Polk's San Francisco (San Francisco County, Calif.) city directory, 1954, Part 2

Author: R.L. Polk & Co
Publication date: 1953
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : R.L. Polk & Co.
Number of Pages: 2252

USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > Polk's San Francisco (San Francisco County, Calif.) city directory, 1954 > Part 2

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SITUATION

San Francisco, "City by the Golden Gate," whose City Hall is geographically situated at 37 degrees 47 minutes north latitude and 122 degrees 25 minutes west longitude-on a hilly peninsula with altitudes ranging from sea level to 933.6 feet U. S. Base, is bounded on three sides by water. Of a total of 93.1 square miles, only 44.82 are land. It is among the few world cities with the distinction of having more than half of its en- tire area washed daily by the ocean's tidal currents.

San Francisco has within its boundaries three islands-Yerba Buena, Treasure and Alcatraz-besides the Farallon Islands group some 32 miles west of San Francisco, which have been included in the City and County of San Francisco since 1872.

HISTORY Discovery

San Francisco owes its discovery and much of its history to the daring and adventure-loving early Portu- guese, English and Spanish explorers. The romance of those early days clings to the city and lends charm to its atmosphere even today.

Though San Francisco's heritage is rightly credited to the Spanish, more than two centuries before Por- tola's arrival, Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo in 1542 discov- ered the Farallon Islands (now a part of San Fran- cisco) ; next Sir Francis Drake, famed English explorer, passed by the Golden Gate and in 1579 discovered Drake's Bay, a few miles north of San Francisco, where the first church service in the English language on the Pacific Coast was held.

INTRODUCTION

In 1769, Don Gaspar de Portola and his little band of adventurers were the first to glimpse the bay from the nearby hills on the south. Six years later the ship "San Carlos," in command of Don Juan Manuel Ayala, sailed through the Golden Gate to cast the first anchor in the bay. More than a century before, in 1603, Vizcaino visited what is now the Gulf of the Farallons and mapped it as Bahia de Puerto de San Francisco. This is the first time the name San Francisco appeared on record in connection with the vicinity of San Francisco.

Early Beginnings

The beginning of what is now San Francisco was just being founded by the Spaniards when the Liberty Bell pealed the birth of our nation. First Spaniards, then Russians, then Americans came and lived to enjoy life and to rule.

Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza on March 28, 1776, selected the site for the Presidio of San Francisco, and on March 29, 1776, the site for the mission which was dedicated to St. Francis de Assisi. While from the be- ginning the mission was called San Francisco, the set- tlement at the cove under Telegraph Hill was known as Yerba Buena.

First Elections

Democratic self-government of the bureaucratic sort decreed by the Mexican Republic came to Yerba Buena (later named San Francisco) before the town itself arrived. Citizens of the partido (civil district) of San Francisco, on Governor Jose Figueroa's orders, assembled at the Presidio on Dec. 7, 1834, to choose electors for the Ayuntamiento (district council). On the following Sunday, Don Francisco de Haro was elected to the district council as Alcalde for the pro- jected pueblo of Yerba Buena.

Naming of the City

The village of Yerba Buena, which in 1847 was to be rechristened with the name of San Francisco, in 1835 was still an insignificant outpost frequented by roving seafarers and was little more than a waste of sand and chaparral, sloping down to a beach and small lagoon which has long since been filled in and is now covered by massive commercial structures. El Paraje de Yerba Buena (the Little Valley of the Good Herb) de- rived its name in the beginning because of the aromatic vine found in the underbrush there.

The Bay

In 1835, the Bay was declared a port of entry by Governor Pablo Vicente de Sola. He appointed as cap- tain of the Port of San Francisco, William Antonio Richardson, a young master mariner who had deserted the British whaler "Orion" in 1822 and set up the first "house" in Yerba Buena Cove, made up of some red- wood poles over which was stretched a ship's sail.

During 1836, the Port of San Francisco became an important trading post. On July 1, 1836, Jacob Primer Leese, Ohio-born, partner in a Monterey mercantile firm, arrived by the barque "Don Quixote" from Mon- terey and by July 4 had thrown up a frame house 25 by 60 feet, the first "real" house to be built-part dwell- ing and part warehouse. He then summoned all the leading Mexican families and other prominent persons to an Independence Day celebration which lasted two days and a night. During the celebration the Stars and Stripes were raised beside the Mexican flag for the first time in San Francisco.

First Survey

In the autumn of 1839, Jacques Vioget, a versatile Swiss of the Peruvian brig "Delmira," was commis- sioned by Alcalde de Haro to make the first land survey of Yerba Buena. By 1841 thirty families comprised the village population. During the next five years some of the prominent early settlers shifted to other localities in the Bay Area. At the same time, Yerba Buena, out- rivaled by the port of Honolulu, drifted back into obscurity.

