Polk's Crocker-Langley San Francisco city directory, 1945-46, Part 2

Author: R.L. Polk & Co
Publication date: 1930
Publisher: San Francisco, Cal. : R.L. Polk & Co.
Number of Pages: 2334

USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > Polk's Crocker-Langley San Francisco city directory, 1945-46 > Part 2

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Colored population: Negro, 32,001 (August 1, 1945).

Age-20 Years and over: Males, 256,825; females, 294,490 (1944).

Native born population (white) is 74.4 per cent of whole popu- lation (1940).

Predominating nationalities in city are American, Italian, German, Irish, English, Canadian and Chinese.

Area, 44.82 square miles.

Altitude, sea level to 938 feet.

Average temperature, 56.1°. Daily mean maximum, 62.6°. Daily mean minimum, 50.3º.

Parks: 50, and 150 recreational units. Total acreage, 4425.

Assessed valuation, $1,216,677,471 all property; with $4.83 tax rate (1945-46).

City's funded debt is $113,285,300 (June 30, 1945).

Financial: There are nineteen banks, 14 under State supervision and 5 national banks, with total deposits of $6,912,516,458 (1944), resources $7,350,994,441 (1944), debits to individual accounts, $21,248,370,000 (1945), clearings, $15,743,541,000 (1945); time deposits, $2,555,747,234 (1944); demand deposits, $4,356,769,224. Post office receipts of $50,818,124 (1945).

Telephones in service, 307,830 (1941), latest available.

Churches number approximately 353.

Building and construction: Value of building permits, $16,780,030, number 5577 (1945).

Real estate transfers total 16,332, valued at $178,457,423 (1945).

Industry: Number of establishments 2172 (1939). Total wage- earners 1944, 70,000; weekly wage of $4,200,000.

Labor Force: About two-thirds of the eligible persons 14 years and

over in San Francisco are in the labor force. Their distribution as of April 1, 1944, is revealed in the following tabulation:

In labor force.

386,995

Employed 381,675

At full-time work In civilian work. 323,610 341,005

In Armed Forces (living off reservation) . 17,395

At part-time work. 28,630

With a job but not at work 12,040

Unemployed (seeking work) 5,320

Trade: Territory (retail) serves 2,400,000 people within the 9 county area covering San Francisco Bay. Metropolitan Area, jobbing territory serves 3,936,000 people within a radius of 250 miles. Many firms distribute to the 11 Western States, as San Francisco is Western headquarters for hundreds of firms with national distribution.

Hotels: The U. S. Census reported 577 hotels, with total 50,308 guest rooms, third highest in nation. Two large new hotels are pro- jected in the Nob Hill Area.

Converging in San Francisco are 4 Class I railroads operating more than 27,000 miles of line, under normal conditions 177 steamship lines, more than 40 commercial carrier truck lines, 4 transcontinental bus services and 4 major air lines of the world. San Francisco Airport reported 449,145 passengers during 1945.

Amusements: There are approximately 79 theaters, with a total seating capacity of approximately 87,000 persons. Largest theater or auditorium seats about 12,000 persons.

Hospitals number 26.

Education: Number of schools, 186 public, including 26 junior high and high schools. There are also a number of parochial and diocesan schools. Number of pupils enrolled in public schools, 123,- 480 during 1944; in private schools, 14,000 (est.).

There are 550,000 volumes in the libraries of the city.

City Statistics: Total street mileage, 908 miles, with 752 miles paved. Miles of gas mains laid, 1005; of sewers, 97 miles, main trunk; street railway and motor coach lines, 378.35 miles. The storage capac- ity of water works (municipal), 64,126,000,000 gallons.

SAN FRANCISCO (Prepared by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce)

HISTORICAL

San Francisco is located centrally on the coast in 37° 47' 22-25" N. Latitude and 122° 25' 40-76" W. Longitude and situated on a peninsula bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north and east by the Bay of San Francisco and on the south by wooded hills and fertile valleys. Its elevation extends from sea level to 938 feet. The city covers an area of about 44.82 square miles and is built principally on hills. The population as of April 1, 1940, amounted to 634,536 (U. S. census). Resident population, August 1, 1945, 827,400.

