San Francisco is a city in—and the cultural, commercial, and financial center of—Northern California. It is the 13th most populous city in the United States, and the fourth most populous in California.
San Francisco covers an area of about 46.89 square miles (121.4 km2), mostly at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, making it the second most densely populated large U.S. city, and the fifth most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.
A popular tourist destination, San Francisco is known for its cool summers, fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of architecture, and landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, the former Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, Fisherman's Wharf, and its Chinatown district. It is home to a number of educational and cultural institutions, such as the University of San Francisco (USF), University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco State University (SFSU), the De Young Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the California Academy of Sciences.
Take a look at these amazing color pics to see how San Francisco has changed since the 1950s.
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| Street scenes of Chinatown, San Francisco, circa early 1950s |
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| Grant Ave. at Sacramento looking north, Chinatown, San Francisco, 1951 |
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| The cable car on Powell crossing California, Chinatown, San Francisco, 1951 |
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| View down California St., Chinatown, San Francisco, 1951 |
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| San Francisco street scenes, 1952 |
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| San Francisco's Chinatown, 1954 |
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| Whitney's Cliff House, San Francisco, 1954 |
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| Market and Castro, San Francisco, circa 1955 |
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| Market Street, San Francisco, 1955 |
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| Streetscape on Nob Hill in San Francisco, 1955 |
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| Grant Avenue between Clay and Washington, Chinatown, San Francisco, 1956 |
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| Looking north on Grant Avenue from Sacramento Street, Chinatown, San Francisco, 1956 |
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| San Francisco, 1957 |
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| San Francisco, 1957 |
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| Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, 1958 |
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| San Francisco cable cars, 1958 |
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| St. Francis Westin Hotel, San Francisco, 1958 |
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| Powell Street, San Francisco, 1959 |
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| San Francisco street scenes, 1959 |
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| San Francisco street scenes, 1959 |
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San Francisco street scenes, 1959 |
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| Telegraph Hill from Lombard Street , San Francisco, 1959 |
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| China Town, San Francisco, circa mid-1950s |
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| Cow Palace, San Francisco, circa mid-1950s |
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| Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, circa mid-1950s |
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| San Francisco cable cars, circa mid-1950s |
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| San Francisco cable cars, circa mid-1950s |
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