Western Addition, San Francisco, California
Encyclopedia
The Western Addition is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California
, United States
.
, Golden Gate Park
, the Upper and Lower Haight neighborhoods, and Pacific Heights
.
Historically, it was an addition to the city west of Van Ness Avenue (hence, "Western Addition"). The area was first developed around the turn of the 20th century as a middle-class suburb served by cable cars
. It survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
with its Victorian-style buildings
largely intact.
Today, the term Western Addition is generally used in two ways: to denote the development's original geographic area, or to denote the eastern portion of the neighborhood (also called the Fillmore District) that was redeveloped
in the 1950s.
Those who use the term in the former sense generally consider its boundaries to be Van Ness Avenue on the east, Masonic on the west, California Street on the north, and Fell or Oak Street on the south. From there, it is usually divided into smaller neighborhoods such as Lower Pacific Heights, Cathedral Hill, Japantown, the Fillmore
, Hayes Valley
, Alamo Square
, Anza Vista
, and North Panhandle.
The San Francisco Association of Realtors defines the term more closely to the latter sense, treating it as "District 6D" (not to be confused with Board of Supervisors districts; much of the Western Addition is in supervisors District 5), bounded by Geary Boulevard
in the north, McAllister and Fulton streets, and Golden Gate Avenue on the south, Van Ness Avenue in the east, and Divisadero Street on the west. By this definition, the Western Addition is roughly synonymous with the Fillmore and Cathedral Hill neighborhoods.
After the Second World War, the Western Addition — particularly the Fillmore District — became a population base and a cultural center for San Francisco's African American
community. Since then, urban renewal
schemes and San Francisco's changing demographics have led to major changes in the economic and ethnic makeup of the neighborhood, as the Fillmore District suffered from crime and poverty while many other districts underwent significant gentrification
. Today, most areas of the neighborhood are again solidly middle-class.
The Central Freeway
used to run through the neighborhood to Turk Street, but that section of the freeway was closed immediately after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
and later demolished.
Since the early 1990s, the Western Addition has undergone massive gentrification
. Thousands of the neighborhood's African-American residents have chosen to relocate in part due to of the city's housing prices and cost of living.
in the 1940s, thousands of livable, Victorian-style homes and businesses owned by the city's working class African American residents were seized by the government under eminent domain
and razed to make room for government sponsored housing projects.
Prior to the US involvement in WWII, the Western Addition was home to substantial Japanese-American and African-American communities. The two groups lived relatively harmoniously until the US involvement in World War II
. Following the anti-Japanese sentiment following Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor
in 1941, thousands of Japanese-American families were sent to internment camps. While interned, the neighborhood underwent significant changes.
Geary Boulevard was erected to create a clear division between the district's working class section, and its more upwardly mobile and decidedly middle-class Pacific Heights neighborhood. Upon their return from internment camps, Japanese-Americans came back to the Western Addition to find that their once prosperous homes and businesses had been razed to make way for the Geary Expressway. In lieu of privately-housed businesses in the district's Victorian-style buildings, Japanese-American culture and business enterprise relocated to the Japantown
Mall and beyond.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Location
The Western Addition is sandwiched between Van Ness AvenueVan Ness Avenue (San Francisco)
Van Ness Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, running from Market St north to the Bay. Originally named Marlette Street, the street was renamed Van Ness Avenue in honor of the city's seventh mayor, James Van Ness. Van Ness Avenue begins at Market Street near the Civic...
, Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
, the Upper and Lower Haight neighborhoods, and Pacific Heights
Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California
Pacific Heights is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California.-Location:Pacific Heights is located in one of the most scenic and park-like settings in Northern California, offering panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz and the Presidio...
.
Historically, it was an addition to the city west of Van Ness Avenue (hence, "Western Addition"). The area was first developed around the turn of the 20th century as a middle-class suburb served by cable cars
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
. It survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
with its Victorian-style buildings
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
largely intact.
Today, the term Western Addition is generally used in two ways: to denote the development's original geographic area, or to denote the eastern portion of the neighborhood (also called the Fillmore District) that was redeveloped
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
in the 1950s.