The San Francisco Bay Region was discovered in July, 1769, by Don Gaspar de Portola's soldiers, who were seeking the Monterey Bay. In 1775 Don Manuel Ayala sailed the first ship through the Golden Gate into the San Francisco Bay. The San Carlos was the name of the vessel.

Years before, however, Sir Francis Drake brought his ves- sel, 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, 1846, 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 population in- creased steadily and the port became the most important 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 Attor-

ney, 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, Recreation, and Library, the Art Commission, the Utilities Commission, Civil Service Commission, and City Planning Commission.

The Chief Administrative Officer, appointed by the Mayor, receives a salary of $12,000 a year and has under him the fol- lowing: Departments of Finance and Records, Purchasing, Real Estate, Department of Public Works, Department of Elec- tricity, Street Traffic Advisory Board, Department of Public Health, County Welfare Department, Coroner's Office, Horti- cultural 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. Today it is one of the major embarkation centers for the nation's war activity. It is the main gateway 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 Sacra- mento 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 natural protection from the ocean to the waters of the San Francisco Bay. To this has been added the most com- prehensive docking and berthing facilities, rail and freight connections, modern and well-equipped warehouses, etc. San Francisco harbor has 17.5 miles of berthing space; there are 195.62 acres of pier and wharf area, with a capacity of 4,719,- 000 tons of cargo; 43 modern piers; facilities to dock the largest vessels; seven drydocks; 160 spur tracks; 51 miles of harbor trackage connecting piers and warehouses; car capacity for 3600 cars; 42 cranes, derricks 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, during peace-times most of them are assigned to steamship companies having their own fleets and operating their own schedules. San Francisco har- bor facilities are valued at more than $100,000,000.

The water-borne commerce of San Francisco ranked second in value of all ports in the United States and third in tonnage, and outranking all other Pacific Coast ports by more than 12,000,000 cargo tons in 1940 (latest available).

Exports during 1940 amounted to $113,683,277

Imports during 1940 amounted to . $ 98,305,839

The principal exports by value have been bulk oil, dried and canned fruits, cotton, machine parts, barley, fresh fruits, auto parts, canned fish and lead.

The principal imports have been coffee, copra, Chinese wood oil, paper, burlap and raw silk.

The 1941 report of the U. S. Army Engineers shows the distribution of the cargo tonnage, domestic and foreign, dur- ing 1940 as follows:

Total tonnage, San Francisco Bay 30,863,291 Tons

Foreign tonnage 3,641,922 ..

Inland waterway tonnage. 8,272,193

Domestic Coastwise tonnage

18,918,176 ..

Besides the movement of commodities by water, there is a large rail traffic in San Francisco; during 1943 it reached 350,815 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.

San Francisco is normally a port of call for 177 steamship lines.

TRANSPORTATION

Distribution Facilities-A vast transportation network, in- cluding transcontinental rail and highway facilities, air trans- port services, and steamship lines, converge in San Francisco, bringing unexcelled transportation to local industry and busi- ness. San Francisco is presently functioning as one of the outstanding strategic distribution centers in connection with the war effort. San Francisco's fortunate geographic position on the Pacific Coast, combined with excellent distribution fa- cilities, makes it possible for business and industry located here to serve a larger portion of the Western markets at lower distribution costs than can be reached from any other Pacific Coast city.

Rail

San Francisco is served directly by four Class I railroads operating more than 27,000 miles of line. These railroads with their connections thoroughly blanket California and neighboring States, and by means of seven major transconti- nental routes and connecting routes 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.

