Historic Walking Tour Guide: South End Landmark District

One-sheet walking tour of the South End Landmark District in San Francisco. Features seven stops: Oriental Warehouse, Haslett Building, Moore Shipbuilding, Castle Brothers Warehouse/Garcia and Maggini Co. Warehouse, Inglenook Vineyard, Langermand Building, H.S. Crocker Building. From introduction: "The South End Landmark District, along with the Northeast Waterfront Landmark District, served as a center of industry and the main points of transfer for goods, storage, and warehousing. After the 1849 Gold Rush, San Francisco emerged as the main transportation connection between California and the rest of the country. Before the transcontinental railroad was constructed in 1869, San Francisco was most easily accessed by sea. This area was the primary economic engine for San Francisco providing wealth to captains of industry, goods to merchants, and jobs to union workers. The South End Historic District was transformed into a center of water-borne commerce complete with numerous brick and concrete warehouses and a network of spur railways. The district provides a glimpse into the architectural and technological responses associated with the transition from shipping and water-commerce to railroads and trucking. Eight fortress-like buildings were constructed before the 1906 earthquake, along with a number of buildings constructed between 1906 and 1929 – a period during which trade along the waterfront increased dramatically. Advances in industrial elevator technology and increased land values after 1906 led to the construction of taller, fireproof warehouses. Most buildings were three stories tall, however, the tallest warehouses on Second and Townsend Streets reached six stories. Many of these early warehouses no longer retain their light industrial uses, but they have been adaptively reused as offices and residences, thus merging contemporary architecture with an industrial aesthetic and history." Funding for this project was provided in part through a 2010 Preserve America grant to the City of San Francisco (grant number 06-10-AP-5034) for the Market and Octavia Historic Resource Preservation Project. The grant was administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the program include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.

Historic Walking Tour Guide: South End Landmark District

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