San Francisco’s Amazing Fun Facts

By John C. Barnard Last updated Jun 3, 2022 0

1. The city of San Francisco was formerly known as Yerba Buena. Yerba Buena was founded in 1776, but in 1847 it was renamed, San Francisco. Portsmouth Square was historically significant since it was the town’s major public square at the time; nonetheless, there are numerous other historical sites across town.

2. The Golden Gate Bridge is one of California’s most famous landmarks and a favorite film location. The Golden Gate Bridge was built in about four years. According to Navy officials, it was originally intended to be painted black to improve visibility on foggy days.

This concept was rejected, however, because the bridge’s present paint color, International Orange, was designed to be a sealant rather than an aesthetic alternative. However, while traveling over the Atlantic, it caught the eye of the architect and became the official color of the building. From the area around the bridge, you can enjoy some of San Francisco’s most beautiful sunsets.

3. Another intriguing fact about San Francisco is that it has the world’s second-largest Chinatown outside of Asia. It also has one of only three existing Japantowns in North America. A mile-long and half-mile-wide area of the city is home to more than 80% of the city’s Japanese people.

4. San Francisco was built on top of more than 50 hills. While many people believe there are just seven or nine significant hills, there are approximately fifty.

Russian Hill, which overlooks one side of downtown San Francisco and has seen some very luxurious homes go up when it first became popular with developers looking for views towards Alcatraz Island, and Nob Hill, which is just east/upstream from Union Square and is where the Adobe Gates once stood before they were destroyed during World War II, are two well-known examples. It is also the location of the well-known Mark Hopkins Hotel.

5. Dining out in San Francisco is a delightful and thrilling experience. Few people realize that San Francisco offers over 3,400 domestic and international dining establishments. As a result, you’ll almost never have to dine at the same place twice.

6. San Francisco is a little city with a lot of charm. It boasts a population of over 7 million people despite being only seven miles long and four miles wide. While visiting this vibrant city with its unique perspectives, streets, and landmarks, you may see a lot in one day and find lots of San Francisco outdoor excursions.

7. When it came to graves, the city of San Francisco was in a pickle. Due to space constraints and the fact that there are only two cemeteries left that serve as viable possibilities – both of which are located on premium real estate – the board decided to ban all whole-body burials inside the city limits in 1900.

Meanwhile, National Cemetery Presidio, which is one of the city’s two remaining cemeteries, permits for interment within but not outside.

8. Denim jeans were created in San Francisco for gold rush miners who required sturdy and comfortable apparel that could withstand the rigors of the mine. Levi Strauss was the one who came up with the idea.

9. San Francisco’s cable cars are a National Monument – in fact, they’re the only ones that can move! They were so sturdy that they were able to withstand the 1906 earthquake and a constant 9.5mph movement.

10. San Francisco is one of the few cities in the United States that did well throughout the Great Depression. While the rest of the country and the world struggled, San Francisco was able to build the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge without closing a single bank.

11. The cable cars of San Francisco are the only moving National Historical Monument. The cars are pulled at a consistent speed of 9.5 miles per hour by cables that operate at a steady speed of 9.5 miles per hour.

12. If you’ve always wanted to be an emperor, San Francisco is the place to be: Joshua Abraham Norton, a San Francisco citizen, declared himself Emperor of the United States in 1859. Despite his lack of formal political power, citizens recognized and praised his imperial presence. There were even mementos with his name on them. 10,000 people lined the streets of San Francisco to pay tribute to him when he died.

13. The city was formerly known as Yerba Buena, which means “excellent herb” in Spanish, before being renamed San Francisco in 1876. A busy public area existed in the early settlement, which is now known as Portsmouth Square in Chinatown.

14. San Francisco boasts the largest and oldest Japantown in the country. It’s also one of the country’s only three Japantowns.

15. Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese citizen of San Francisco, invented Chinese fortune cookies. According to legend, he was the landscape designer for Golden Gate Park’s Japanese Tea Garden, where he served the delicacies in 1909, popularising the fortune cookie.

Read more: Jupiter’s Ten Most Interesting Facts!
16. Given that San Francisco is known for its coffee, this fun fact may not come as a surprise: There are over 300 coffeehouses within the city limits of San Francisco, so there’s no shortage of places to go for a pick-me-up.

17. There are 10,000 more dogs in San Francisco than children. Local millennials appear to be more interested in having pets.

18. The vivid Golden Gate Bridge is one of the state’s key icons and one of the most prominent Northern California film locations, but the US Navy planned to paint it black with yellow stripes at one point. The Navy reasoned that this would make it easier to see the bridge through the fog, especially if it was under assault. The current color of the bridge, “International Orange,” was intended to be a sealer, not a color choice, to protect the steel, but it attracted the architect’s eye during transit and became the official color.