"The Portsmouth"

Then, on July 9, 1846, the "U. S. S. Portsmouth" quietly dropped anchor in Yerba Buena Cove, and Capt. John B. Montgomery and 70 sailors and marines came ashore and ran up the Stars and Stripes on Mexico's flagpole atop the adobe Custom House near the Plaza, as the "Portsmouth" gave a 21-gun salute. Thus passed the rule of the village of Yerba Buena from Spanish to American. On Aug. 6, 1846, Captain Montgomery ap- pointed Lieut. Washington Allen Bartlett as the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena under the American flag. Bart- lett was confirmed by public vote on Sept. 15. His first important decree ordered the revision of Vioget's sur- vey, which had served to locate building lots since 1839. His civil engineer, Jasper O'Farrell, in making the sur- vey, discovered in 1847 that streets as laid out in the early survey intersected at 21/2 degrees from a right angle. Correction of this error, known as "O'Farrell's Swing," was made promptly.

A Reception Center Since Gold Days

When gold was discovered on Jan. 24, 1848, in Sut- ter's millrace on the American River, and the evidence reached San Francisco's nearly 900 inhabitants, the first gold rush, led by Sam Brannan, publisher of the town's newspaper, "The Star," left only seven inhabi- tants behind. As the news spread around the world and ships came streaming into the harbor, a year later found over 6,000 miners at the diggings, and San Fran- cisco again was a cantonment of tents with a popula- tion reported at 2,000 excited transients.

GOVERNMENT

San Francisco has a consolidated City and County government, with legislative powers vested in a board of supervisors of eleven members, five and six being elected every two years for four-year terms. The Mayor, Treasurer, Assessor, City Attorney, Public Defender, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Superior and Municipal Court Judges are elected by the people and serve terms of four years. The Mayor receives $22,400 a year. The Chief Administrative Officer, appointed by the Mayor but thereafter having permanent tenure, receives $17,000 per annum. The Controller, appointed by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by the Supervisors, also has tenure. The Mayor appoints members of and supervises police, fire, civil service, public utilities, park and recrea- tion, welfare, library and city planning boards or com- missions, and may remove his appointees except civil service, public utilities and welfare commissioners. The Mayor also has a power of veto over legislation.

The San Francisco Unified School District and the City and County have coterminous boundaries. Members of the Board of Education are nominated by the Mayor and passed upon by the voters.

San Francisco has operated under five charters, granted in 1850, 1856, 1861, 1898 and 1932.

Initiative and referendum clauses were first em- braced in the 1898 charter.

Mayor James Rolph, Jr., took office in 1911 and served five successive terms, until he became Governor of the State. In 1931 he was succeeded by Angelo J. Rossi, who served until 1944, when he was succeeded by Roger D. Lapham, who pledged himself in advance to one term only. Mayor Elmer E. Robinson took office Jan. 8, 1948, for a four-year term, and was re-elected for a second four-year term ending Jan. 8, 1956.

HARBOR AND COMMERCE

Centered in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Fran- cisco is an important port of general commerce, handling a large and valuable domestic and foreign trade. 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 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 mile- wide Golden Gate, and thus shipping is afforded natural

INTRODUCTION

protection in the waters of the Bay. To this has been added a comprehensive system of docking and berthing facilities, rail and freight connections, modern and well- equipped warehouses, etc. San Francisco harbor has 18 miles of berthing space; 229 acres of pier and wharf area; 43 modern piers; facilities to dock the largest vessels; several dry docks; 61 miles of harbor trackage connecting piers and warehouses; foreign-trade zone; and modern grain, refrigeration, banana, cotton and heliport terminals.

The harbor is controlled by the State of California and is governed by the State Board of Harbor Commis- sioners appointed by the Governor. Of the 43 piers, most of them are assigned to steamship companies having their own fleets and operating their own schedules. San Francisco harbor facilities are valued at more than $100,000,000.

The water-borne cargo tonnage of San Francisco Bay is foremost on the Pacific Coast and high among those of the nation's ports.

Exports during 1953 amounted to. . $360,355,838 Imports during 1953 amounted to. . $367,377,226

The principal exports by value have been cotton (un- manufactured) ; fruits, dried and evaporated; petroleum products; rice; milk, canned, evaporated and dried; machinery; medical and pharmaceutical preparations; and electrical machinery and apparatus.

