Financial District, San Francisco

Financial District
—  Neighborhood of San Francisco  —
San Francisco's Financial District from Oakland.
Nickname(s): "FiDi" "Downtown"
Financial District Location within Central San Francisco
Coordinates: 37°47′43″N 122°24′10″W / 37.7952°N 122.4029°W / 37.7952; -122.4029
Government
- Board of Supervisors	David Chiu
- State Assembly	Tom Ammiano (D)
- State Senate	Mark Leno (D)
- U.S. House	Nancy Pelosi (D)
Area[1]
- Total	1.5 km2 (0.579 sq mi)
- Land	1.5 km2 (0.579 sq mi)
Population (2008)
- Total	9,701
- Density	6,464.1/km2 (16,742/sq mi)
	[2]
ZIP Code	94104, 94108, 94111, 94133
Area code(s)	415

The Financial District is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, that serves as its main central business district. The nickname "FiDi" is occasionally employed^{[citation needed]}, analogous to nearby SoMa.

Location

The former Pacific Stock Exchange on Pine Street in the Financial District.

The Financial District down California Street.

The area is marked by the cluster of high-rise towers that lies between Grant Avenue east of the Union Square shopping district, Sacramento Street and Columbus Street, south of Chinatown and North Beach, and the Embarcadero that rings the waterfront. The city's tallest buildings, including 555 California Street and the Transamerica Pyramid, and some other tall buildings, such as 101 California Street and 345 California Street, are located there.

History

The area was the center of European and American settlement during Spanish and later Mexican rule. Following American annexation and the California Gold Rush, the area boomed rapidly and the Bay shoreline, which originally ended at Battery St, was filled in and extended to the Embarcadero. Gold Rush wealth and business made it the financial capital of the west coast as many banks and businesses set up in the neighborhood. The west coast's first and only skyscrapers, were built in the area along Market Street.

The neighborhood was completely destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake and Fire (although miraculously, the area's skyscrapers survived), and rebuilt. Because of state wide height restrictions due to earthquake fears, the district remained relatively low-rise throughout the 20th century until the late 1950s, when due to new building and earthquake retrofitting technologies, the height restrictions were lifted, fueling a skyscraper building boom. This boom accelerated under mayor Dianne Feinstein during the 1980s, something her critics labelled as "Manhattanization".^[3] This caused widespread opposition citywide leading to the "skyscraper revolt" similar to the "freeway revolt" in the city years earlier. The skyscraper revolt led to the city imposing extremely strict, European-style height restrictions on building construction city-wide.

Owing to these height restrictions (which have been relaxed and overlooked over the years), overcrowding, and changes and demand in the local real estate market, development in the area, as well as the district's boundaries as a whole have shifted to SOMA as the focus has shifted from building office space to high-rise condominiums and hotels. Notable examples include the Four Seasons Hotel, The Paramount (the tallest apartment building in San Francisco and the West Coast),^[4] and the Millennium Tower.

Attractions and characteristics

The District is home to the city's largest concentration of corporate headquarters, law firms, banks, savings & loans and other financial institutions, such as the corporate headquarters of VISA, Wells Fargo Bank, the Charles Schwab Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Bechtel, Gap, the Union Bank of California and salesforce.com among others. The headquarters of the 12th district of the United States Federal Reserve are located in the area as well. Montgomery Street ("Wall Street of the West") is the traditional heart of the district. There are several shopping malls in the area including the Crocker Galleria, the Embarcadero Center, the Ferry Building, and the Rincon Center complex.

Parks and Plazas located there include Justin Herman Plaza which is the current location of the city's New Year's festivities.

Economy

Bechtel Corporation has its headquarters in the Financial District.^[5]

Prior to its disestablishment, AirTouch had its headquarters in the Financial District.^[6] Prior to its disestablishment, South Pacific Air Lines had its headquarters in the Financial District.^[7] Prior to its disestablishment, Pegasus Aviation had its headquarters in Four Embarcadero Center.^[8]

Diplomatic missions

Consulate-General of Mexico in San Francisco

Several consulates are located in the financial district. Countries with consulates in the Financial District include Brazil,^[9] Guatemala,^[10] Japan,^[11][12] Luxembourg,^[13] Mexico,^[14] Ireland,^[15] Singapore,^[16] and the United Kingdom.^[17] The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, of the Republic of China, is located in the Financial District.^[18]

See also

San Francisco Bay Area portal

• 49-Mile Scenic Drive
• History of the west coast of North America
• List of tallest buildings in San Francisco

Notes

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ Toner, Robin (1990-09-30). "New York Times: California Showdown". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6DC1538F933A0575AC0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=6. Retrieved 2007-11-12. 
4. ^ About The Paramount
5. ^ Streitfield, David and Mark Fineman. "Bechtel Corporation Receives Iraqi Reconstruction Contract." Los Angeles Times. Posted at The Tech Volume 123, Issue 20. Friday, April 18, 2003. Retrieved on November 17, 2009.
6. ^ "Contact Information." AirTouch. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
7. ^ "World Airline Survey." Flight International. April 1963. 540. "Head Office: 311 California Street San Francisco, California"
8. ^ "Contact." Pegasus Aviation. January 11, 2002. Retrieved on August 8, 2011. "Pegasus Aviation, Inc. Four Embarcadero Center, 35th Floor San Francisco, CA 94111 USA"
9. ^ "Contact Information." Consulate-General of Brazil in San Francisco. Retrieved on February 1, 2009.
10. ^ "Informacion de la mision." Consulate-General of Guatemala in San Francisco. Retrieved on December 14, 2009.
11. ^ "Basic information on the office." Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
12. ^ "Japan Information Center." Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
13. ^ "[3]." Consulate-General of Luxembourg in San Francisco. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
14. ^ "Contactenos." Consulate-General of Mexico in San Francisco. Retrieved on February 1, 2009.
15. ^ "[4]." Consulate-General of Ireland in San Francisco. Retrieved on June 2, 2009.
16. ^ "Welcome." Consulate-General of Singapore in San Francisco. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
17. ^ "San Francisco." UK in USA. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
18. ^ "Contact Us." Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Los Angeles. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.

External links

• Financial District, San Francisco is at coordinates 37°47′43″N 122°24′10″W / 37.7952°N 122.4029°W / 37.7952; -122.4029 (Financial District, San Francisco)Coordinates: 37°47′43″N 122°24′10″W / 37.7952°N 122.4029°W / 37.7952; -122.4029 (Financial District, San Francisco)
• Tourist info about the Financial District including photos
• Skyscrapers.com's page on San Francisco
• Mechanics' Institute Library and Chess Room