State Belt Line-These four railroads which connect with the State Belt Railroad serving the San Francisco waterfront and many industries, absorb their switching charges on line haul carload traffic, also on local switching movements subject to minimum net revenue of $12.65 per car. Single line switch- ing charges range from 37 cents to 50 cents per ton, minimum $7.92 per car. Interline switching is subject to additional per car charges in varying amounts. Between all points in the San Francisco switching limits and those of Oakland and Rich- mond, the switching rate is 75 cents per ton, minimum charge $16.50 per car.

Delivery Facilities-Store door pick-up and delivery for less than carload traffic is available between San Francisco and practically all points in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. Overnight freight services from San Fran- cisco to Los Angeles, to most points in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, to points along the Coast as far as south- ern Oregon, and to Western Nevada are temporarily discon- tinued due to war conditions but will be resumed on a more effective basis after the war.

Water

Foreign, intercoastal, coastwise, and many inland water- way vessels, which normally served San Francisco, are serving the nation. Luxurious lines which called San Francisco their home port are now in war service.

Shipping Lines-Normally, San Francisco is served by some 177 lines radiating to the major ports in the Orient, the Antipodes, the South Sea Islands, both Coasts of Central and South America, and Northern and Southern Europe and Africa. Direct service is normally available at frequent inter- vals to the West Indies, to all the major ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and to major ports on the Pacific Coast. A huge fleet of shallow draft vessels navigates San Francisco Bay and its tributary waters, carrying an immense tonnage to and from the ultra-modern docks of this city.

Highway

Truck Lines-Over forty common carrier truck lines pro- vide scheduled service between San Francisco and points in California and neighboring States. In addition, more than six hundred truck operators having headquarters or agencies in San Francisco hold intrastate contract carrier, radial common carrier, or city carrier permits from the Railroad Commission of California, or interstate contract carrier permits from the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Bus Lines-Bus lines radiate north, east, and south, pro- viding fast, commodious service between San Francisco and all important points in California and the eleven Western States. There are also four transcontinental bus services. Sightseeing buses, which normally operate between San Francisco and neighboring points of interest, are temporarily discontinued, as are buses normally available for charter, except when in con- nection with the war effort.

Air

San Francisco is the terminus of five major airlines. Four of these airlines maintain regular scheduled service linking the entire San Francisco Bay Area to the rest of the United States and, both East and West, to the rest of the world.

One of the five airlines, under permission from the Civil Aeronautics Board, plans establishment of regular service. Additional air service will be maintained by feeder air line systems, linking innumerable smaller communities through- out California and the Western States.

San Francisco Municipal Airport, recognized as one of the nation's major air terminals and one which has carried an un- precedented war-time load of passenger and cargo traffic, will under plans now being developed, be expanded to the point where it will serve the air age of the future as the major pas- senger, cargo and mail terminal of the Pacific.

Charter air service, fixed base operations, flight training, airplane repair and maintenance and distribution and sale of airplanes are all services available through smaller, private airports being expanded throughout the Bay Area.

MANUFACTURES

The manufacturing industries in San Francisco comprise an important part of the city's activities, leading in number of employees and amount of payroll nine major activities in San Francisco. One-quarter of all the people engaged in industry and business in San Francisco are employed by the manufac- turing industries. The 1945 estimated annual payroll in the San Francisco Industrial Area amounted to $473,000,000 com-

pared to $110,964,000 in 1939, according to San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

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

1939

1937

Establishments

2,172

2,030

Wage-Earners

31,789

39,082

Wages

$ 44,723,211

$ 52,466,752

Cost of Materials.

$174,783,186

$187,975,890

Value of Manufactures

$313,252,639

$334,930,684

1935

1933

Number of Establishments

1,959

1,683

Wage-Earners

34,399

30,691

Wages

.$ 40,946,670

$ 33,107,340

Cost of Materials

. $159,145,695

$116,025,328

Value of Manufactures. $287,178,844 $221,325,675

The ten manufacturing classifications reported with high- est value of products in San Francisco in the 1939 U. S. Census, latest classifications available, are :

Printing and Publishing. $35,911,032

Bread and Bakery Products.

14,947,767

Meat Packing, Wholesale

14,560,954

Bags, Other than Paper.