The principal imports, have been coffee, copra, crude petroleum, lead ores, newsprint paper stock, jute and burlap, tea, nut preparations, wool and rubber.

The 1952 report of the U. S. Army Engineers shows the distribution of the cargo tonnage, domestic and foreign, as follows:

Total tonnage, San Francisco Bay .. 44,186,916 Foreign tonnage 5,677,841

Inland waterway tonnage 14,599,611

Domestic coastwise tonnage .23,909,464

Besides the movement of commodities by water, there is a large rail traffic in San Francisco; during 1953 it reached 176,948 freight-car movements, and 3,- 329,800 truck movements over Bay and Golden Gate bridges.

San Francisco also is the ocean port for the great inland valleys of California, 500 miles in length and 50 miles wide and containing 16,100,000 acres of farm land. About 6,400,000 acres of this is crop land, of which several million acres are irrigated.

San Francisco is normally a port of call for some 70 shipping lines, with ships serving at least 300 of the world's ports.

TRANSPORTATION

Distribution Facilities-A vast transportation net- work, including transcontinental rail and highway facil- ities, air transport services, and steamship lines, con- verges in San Francisco, bringing unexcelled transporta- tion services to local industry and business. San Fran- cisco's fortunate geographic position on the Pacific Coast, combined with excellent distribution facilities, 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 transcontinental routes and connecting routes provide fast, dependable service to and from all parts of the U. S., Canada and Mexico. Passenger trains second to none are operated to and from the city. Re- ciprocal switching arrangements are in effect, under which the line-haul carrier will absorb the charges of the switching carrier on competitive traffic. Over 50 railroads maintain off-line agencies here.

State Belt Railroad-These four railroads connect with the State Belt which serves the San Francisco piers and many industries near the waterfront. They absorb

the Belt's switching charge on line-haul carload traffic and, in part, on interline switching movements subject to stated minimum revenue per car.

L. C. L. Service-Store-door pick-up and delivery service for less-than-carload traffic is available between San Francisco and practically all points in California and neighboring states, including over-night service to points in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, along the Coast, and Los Angeles.

Water

Fast new freighters provide regular service between San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, New Zealand, the South Seas, the Orient, Central and South America, the West Indies, Europe, South Africa and North Africa, also the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U. S. Luxurious and reconverted passenger liners operate to the Hawaiian Islands, the Orient and around the world. Limited passenger accommodations are available on freighters to Australia, the Orient, Central and South America, Europe, Puerto Rico, South Africa, and the East Coast of the U. S. Barge services for bulk and gen- eral cargo are maintained to points on San Francisco Bay and connecting waters.

Highway

Truck Lines-Over forty common-carrier truck lines provide scheduled service between San Francisco and points in California and neighboring states. Over- night service is available to all important points in Cali- fornia and to southern Oregon and western Nevada. In addition, more than 600 truck operators having head- quarters or agencies in San Francisco hold intrastate permits from the Public Utilities Commission of Cali- fornia or interstate permits from the Interstate Com- merce Commission.

Bus Lines-Bus lines radiate north, east and south, providing frequent service between San Francisco and all important points in California and the eleven West- ern states. Four lines provide transcontinental service. Sightseeing buses operate between San Francisco and neighboring points of interest, as well as in the city proper. Buses and limousines are available for charter.

Air

San Francisco International Airport is the major air terminal of the Pacific. The multi-million-dollar new passenger terminal and administration building recently completed is among the most modern in the world, and will accommodate a constantly-increasing flow of air traffic to and from all parts of the nation and the world.

Four of the nation's largest certified carriers, four overseas lines, and three local service carriers, all cer- tificated, provide daily scheduled services for passen- gers, mail, express and freight. Daily service also is provided by the two leading air freight lines. Many of the world's air lines which do not directly serve the city, have ticket offices or traffic representatives here.

Two of the world's largest carriers have immense maintenance bases at the San Francisco airport, and other lines maintain servicing facilities which will be expanded under the development program now in prog- ress.

Charter services, flight training and facilities for private planes are available at many smaller airports in the vicinity of San Francisco.

MANUFACTURING

The manufacturing industries in San Francisco comprise an important part of the city's activities. About one-sixth of the employment was accounted for by the manufacturing industries in July, 1953.

In the San Francisco Metropolitan Area, manufac- turing employment accounted for over one-third of the total employment during World War II, due to empha- sis on production of war goods, but during the post-war period settled to one-fifth-the same as the pre-war portion.

Many of the large key industries in the San Fran- cisco Metropolitan Area, with their plants outside the

INTRODUCTION

corporate city limits, have their headquarters in San Francisco, from which they conduct their finances, pur- chases, and sales.

