San Francisco
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for San Francisco. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of California, on San Francisco Bay and on many railroad lines. It is the western terminal for three trans-continental systems and three coast trunk lines, the Southern Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé, and the Western Pacific. Its advantageous situation has made it the chief seaport on the W. coast of North America. It occupies the mountainous peninsula bordering upon the Pacific on the W., the Golden Gate on the N., and the Bay of San Francisco on the E. Since the completion of the Panama Canal its importance as an ocean terminus has rapidly increased. The city has a land area of about 50 square miles. It is unusually hilly and the hills cut in two directions, rising steeply from sea-level to several hundred feet above the sea. Southwest of the main portion of the city the twin peaks, Mt. Sutro and Mt. Davidson rise to a height of over 900 feet above water-level. Among the best known hills are Telegraph Hill, Nob Hill, and Russian Hill. Nob Hill was the site of the palatial residences of the early millionaires who made their fortunes in the gold mines of the State. A large part of the site of the city is reclaimed area, won from the bay. The streets of the city are for the most part broad and well paved. South of Market Street the streets are practically level. North of the street, however, the streets run with a steep grade. Market Street is the chief thoroughfare, on which are located the leading banks, department stores, newspaper offices, and office buildings. The junction of Market, Kearny and Geary streets is the business center of the city. Market Street and the adjacent streets form the retail shopping district. The climate of San Francisco is invig. orating. The winters are warm while the summers are cool. The mean temperature ranges from 50.8° to 56.5°. The rainfall averages about 21 inches. Snow rarely falls in the city, while it is entirely free from cyclones and tornadoes. There are within the city limits many beautiful parks and boulevards. Golden Gate Park has an area of over 1,000 acres and was reclaimed from the sand dunes. It contains playgrounds, zoological gardens, an academy of sciences, a museum, and many other attractions. There are in all 35 parks and squares, embracing about 1,400 acres. The Presidio, the military reservation of the Federal Government, is practically a part of the park system of the city. The Marina, which was the site of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition contains the Palace of Fine Arts, the Column of Progress, and the beautiful Marina Boulevard, which skirts the Golden Gate. Since the fire of 1906 the city has devoted much attention to the system of roads and boulevards. The historic Mission Road, the city's oldest thoroughfare, has been modernized and forms a most attractive boulevard. The city is notable for its magnificent private and public buildings. During the last decade the business district has been completely rebuilt at an expenditure of approximately $350,000,000. For many blocks along Market Street and its tributary thoroughfares imposing structures stretch in unbroken ranks. One of the most extensive examples of city planning in the United States is the Civic Center, situated north of Market Street and east of Van Ness Avenue. This includes the city hall, erected at a cost of $4,000,000 and the Auditorium, with a seating capacity of 12,000, and a public library. These buildings are grouped about a spacious plaza. Nearly all denominations have handsome church edifices. Notable among these are Old St. Mary's, St. Luke's, the First Congregational, the First Presbyterian, and St. Mary's Cathe dral. The city has excellent educational facilities. In 1919 there were 66,893 pupils enrolled in the public schools. The University of California is 9 miles E. of the city, and Leland Stanford, Jr., University is 30 miles S. In the city proper are the College of Physicians and Surgeans, St. Ignatius College, San Francisco Institute of Art, and many private educational institutions. The technical schools include the California School of Mechanical Arts, the Polytechnic High School, and the Y. M. C. A. Technical School. San Francisco has in recent years become one of the most important industrial and commercial cities in the United States. Its harbor is unsurpassed and has an area of 420 square miles with a water frontage on the bay of 10 miles. In 1918 there was a completed sea-wall, 15,000 feet in length, with 39 piers and many open wharves. New docks and wharves are being built by the State. Hunters Point Dock is the largest dry dock on the Pacific coast. There are direct steamboat connections to all ports along the Pacific coast of North and South America, to Japan, China, the Philippines, the Orient, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as services to the Canal, to Atlantic coast points, and