7,211,634

Canned and Dried Fruits and Vegetables.

7,460,876

Mattresses, Bed Springs

5,831,208

Boxes, Paper

5,758,924

Confectionery

5,638,901

Paints and Varnishes.

5,559,002

Ship and Boat Building (1945)

. (unreported)

San Francisco-Oakland Industrial Area*

The value of products in 1939 of the 3441 manufacturing establishments in this area totaled $960,636,411, the expen- ditures for materials totaled $600,156,725, and the number of wage-earners amounted to 76,374 and wages to $110,964,281. Value added by manufacture amounted to $360,479,686.

(Estimate 1945) 1939

1937

Establishments

3,441

3,261

Wage-Earners (average) 172,900

76,374

88,414

Wages $473,000,000

$110,964,281

$ 122,916,300

Cost of Materials

$600,156,725

$ 695,532,112

Value of Products

$960,636,411

$1,052,353,275

1935

1933

Establishments

3,133

2,649

Wage-Earners

76,963

66,313

Wages

.$ 91,273,731

$ 71,108,819

Cost of Materials. $533,329,610

$ 366,261,604

Value of Products .

. $825,618,381 $ 598,290,815

The ten manufacturing classifications reported with the highest value of products in the San Francisco Industrial Area in the 1939 U. S. Census amounted to $326,089,967, or 34.0 per cent of the area total. They are:

Petroleum Refining

. $112,043,874

Canned and Dried Fruits and Vegetables

40,408,393

Meat Packing

39,179,995

Bread and Bakery Products

23,207,553

Tin Cans and Other Tinware

22,637,907

Steel Works

21,318,750

Paints and Varnishes

21,214,450

Printing and Publishing, Newspapers.

19,600,313

Malt Liquors

13,938,049

Ship and Boat Building (1945). (unreported)

Many of the large key industries in the San Francisco

Metropolitan Area, with their plants outside the corporate city limits, have their headquarters in San Francisco, from which they conduct their finances, purchases, and sales.

RETAIL TRADE AND SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS

Retail trade, one of the major activities in San Francisco,

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

ranks high in number of employees and amount of payroll among the various group activities. Sales in 1945 are esti- mated at $839,648,000 compared to $763,316,000 in 1944.

Trade at retail in San Francisco of 11,339 stores amounted to $383,554,000, according to 1939 U. S. Census reports, or 28.5 per cent above the 1935 sales, compared to 27 per cent in the nation. These stores reported 12,007 active proprietors of unincorporated businesses and 44,829 employees. The an- nual payroll amounted to $58,135,000.

The per capita in 1939 sales for San Francisco led all other important counties in California. The retail sales per capita in San Francisco amounted to $604, in Los Angeles to $520, and in the State to $462. In 1944 per capita sales in San Francisco amounted to $1113 compared to $980 in California.

FINANCE

San Francisco is the financial and insurance capital of the West. The expeditious handling of financial transactions of all kinds has helped to maintain sound industrial and trade relations in San Francisco and throughout the West.

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 1943 measured by bank debits.

Many hundreds of firms with national reputation have established their Western headquarters in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Stock Exchange, one of the major re- gional stock exchanges in the United States, is maintained in San Francisco. There is also the San Francisco Mining Exchange.

Six of the 19 banks in San Francisco are among the first 50 banks of the nation. Several of the banks operate branches and a few operate branch systems throughout the State. Of the 19 banks in San Francisco, 14 are under State supervision. Of these 14, 3 are commercial and savings, 1 strictly savings, 1 savings and trust, and 2 title insurance companies operating trust departments. There are 5 national banks, all of which operate trust departments. The trust departments are under State supervision.

San Francisco is the insurance center of the West. More than six and a quarter-billion dollars of life insurance is in force in California. More than 700 authorized insurance com- panies are doing business in California. The premiums and assessments of all groups amounted to $455,697,970 in 1941.