Manufacturing-Value Added by Manufacture- 1947 U. S. Census

Industry Group

San Francisco

San Francisco Bay (Six-County Area)

Total

$410,326,000

$1,049,490,000

Food and kindred products

122,446,000

244,184,000

Tobacco manufactures

(a)

(α)

.Business services, N. E. C.

11,296

11,791,909

Employment agencies, commercial schools ..

424

280,109

Auto repair services, garages

2,068

2,231,130

Miscellaneous repair services, hand trades.

998

1,003,128

Motion pictures

1.685

1,331,568

Amusement and recreation, N. E. C.

2,507

1,601,230

Medical, health services

3,435

2,568,431

Law offices, related services

1,917

1,781,756

Educational institutions, agencies.

398

289,900

Other professional, social service agencies.

1,757

2,209,836

Non-profit membership organizations.

4,701

4,447,178

Summary of Principal Service Groups in San Francisco- 1948 U. S. Census

Groups

Number of Establishments

Sales and Receipts (thousands)

Payroll Annual (thousands)

Service group, total

5,187

$116,423

$45,201

Personal services

3,393

48,606

17,988

Business services

582

37,690

18,559

Automobile repair services and garages

562

20,513

6,179

Miscellaneous repair services

650

9,614

2,475

BAY REGION MARKET DEVELOPMENTS

Population

The Bay Region (13-county) population, on Jan. 1, 1954, was estimated at 3,696,800, an increase of 430,416 since April 1, 1950. The growth between 1940 and 1950 exceeded the growth of all but four states-California, New York, Texas and Michigan-and the 1950 total population exceeded that of 32 states. The Bay Area (nine-county) population on Jan. 1, 1954, was estimated at 3,015,000. The growth in this area between 1940 and 1950 exceeded the growth of all but five states-Cali- fornia, New York, Texas, Michigan and Ohio.

Employment

Estimated civilian employment in the San Fran- cisco Metropolitan Area (6 counties), in April, 1954, totaled 996,300 persons. The manufacturing group em- ployed 203,000, or 20.4% of the total; the service group, 210,300, or 21.1%; retail group, 169,100, or 17%; whole- sale group, 71,000, or 7.1%; transportation and public utilities, 109,500, or 11%; finance, 65,200, or 6.5%; con- struction, 60,400, or 6.1%; government, 86,000, or 8.6%; agriculture, forestry and fishing, 19,800, or 2%; the bal- ance, unclassified.

Industrial Development

During 1953 in the Bay Region (13 counties), 436 industrial projects with outlays of $259,035,184 were re- ported, compared to 495 projects with outlays of $184,- 649,002 in 1952. Of the total in 1953, 324 were expan- sions with outlays of $131,491,284, and 112 were new plants with outlays of $127,543,900.

Finance

group

588

76,604

13,920

Automotive group

221

133,733

14,142

Gasoline service stations

552

32,259

3,995

Lumber, building, hardware group .

256

30,194

3,870

Drug and proprietary stores

343

31,569

4,470

Liquor stores

328

21,618

1,073

Second-hand stores

180

5,880

1,282

Other retail stores

1,508

74,981

12,147

Service Establishments

The service industries in San Francisco include a basic group of activities which in July, 1953, gave em- ployment to about 89,800 persons, leading all of the

major industry groups. The insured payroll in the third quarter of 1953 amounted to $39,944,438, or at an annual rate of about $159,777,752.

Summary of Principal Service Groups in San Franciso, with Insured Employment, in 1953

Groups

Employment, September

Payroll, Third Quarter

Totals

46,422

$39,944,438

Hotels, other lodgings

8,505

5,431,444

Personal services

6,731

4,976,82)

Textile-mill products

2,477,000

13,033,000

Apparel and related products

35,815,000

38,021,000

Lumber and wood products

4,126,000

13,760,000

Furniture and fixtures

14,547,000

21,247,000

Paper and allied products

10,189,000

29,005,000

Printing and publishing

71,380,000

97,102,000

Chemicals and allied products

28,764,000

118,601,000

Petroleum and coal products

(a)

58,381,000

Rubber products

(a)

4,257,000

Leather and leather products.