Those who use the term in the former sense generally consider its boundaries to be Van Ness Avenue on the east, Masonic on the west, California Street on the north, and Fell or Oak Street on the south. From there, it is usually divided into smaller neighborhoods such as Lower Pacific Heights, Cathedral Hill, Japantown, the Fillmore
Fillmore District, San Francisco, California
The Fillmore District, also called The Fillmore, The Fill, The Moe, or Fillmoe, is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California.-Location:...
, Hayes Valley
Hayes Valley, San Francisco, California
Hayes Valley is a fashionable neighborhood in San Francisco, California, between the historical districts of Alamo Square and Civic Center. Victorian, Queen Anne, and Edwardian townhouses rub shoulders with boutiques, restaurants, and public housing complexes....
, Alamo Square
Alamo Square
Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California, in the Western Addition, a district of the city's fifth Supervisorial district, and are served by several Muni bus lines including the 5, 21, 22, and 24...
, Anza Vista
Anza Vista, San Francisco, California
Anza Vista is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States. It is located between Geary Boulevard to the north, Turk Street to the south, Masonic Avenue to the west and Divisadero Street to the east, although some of the surrounding areas between The Presidio, Golden Gate Park, the...
, and North Panhandle.
The San Francisco Association of Realtors defines the term more closely to the latter sense, treating it as "District 6D" (not to be confused with Board of Supervisors districts; much of the Western Addition is in supervisors District 5), bounded by Geary Boulevard
Geary Boulevard
Geary Boulevard is a major east-west thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, beginning downtown at Market Street near Market Street's intersection with Montgomery Street, and running westbound through downtown, the Civic Center area, the Western Addition, and running for most of its length...
in the north, McAllister and Fulton streets, and Golden Gate Avenue on the south, Van Ness Avenue in the east, and Divisadero Street on the west. By this definition, the Western Addition is roughly synonymous with the Fillmore and Cathedral Hill neighborhoods.
After the Second World War, the Western Addition — particularly the Fillmore District — became a population base and a cultural center for San Francisco's African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community. Since then, urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
schemes and San Francisco's changing demographics have led to major changes in the economic and ethnic makeup of the neighborhood, as the Fillmore District suffered from crime and poverty while many other districts underwent significant gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
. Today, most areas of the neighborhood are again solidly middle-class.
The Central Freeway
Central Freeway
The Central Freeway is a roughly one-mile elevated freeway in San Francisco, California, United States, connecting the Bayshore/James Lick Freeway with the Hayes Valley neighborhood. Most of the freeway is part of US 101, which exits at Mission Street on the way to the Golden Gate Bridge...
used to run through the neighborhood to Turk Street, but that section of the freeway was closed immediately after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
and later demolished.
Since the early 1990s, the Western Addition has undergone massive gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
. Thousands of the neighborhood's African-American residents have chosen to relocate in part due to of the city's housing prices and cost of living.
Attractions and characteristics
The architecture of portions of the Western Addition (particularly the Fillmore district) is markedly different from the well-known Victorian structures that dominate most of the eastern and central areas of San Francisco. During the executive mandates for urban renewalUrban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
in the 1940s, thousands of livable, Victorian-style homes and businesses owned by the city's working class African American residents were seized by the government under eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
and razed to make room for government sponsored housing projects.
Prior to the US involvement in WWII, the Western Addition was home to substantial Japanese-American and African-American communities. The two groups lived relatively harmoniously until the US involvement in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Following the anti-Japanese sentiment following Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in 1941, thousands of Japanese-American families were sent to internment camps. While interned, the neighborhood underwent significant changes.
Geary Boulevard was erected to create a clear division between the district's working class section, and its more upwardly mobile and decidedly middle-class Pacific Heights neighborhood. Upon their return from internment camps, Japanese-Americans came back to the Western Addition to find that their once prosperous homes and businesses had been razed to make way for the Geary Expressway. In lieu of privately-housed businesses in the district's Victorian-style buildings, Japanese-American culture and business enterprise relocated to the Japantown
Japantown, San Francisco, California
comprises about six square city blocks in San Francisco, California, USA. San Francisco's Japantown is the largest and oldest such enclave in the United States.-Location:...
Mall and beyond.
See also
- Fillmore District