Federal Reserve District Debits-1944

New York

$374,733,750,000

Chicago

138,771,450,000

San Francisco

78,068,483,000

Cleveland

58,535,552,000

Boston

42,205,796,000

Philadelphia

40,137,157,000

Debits to Individual Accounts-1944

New York City

$345,585,373,000

Chicago

74,128,614,000

Detroit

30,381,681,000

Philadelphia

28,287,668,000

Boston

24,420,830,000

San Francisco 19,669,361,000

S. F. Exchange Transactions

1940

$ 83,864,070

1941

66,247,391

1942

45,478,533

1943

76,824,225

1944

103,305,121

1945

186,126,964

S. F. Bank Clearings

1940

$ 7,773,877,000

1941

9,548,190,000

11,917,685,000

1942

11,336,876,000

13,996,130,000

1943

13,267,105,000

17,489,513,000

1944

14,834,954,000

19,669,361,000

1945

15,743,541,000

21,248,370,000

Bank Clearings-1944

New York City

$286,348,000,000

Philadelphia

33,028,000,000

Chicago

25,710,000,000

Boston

19,071,000,000

Detroit

18,288,000,000

San Francisco

14,834,000,000

Building and Loan Association Assets

There were twelve associations, six state and six federal, in San Francisco in December, 1942.

December, 1939

$65,463,637

December, 1940

62,921,198

December, 1941

67,117,430

December, 1942

67,170,209

December, 1943

60,271,713*

Deposits and Resources-San Francisco Banks

Time Deposits

Demand Deposits

12-31-38

$1,515,423,628

$1,179,609,061

12-31-39

1,514,591,894

1,317,168,861

12-31-40

1,584,043,000

1,525,482,000

12-31-41

1,651,486,000

1,842,890,000

12-31-42

1,722,131,300

2,722,358,440

12-31-43

2,060,477,734

3,682,042,628

12-31-44

2,555,747,234

4,356,769,224

Total Deposits

Resources

12-31-38

$2,695,132,689

$2,982,907,202

12-31-39

2,831,760,755

3,112,173,475

12-31-40

3,109,525,000

3,434,606,000

12-31-41

3,494,376,000

3,819,965,000

12-31-42

4,444,489,740

4,771,184,723

12-31-43

5,742,520,362

6,085,920,409

12-31-44

6,912,516,458

7,350,974,441

Postal Receipts

1939

$ 9,939,027

1943

$17,498,351

1940

9,969,367

1944

35,441,358

1941

10,529,683

1945

50,818,124

1942

11,662,103

Individual Incomes in San Francisco

1939

$763,480,000

1942

$1,206,131,000

1940

774,000,000

1943

1,509,612,000

1941

917,000,000

1944 .

1,611,240,000

Insurance Premiums and Assessments All Groups in California

1940

$414,591,335

1941

455,697,970

1942

482,547,063

1943*

537,640,820

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 audito-

*One company made a surplus adjustment in excess of $13,000,000 dur- ing year.

*Life insurance in force in California rose from 5,419,655 policies for $6,970,742,000 in 1942 to 6,128,000 policies for $8,400,000,000 in 1943.

rium, with numerous small halls; cost, $2,000,000. (3) San Francisco 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 of 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 Build- ing, corner of Seventh and Mission streets; Ferry Building, 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 will represent an expenditure of more than $4,000,000. In Golden Gate Park are located the De Young Memorial Museum, Academy of Sciences, Stein- hart 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 criminal 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 traffic November 12, 1936. San Francisco East Bay Termi- nal (at Mission and First streets) is a $2,000,000 structure opened to interurban train service January 15, 1939. The $2,730,000 Rincon Annex Post Office was opened in 1940.

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Polk's Crocker-Langley San Francisco city directory, 1945-46, Part 2

Author: R.L. Polk & Co Publication date: 1930 Publisher: San Francisco, Cal. : R.L. Polk & Co. Number of Pages: 2334

Author: R.L. Polk & Co
Publication date: 1930
Publisher: San Francisco, Cal. : R.L. Polk & Co.
Number of Pages: 2334