western States. There are also four transcontinental bus services. In addition. there are numerous sightseeing tours operated between San Francisco and neigh- boring points of interest. Buses are always available for char- ter parties.

Three modern air terminals in the San Francisco Bay Area are within thirty minutes of the heart of San Francisco. The recently enlarged Municipal Airport is the focal point of transcontinental and north/south services by the most mod- ern transport planes. It is the eastern terminus for the fa- mous clippers providing service to and from the Hawaiian Islands. Philippine Islands and the Orient. Service to and

from Australia and New Zealand is in process of develop- ment.

MANUFACTURES

The manufacturing industries in San Francisco comprise an important part of the city's activities. During normal times 20 per cent of the people gainfully occupied in San Francisco are engaged in manufacturing and mechanical industries.

The value of manufactures in 1936 is estimated at $301,- 000,000, compared to $287,461,000 as reported in the 1935 United States Census. (See double-column table at bottom of page.)

Index of Manufacturing Activity in San Francisco Based on Payroll-1926=100 Index

1927=98

1929=102 1931=77

1933=51 1935=61

1928=96 1930= 97 1932=53 1934=57 1936=64

The ten manufacturing classifications reporting highest value of product in San Francisco in the 1931 U. S. Census (b) amounted to $135,885,062, or 42.7 per cent of the total. They are:

Printing and Publishing. $34,590,977

Coffee and Spices. 29,774,418

Bread and Bakery Products 15,943,981

Meat Packing, Wholesale.

13,865,984

Canned and Dried Fruits and Vegetables. 11,614,932

Clothing, Women's ..

8,264,791

Foundry Machine Shop Products.

7,546,422

Bags, Other Than Paper

4,937,406

Mattresses, Bed Springs.

4,760,939

Furniture, Store and Office

4,585,212

San Francisco-Oakland Industrial Area*

1933 1931

1929

Number of

Establishments

2,649

3,468

3,866

Wage Earners 66,313

69,923

93,314

Wages $71,108,819

$95,058.473

$137,342,436

Cost of Materials $366,261,604

$447,831,445

$671,779,596

Value of Products $366.261,604

$734,474,927

$1,128,011,246

Comparative figures for 97 classifications of industry for thirty major industrial areas of the nation show the San Francisco-Oakland Industrial Area averaged seventh as a manufacturing center in 1929. The San Francisco-Oakland Industrial Area ranked first in five industries; second in two industries; third in eight industries; fourth in five industries; and fifth in ten industries; and between sixth and tenth in fifty-one.

The ten manufacturing classifications reporting highest value of product in the San Francisco-Oakland Industrial Area in the 1931 U. S. Census amounted to $334,482,472, or 45.5 per cent of the area total. They are:

Petroleum Refining $77,190,111

Motor Vehicles.

46,526,144

Printing and Publishing.

43,362,739

Canned and Dried Fruits and Vegetables

.40,064,843

Meat Packing. Wholesale

30,910,780

Coffee and Spices. 30,434,306

Bread and Bakery Products

24,793,989

Foundry and Machine Shop Products 14.604.121

Paints and Varnishes ..

13.463,782

Electrical Machinery, Apparatus and Supplies. 13,131.657

Many of the large key industries in the San Francisco Metropolitan Area with their plants outside of the corpo- rated city limits have their headquarters in San Francisco from which they conduct their finances, purchases and sales.

(b) The 1931 U. S. Census report was used because it is probably closer to nresent conditions.

*Includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties.

Manufacturing Activity in San Francisco Reported by U. S. Census

1935 (a)

1933

1931

1929

Number of Establishments

1,961

1,683

2,263

2,526

Wage Earners

34,395

30,691

34,502

45,482

Wages .

$40,943,446

$33,107,340

$47.321,255

$67,911,982

Cost of Materials

. $159,050,366

$116,025,328

$159,667,076

$261,911,488

Value of Manufactures

$287,461,451

$221,325,675

$318.131,977

$433,712,296

(a) Preliminary.

TRADE

Trade at retail in San Francisco, amounting to $298,532,- 000, was reported by the U. S. Census Bureau in the 1935 census. The report shows 10,247 retail stores with full-time employment of 39,023 men and women. The per capita sales at retail amount to $420.

Trade at wholesale in San Francisco, amounting to $911,- 747,000, was reported in the 1933 census. This volume led all other Pacific Coast cities by more than 37 per cent. The re- ports show 2696 establishments engaged in trade at wholesale.

FINANCE

San Francisco has become the financial center of the West, principally because of the operating advantages avail- able to those institutions which have centered their activities here. Thirteen hundred firms of national reputation have es- tablished their Western headquarters in San Francisco.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is the head- quarters of the Twelfth Federal Reserve District, which ranked third in volume of business during 1936, measured by bank debits.

One of the major regional Stock Exchanges in the United States is maintained in San Francisco. There are also the San Francisco Curb Exchange and the San Francisco Mining Exchange.

