Union Square is the central shopping, hotel and theater district in San Francisco.

Union Square is the central shopping, hotel and theater district in San Francisco, California. Its name is derived from the one-block park situated between Post, Geary, Powell and Stockton Streets, but its importance as the largest collection of large department stores, swank boutiques, tourist trinket shops and salons in the West continues to make Union Square a major visitor draw and downtown San Francisco a vital, cosmopolitan place. Grand hotels and small inns, and repertory, off-broadway and single-act theaters contribute to the area's dynamic, 24-hour character. I took this photo on Feb 7, 2005. ... I took this photo on Feb 7, 2005. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Jump to: navigation, search A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis and especially for tourists. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed... Jump to: navigation, search The downtown San Francisco skyline, looking east from the central part of the city. ...

While Union Square proper dates from the United States Civil War era, the park has undergone many notable changes: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake leveled most of the buildings that surrounded it, a large underground parking garage was installed in the early 1940s and relocated the park's lawns, shrubs and landmark statuary to the garage "roof," and in the 1990s, the square was remodeled again to create more paved surfaces (for easier maintenance) with outdoor cafes. Union Square today retains its role as the ceremonial "heart" of San Francisco, serving as the site of many public concerts, impromptu protests, speeches by visiting dignitaries, and the annual Christmas tree and Menorah. Two cable car lines pass the Square on Powell Street, and public views of the park can be had from such high places as the St. Francis Hotel tower, the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, Macy's top floor, and the Grand Hyatt hotel. The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as the U.S., the Union, the North, or the Yankees; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as the Confederate States of America, the CSA, the Confederacy... Jump to: navigation, search San Francisco City Hall, April 20, 1906. ... Jump to: navigation, search // Events and trends The 1940s were seen as a transition period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s, which also leads the period to be divided in two halves: The first half of the decade was dominated by World War II, the widest and most... Jump to: navigation, search // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ... A Christmas tree in a German home One of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas, the Christmas tree is normally an evergreen conifer tree that is brought in the house or used in the open, and is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during the... Yarmulke and Menorah from the Harry S. Truman collection A menorah (sometimes capitalized) is a branched candelabrum with seven candle-holders. ... Cable Car in San Francisco A San Francisco cable car A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are propelled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. ...

Union Square from The Cheesecake Factory.

Union Square has also come to describe not only the immediate vicinity of the park but the general shopping, dining and theater sub-districts within the surrounding blocks. The Geary and Curran theaters one block west on Geary anchor the "theater district" and border the Tenderloin. At the end of Powell Street two blocks south, where the cable cars turn around beside Hallidie Plaza at Market Street, is a growing retail corridor that leads to the Yerba Buena Gardens, with its own arts and entertainment centers, more large hotels, the Moscone Convention Center and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Also south of Market and near Yerba Buena Gardens is the historic United States Mint Building, built in 1874 of granite: a rare survivor of the 1906 quake. Nob Hill, with its grand mansions, apartment buildings and hotels, stands to the north of Union Square. This area is also the home to some of the fanciest hotels in San Francisco: the Fairmont Hotel, Nob Hill Hotel, and the Fitzgerald Hotel. Download high resolution version (1632x1119, 1181 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Union Square (San Francisco) Categories: GFDL images ... Download high resolution version (1632x1119, 1181 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Union Square (San Francisco) Categories: GFDL images ... The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. ... Andrew Smith Hallidie (16 March 1836 – 24 April 1900) was the promoter of the Clay Street Hill Railroad in San Francisco. ... The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a museum in San Francisco, California dedicated to modern art. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... Nob Hill Hotel, Nob Hill, San Francisco Nob Hill Hotel is a boutique hotel in the affluent Nob Hill district of San Francisco near to the citys famous nightclub districts. ... Fitzgerald Hotel, Union Square, San Francisco The Fitzgerald Hotel is a ritzy botique hotel in the lively Union Square (San Francisco) area of San Francisco with close access to the citys famous shoping and nightclub districts. ...

Along the eastern edge is Chinatown, with its gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street, one of the largest Chinese communities outside Asia. The city's historic "French Quarter" runs east along Bush Street and tucks into the alleys of Belden and Claude near the French Consulate and the landmark Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church. This area was the home to the city's first French settlers, who, according to historian Gladys Hansen, were most sympathetic of the housing and employment needs of the Chinese settlers in the nascent days of Chinatown and shared Dupont street as a business address -- a tolerance that was only tested, according to Alexandre Dumas in A Gil Blas in California (1852), when Chinese cooks began to tamper with French cuisine. The cafes, hotels and restaurants of the French Quarter today maintain a distinct joie de vivre befitting the Quarter's heritage. Every year, the area is the site of the boisterous Bastille Day celebration, the nation's largest, and Bush Street is temporarily re-named Buisson. Directly east of the Square is Maiden Lane, a narrow alley of exclusive shops and cafes that leads to the Financial District and boasts San Francisco's only building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright — most notable for being the predecessor for New York City's Guggenheim Museum. Jump to: navigation, search New York City is home to one of the largest Chinatowns in North America, and is centered around Canal Street in Manhattan. ... Jump to: navigation, search World map showing Asia (geographically) Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia and worlds largest continent. ... The French Quarter in downtown San Francisco, California is an historic enclave of restaurants, cafes, hotels and institutions centered on Bush Street and in the adjacent alleys of Belden Place and Claude Lane near San Franciscos Chinatown (Chinatown, San Francisco) and Union Square. ... Alexandre Dumas redirects here. ... The Champs-Élysées decorated with flags for the 14 July. ... The Financial District is used to refer to: The Financial District (Manhattan) in New York City, New York The Financial District (San Francisco) in California A station on the Detroit People Mover This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same... Jump to: navigation, search Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was one of the most prominent architects of the first half of the 20th century. ... The Guggenheim Museum refers to any of several museums worldwide created and run by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. ...

Looking down into Union Square from Macy's

Besides the cable cars, Union Square is served by numerous trolley and bus lines and the F-line streetcar. The Muni metro and BART subway sytems both serve the area at nearby Powell Street station. Union Square (San Francisco) as seen from the adjacent Macys West flagship department store. ... Union Square (San Francisco) as seen from the adjacent Macys West flagship department store. ... Jump to: navigation, search BART (in full, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District) is a rapid transit electric train service that serves parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, including the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Daly City, Richmond, Fremont, Hayward, Walnut Creek, and Concord. ...

External links

Photographs of Union Square, San Francisco Fitzgerald Hotel in Union Square, San Francisco