Europe. In 1920 there were over 2,500 factories in San Francisco, giving employment to more than 55,000 wage-earners. Shipbuilding construction during and following the World War became one of the most important industries. In 1919 there were launched 53 vessels, of which 50 were steel, 2 wood, and one concrete. At the end of that year there were 31 steel vessels under construction. I During 1919 there were launched 49 naval craft, including one battleship, 4 gunboats, 31 destroyers, 7 submarines, and 6 tugs. At the close of that year there were 61 naval craft under construction. The total exports of the city in 1919 amounted to $235,685,879. The total imports amounted to $238,074,061. The leading industries include the manufacture of boots and shoes, bread and bakery products, clothing, copper, tin and sheet iron products, printing and publishing products, foundry and machine shop products, and flour and grist mill products. There were in the city in 1920, 37 banks, with 19 branches. The bank clearings amounted to $7,286,339,237. The resources of the National banks aggregated $527,780,951, and the deposits $359,619,941. 41. The assessed valuation of real estate in 1919 was $297,741,765. The total valuation was $794,459,406. The bonded indebtedness was $44,259,600. Pop. (1900) 342,782; (1910) 416,912; (1920) 506,676. History. As early as 1769 a number of Franciscan fathers established a mission here, and seven years later the Span- 233 SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAINS iards chose the place for a military post. In 1835 an Englishman erected the first tent on the site of the present city, in Yerba Buena, 3 miles from the mission. A village which soon grew up was united with the mission in 1846. Two years later when gold was discovered adventurers from all parts of the world entered California and by 1850 San Francisco had a population of 25,000. During the latter year a city charter was received, and in 1856 the county and city were consolidated. Owing to corrupt municipal management in 1850-1851 a vigilance committee was organized by the law-abiding citizens who dealt severely with criminals and succeeded in establishing good government. In 1897, after four ineffectual attempts, a city charter was adopted by the people which contains a civil service system, provides for the initiative and referen-- dum, and limits taxes to $1 per $100 for municipal purposes. April 18, 1906, the city experienced a very destructive fire with loss of innumerable buildings, estimated 800 lives and $300,000,000 worth of property. The rebuilding of the city was one of the most remarkable examples of civic enterprise ever known.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
san fran-sis'ko, a city of California. It is the largest city and most important seaport on the American Pacific. The city is built on a peninsula between San Francisco bay and the ocean. The commercial district lies on the eastern or harbor side. Market Street, a broad thoroughfare, leading southeasterly from the Union Depot into the interior of the peninsula, divides the city into north and south sections. The western or ocean side of the peninsula is occupied chiefly by three military reservations and by city parks, boulevards, a cemetery, a life-saving station, and by residence districts. There are several hotels for sightseers. The piazzas of the Cliff House, built on a commanding crag, are a favorite resort of tourists. A full view of the ocean may be had from this point. The gambols of tumbling porpoises and sea lions are a never ending source of pleasure. The bay is entered from the ocean by a strait called the Golden Gate. It is a mile in width at its narrowest point and is deep enough for the entrance of the largest ships, regardless of tide or season. The bay within forms one of the largest harbors in the world. It is ninety miles in length and from five to fifteen miles in width. It is protected from storms in all directions. Capacious wharves and warehouses have been built to accommodate the seagoing trade. The harbor is visited regularly by about five hundred sailing vessels and nearly half as many steamships. Regular communication is maintained with ports along the coast from Sitka to Valparaiso. Ocean liners run to Hawaii, China, Japan, the Philippines, Samoa, New Zealand , and Australia. Freighters ply by way of Cape Horn to New York and other Atlantic ports and to the cities of western Europe. Some of the distances by water are as follows: To Honolulu, 2,100 miles; Yokohama, 4,525; Manila, 6,250; Singapore, 7,850; Sydney, 7,210; New York, 13,380; Hamburg, 14,076; Seattle, 804; Los Angeles , 393. The total exports by sea of wheat, flour, barley, canned fruits, dried fruits, California wines, quicksilver, silver, gold, and minor articles are valued at not less than $50,000,000 a year. Imports of tea, coffee, sugar, rice, whale oil, and coal are correspondingly large. The Southern Pacific Railway enters the peninsula from the