The fourth largest bank in the United States has its head- quarters here, and six of the 22 banks in San Francisco are among the first 50 banks of the nation. Four banks are branch systems operating a total of 560 branches throughout the State. Of the 22 banks in San Francisco, 17 are under State supervision. Of the 17 banks, 8 operate entirely in the com- mercial field; 2 are domestic institutions; and 6 are branches of foreign banks. Of the remaining 9 State institutions, 3 are commercial, savings and trust; 1 commercial and savings; 1 strictly savings; 1 strictly commercial: 1 savings and trust: and 2 title insurance companies operating trust departments; there are 5 national banks, all of which operate trust depart- ments. The trust departments are under State supervision.

San Francisco is the insurance center of the West. More than 12 billion dollars of insurance is in force in California. Seven hundred authorized companies were doing business in California at the close of 1936. The premiums and assess- ments of all groups amounted to $335,833,070 in 1935.

Federal Reserve District Debits-1936

New York.

$224,200,047,000

Chicago

61,505,449,000

San Francisco

33,496,331,000

Cleveland

27,921,092,000

Boston

25,379,375,000

Philadelphia

21,503,604,000

S. F. Bank Clearings

S. F. Bank Debits

1931

$7,142,113,000

$11,178,630,000

1932

5,053,854,000

7,743,014,000

1933

4,684,591,000 7,431,020,000

1934.

5,475,193,000

8,180,813,000

1935

6,468,835,000

9,567,839,000

1936.

7,230,152,000

10,637,827,000

Debits to Individual Accounts-1936

New York City

$208,935,746,000

Chicago

36,612,146,000

Boston

16,941,873,000

Philadelphia

15,974,350,000

San Francisco

10,637,827,000

Los Angeles.

10,216,206,000

Bank Clearings-1936

New York City

$193,549,000,000

Philadelphia

18,745,000,000

Chicago

15,728,000,000

Boston

11,863,000,000

San Francisco

7,230,000,000

Pittsburgh

6,664,000,000

San Francisco Exchange Transactions

Stock

Curb

1931.

$160,870,689

$29,084,867

1932.

77,379,642

16,052,547

1933

114,809,719

16,503,658

1934.

67,796,052

12,894,718

1935

118,423,735

24,138,949

1936.

171,538,186

32,586,604

Building and Loan Association Assets

There were ten companies with their head offices in San Francisco in December, 1936.

Dec., 1932

$108,593,392

Dec., 1933

103,669,348

Dec., 1934

85,847,277

Dec., 1935

71,405,597

Dec., 1936

65,624,752

Postal Receipts

1931

$8,434,320

1934

$8,407,264

1932

7,961,451

1935

8,690,861

1933

7,913,183

1936.

9,345,838

Number of Individual Income Tax Returns

1930

62,367

1933

. 69,086

1931

.55,173

1934

.69,358

1932.

.66,050

1935.

.83,346

PUBLIC BUILDINGS

First comes the group in the Civic Center, declared by the Duke of Connaught to be the finest thing of its kind in the world. The group consists: (1) City Hall, of classic design, surmounted by an immense dome, higher than the dome of the Capitol at Washington. Cost, $4,000,000. (2) Exposition Auditorium, seating capacity of 12,000 in the main auditorium, with numerous small halls; cost, $2,000,000. (3) San Fran- cisco Public Library; cost, $1,500,000. (4) State Building; cost, $1,000,000. (5) War Memorial group of buildings, as a part of Civic Center, cost, $4,000,000, consisting of civic opera house, American Legion halls, etc. A Federal Building, cost, $3,000,000.

California Palace of the Legion of Honor, in Lincoln Park, overlooking the Golden Gate, is a replica if the Palace of the Legion of Honor in Paris. It was presented to the city. The structure cost $2,000,000. United States Mint, located at Mar- ket street and Duboce avenue, built in 1937; Post Office Building, corner of Seventh and Mission streets; Ferry Build- ing, at the foot of Market street on the waterfront, built by the State in 1896 at a cost of $1,000,000. It is 659 feet long and 156 feet wide, and in addition to serving as a ferryboat terminal, contains many State offices. The Customs House and United States Appraiser's Building represent an expendi- ture of more than $1,000,000. In Golden Gate Park are located the De Young Memorial Museum, Academy of Sciences, Steinhart Aquarium, Museum of Anthropology. At Kearny and Washington streets is the Hall of Justice, erected in 1910 at a cost of $1,000,000, containing police courts and the crim- inal department of the superior court. The Golden Gate Bridge cost $35,000,000, was completed early in 1937 and opened to traffic in May, 1937, and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, at a cost of $78,000,000, was opened to vehicular traf- fic November 12, 1936.