3,065,000

7,584,000

Stone, clay and glass products

1,998,000

30,621,000

Primary metal industries

5,612,000

60,820,000

Fabricated metal products

35,508,000

87,181,000

Machinery, except electrical

23,728,000

75,353,000

Electrical machinery

8,320,000

28,220,000

Transportation equipment

(a)

98,062,000

Instruments and related products

1,198,000

(a)

Miscellaneous manufactures

7,962,000

11,790,000

(a) Not reported

Manufacturers-1947 U. S. Census

Six-County Area

San Francisco

Number of establishments

3,671

1,990

Wage-earners

131,161

47,781

Wages

$393,346,000

$143,618,000

Value added

$1,049,490,000

$410,326,000

Plant equipment expenditures

$110,699,000

$28,306,000

RETAIL TRADE AND SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS

Retail Trade-Retail trade is one of the major ac- tivities among the business groups in San Francisco, ranking importantly in number of employees and amount of payroll. Sales in 1953 were estimated to be in excess of $1,800,000.

San Francisco Retail Sales

1939 (a)

.$ 383,554,000

1951 (b)

.$1,469,069,000

1948 (a)

1,033,188,000

1952 (b)

1,450,789,000

1949 (b)

1,274,357,000

1953 (b)

1,496,841,000

1950 (b)

1,351,651,000

(a) U. S. Census; (b) Taxable Sales, Board of Equalization.

San Francisco Retail Groups-1948 U. S. Census

Retail Trade Groups

Stores

(thousands)

Payroll Annual (thousands)

Totals

10,225

$1,033,188

$164,377

Food group

2,386

215,970

15,043

Eating and drinking places

2,641

143,423

37,145

General stores

.183

General merchandise group, general stores

220

146,095

25,365

Apparel group

991

120,679

20,255

Furniture, furnishings, appliance

No. of

Sales and Receipts

1953 Bay Area (5 cities) bank debits of $47,300,000,- 000 was an increase of 20.4% over 1950 and 291.8% over 1940.

Trade

Tangible personal property sold at retail through 23,193 outlets in San Francisco during 1953 attained a new high of $1,496,841,000 in taxable sales. The in- crease over the preceding year amounted to $46,052,000, or 3.17%. Sales of food for off-premise consumption and gasoline sales are not included in taxable sales, but if added, San Francisco's 1953 trade would amount to about $1.8 billion.

INTRODUCTION

Sales of the 11,196 licensed retail outlets during 1953 amounted to $944,625,000; sales of 3,140 personal service establishments amounted to $37,771,000, and sales of 8,857 manufacturing, wholesaling, contracting and miscellaneous outlets amounted to $510,519,000.

San Francisco accounted for the largest year-to- year dollar increase in sales of any of the nine Bay counties. San Francisco, with 26.5% of the nine-county population on Jan. 1, 1954, accounted for 35.6% of the nine-county sales of licensed retail outlets during the fourth quarter of 1953. San Francisco's ratio was higher in the apparel store group, accounting for 41.4% of the area's total apparel sales. Department and dry goods stores accounted for 43%, eating and drinking places for 44.6%, drug stores for 28.9%, hardware stores for 23.7%, and household and house furnishing outlets for 36.4%. In the motor vehicle field in San Francisco, new car sales accounted for 30.9% of the area sales, used- car sales for 15.4%, and service stations for 41%. San Francisco hotels, motels and resorts claimed the largest proportion of the area's sales, with 64.3%. San Fran- cisco manufacturing, wholesaling, contracting and mis- cellaneous outlets tangible property sales at retail ac- counted for 48.7%.

Construction and Real Estate

San Francisco building permits value for 1953 was exceeded only in post-war years 1948, 1949 and 1950, and amounted to $61,493,238, representing an increase of 34.9% over 1952. New residential permits accounted for $21,500,000 of this amount and was up 30%, while new non-residential amounting to $24,000,000 was up 61%. Additions, alterations and repairs aggregating $16,000,000 showed an increase of 7%. Newly-con- structed single-family dwelling units connected with utilities in the Bay Area divisions of P. G. & E. were estimated at 29,000 for 1953, compared to 27,900 in 1952. The 1954 total was estimated at 32,452; of this, the San Francisco-San Jose divisions were expected to account for about 15,700 units, the East Bay, 11,050, and North Bay. 5,700. In addition to the single-family units, Bay Area divisions were expected to account for nearly 4,500 multi-family units, of which. 3,172 are estimated for Peninsula divisions. San Francisco real estate deeds recorded amounted to 18,363, and were 1.1% above 1952. Mortgages and deeds of trust numbered 117,063 and amounted to $164,090,118-increases of 5.4% and 15.8% respectively.

Intercity and Interstate Traffic

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Polk's San Francisco (San Francisco County, Calif.) city directory, 1954, Part 2

Author: R.L. Polk & Co Publication date: 1953 Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : R.L. Polk & Co. Number of Pages: 2252

Author: R.L. Polk & Co
Publication date: 1953
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : R.L. Polk & Co.
Number of Pages: 2252