south. Communication between the Union Pacific and the city and between trains of the Southern Pacific and other eastern and northern routes is maintained by means of enormous railway ferries. They ply between the wharves of San Francisco and the eastern shore of the bay, just as the ferries at New York ply between the city landings and the railway terminals on the Jersey shore of the North River. By rail San Francisco is 2,357 miles distant from Chicago; 3,269 miles from New York; and 2,490 from New Orleans . The articles of import mentioned are shipped eastward by rail to different centers of distribution. The shipments of tea alone in 1900 were 15,000,000 pounds. About three times as much coffee is handled. The principal articles of home production shipped by rail are wool and dried fruits. The fresh fruits of California are shipped from points lying eastward and southward. The manufacturing interests of the city are very large. There are over 4,000 establishments. Almost the entire sugar and molasses production of the Hawaiian Islands is refined here. Slaughtering and meat packing is the second industry in monetary value. The work of foundries and machine shops comes next. There is considerable shipbuilding. The canning of fruits and vegetables is represented by an output of from $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 a year. There are also manufactures of boots and shoes , saddles, harness, and grain sacks. Gunpowder and dynamite are manufactured in large quantities in the hills far east of the bay. About 2,000,000 cases of salmon from the canneries of Columbia and Alaska are handled by the San Francisco wholesalers. So far as known, San Francisco was visited by Europeans for the first time in 1769. In 1776 a Spanish fort and mission were established here. Upon the establishment of the Mexican republic in 1821 the city passed with the rest of California under Mexican rule. In 1845 the city was occupied by an American naval force. It was ceded to the United States with California at the close of the war. The discovery of gold in 1848 led to the temporary abandonment of the city. Everybody who could possibly get away left for the gold fields. At one time every official had left town. The newspapers suspended publication and the town was without a vestige of government. The immense trade which sprang up in connection with supplying the mines with the necessities of life brought on a revival of business. The city leaped forward in population rapidly. In 1851 and again in 1856 crime had grown so rampant that the citizens reorganized a vigilance committee formed some years before, and for several months hunted down desperadoes and evil characters with determination. Many were hung in front of headquarters; others were driven from the city. The waterworks, gas works, electric light system, and street railways belong to private corporations. Among the principal public buildings are the Union Ferry Depot, to which reference has been made, costing a million dollars, the United States Custom House, an imposing building, and the United States Mint, second in importance only to that of Philadelphia. The annual coinage of gold and silver is about $80,000,-000 a year. The City Hall is an imposing structure occupying four acres of ground. It cost about $6,000,000. A central dome rises to a height of 335 feet above the sight-seers. An excellent system of public schools is maintained. The Public Library contains 150,000 volumes. April 18, 1906, disaster overtook San Francisco. Repeated earthquake movements overthrew or ruined the large buildings in the very heart of the city. Fire broke out. The water mains of the city were broken. The flames spread. Although dynamite was used to blow up entire blocks the conflagration was not arrested until a thickly built up area of eight square miles had been burned over. A quarter of a million people were thrown upon the streets homeless. Aid in the form of clothing, flour, groceries, meats, and money was hurried to the scene of disaster as fast as special trains could speed. The national government gave a million or two; Chicago and New York a million each. Nearly every city, town, and hamlet in the Union sent its contribution. About 350 persons lost their lives. The property loss is estimated at $200,000,000. Soldiers from the military reservations were on hand promptly to keep order. Martial law was declared for a few days. Among minor gains, the Chinese opium dens were wiped out completely. The population, which is increasing rapidly, was returned in 1900 at 342,782. At the time of the state census there were 375,000 people in the city. The next United States census is expected to show a population of at least 400,000. See California ; Earthquake 2026 Editor's Note: By way of comparison, San Francisco today has about 810,000 residents, up from the 375,000 noted here — a figure recorded just before the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed much of the city. (Ed: BR 2026-06-06)