SAN FRANCISCO

SAN FRANCISCO

In 1776, the Spanish established a fort at the Golden Gate and mission named after Francis of Assisi.

The California Gold Rush in 1848 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth, increasing the population in one year from 1,000 to 25,000, transforming it into the largest city on the West Coast. The city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire.

San Francisco quickly recovered, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. During World War II, San Francisco was the port of embarkation for service members heading to the Pacific Theater. After the war, returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States.

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