PARKS

San Francisco is noted for its beautiful and extensive parks. There are 45 parks and 80 recreational units, with a total acreage of 3268; others are under development. In addition to the municipal parks, the several government res- ervations, the largest of which is the Presidio, comprising 1542 acres, all go toward augmenting the aggregate area of the city parks. The area given does not include the numerous golf courses in and about the city. More than $15,000,000 has been expended on municipal parks since 1870. All of San

Deposits and Resources-San Francisco Banks

Time Deposits

Demand Deposits

Total Deposits

Resources

12/31/31

$1,149,966,823

$ 688,976,467

$1,838,943,290

$2,203,409,663

12/31/32

813,737,992

931,520,347

1,745,258,339

2,084,063,004

12/31/33

1,166,939,647

620,349,553

1,787,289,200

2,103,114,513

12/31/34

1,277,069,921

777,981,190

2,055,051,873

2,375,700,359

12/31/35

1,410,138,552

926,635,190

2,336,773,742

2,599,364,528

12/31/36

1,401,261,546

1,175,048,500

2,576,310,046

2,848,811,490

Francisco's parks are "man-made." Originally only sand dunes marked the spots where today are gardens of rarest flowers, shrubs and giant trees. Even lakes, streams, water- falls, hills, valleys and dales were worked out by man, to say nothing of the miles of walks, bridle paths and boulevards traversing the parks. Golden Gate Park is one of the world's most noted playgrounds. It comprises 1013 acres and is about 3 miles long and a half-mile wide, extending from Stanyan Street on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west and lies in the midst of San Francisco's choice residential districts.

In the park are many museums, monuments, an aviary, aquarium, music temple, stadium, tennis courts, baseball grounds, football grounds, trotting and pacing horse track, athletic field and running track paddocks, and children's play grounds. There are more than 25 miles of improved driveways in the park. Wild animals of many species are to be seen, while every bird and squirrel known to California roams or flies at will through the dense woods and shrubbery. At the western end of the park is to be seen the sloop "Gjoa," the only vessel that ever navigated the Northwest Passage, and which was given to San Francisco by its owner and ex- plorer, Captain Roald Amundsen, discoverer of the South Pole also; the gift was accepted by San Francisco June 16. 1909. The ship was hauled upon the beach and is protected by a high iron fence.

SOCIAL

San Francisco has more than 294 churches, representing many denominations. The congregations of the churches in- clude people of many nationalities, such as English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Scandinavian, Russian and Chinese.

There are numerous societies. clubs, lodges, and fraternal groups beside the civic, historical, military, religious and

sporting groups. San Francisco contains many foreign colo- nies where the daily life and social events familiar to their native countries have been reestablished here.

The cosmopolitan character of San Francisco is well por- trayed by the many interesting and diversified events which take place daily. The citizen or visitor may find many educa- tional things of interest, such as lectures, concerts, readings, recitals, special exhibits of drawing, painting, sculpture, and other works of art.

There are two public art galleries and several semi-public galleries which offer exhibits and collections of national and international fame.

There is a main public library in the Civic Center with 21 branches and 6 depositories. This system has 520,000 volumes. There are 97 private and special libraries, including technical and institutional. There are also numerous circulating libraries.

The Municipal Auditorium, with a seating capacity of 11,000, contains a magnificent organ and is in use for a variety of events daily throughout the year. The Civic Opera House and the War Memorial Building provide a home for opera, the symphony orchestra, and a permanent war relics museum. San Francisco is the first city in the nation to have a civic opera house. It has a seating capacity of 3285.

HEALTH

San Francisco is a clean city with a cool, bracing, equable all-year-round open climate. The Daily Mean Maximum Tem- perature is 62.6 degrees, and the Daily Mean Minimum Tem- perature is 50.2 degrees, with an average daily range of 12.2 degrees. A study of the air conditions in twenty-three promi- nent cities in the United States places San Francisco in the front rank, second only to Boston. The sun shone sixty-six out of every one hundred possible hours, according to the Weather Bureau Records, for a period of more than 20 years.

GOLDEN GATE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION 1939

The Golden Gate International Exposition, designated by Congressional and Presidential action as America's official World's Fair on the Pacific Coast, will open February 18 and close December 2 of 1939. Its site is 400-acre Treasure Island, reclaimed for the purpose in the center of San Francisco Bay and described as the largest island ever built by man.

The Exposition will celebrate completion of the $78,000,000 San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. longest and most costly bridge in the world; the $35,000,000 Golden Gate Bridge, long- est single span in the world; the aerial "bridging" of the Pacific Ocean by scheduled passenger and mail flights of the Clipper Ships, and the development of huge electrical horse- power by new hydro-electrical projects in the Western moun- tains, particularly Boulder. Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams.

The Treasure Island fill totals 20,000,000 cubic yards of black sand, bound by 287.000 tons of rock in a sea wall. This World's Fair site is 5520 feet long by 3400 feet wide, stands 13 feet above mean lower water, and is connected to Yerba Buena Island by a causeway 900 feet long and 110 feet wide. The U. S. Engineering Department carried out the reclama- tion, which was completed in 1937 under an authorized WPA appropriation of $3,803,900 sponsored by the Exposition Com- pany.

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Polk's Crocker-Langley San Francisco city directory, 1938, Part 2

Author: R.L. Polk & Co Publication date: 1930 Publisher: San Francisco, Cal. : R.L. Polk & Co. Number of Pages: 1908

Author: R.L. Polk & Co
Publication date: 1930
Publisher: San Francisco, Cal. : R.L. Polk & Co.
Number of Pages: 1908