Cesar Chavez Street (formerly Army Street) is an east–west street in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The street was renamed in 1995 in honor of American

labor leader A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

and

Latino American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activist,

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...

. It was widened in the middle of the 20th century to serve as a thoroughfare between the 101 and 280 freeways to the unbuilt Mission Freeway. It starts at Pier 80 in the Bayview neighborhood and ends at Douglass Street in the Noe Valley. The intersection of Chavez and

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

is the heart of the micro-neighborhood locally known as " La Lengua." The chase scene from the 1968

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

film ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...

'' started on what was then Army Street.

Background

Originally the street ran alongside the Precita Creek, parallel to Navy Street. Around 1900 the creek was channeled underground, and Army Street was paved over the former creek. In the 1930s it was widened and meant to be a thoroughfare for automobiles. It is seen as the dividing line between the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

on the north, and

Bernal Heights Bernal Heights ( ) is a residential neighborhood in southeastern San Francisco, California. The prominent Bernal Heights hill overlooks the San Francisco skyline and features a microwave transmission tower. The nearby Sutro Tower can be seen from ...

on the south. At one point it was a two-lane street with its own streetcar line, but had been widened to six lanes by 1950. It is considered an important east-west arterial, "... west of Third Street, he streetis designated a major arterial and a Citywide Bicycle Route and carries 12,000 vehicles per day. It is a four-lane street that provides access to the west and connects to the central waterfront, India Basin, and

Hunters Point Shipyard The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city. Originally, Hunters Point was a commercial shipyard established ...

areas to the east. East of Third Street, it provides access to Pier 80." The widening of Army Street was made as part of the development of the never constructed

Southern Crossing The Southern Crossing is a tramping track in New Zealand's Tararua Range. The track is approximately long and typically takes two to three days to complete. It begins in Ōtaki Forks in the west, and continues over Mount Hector finishing in ...

from San Francisco to the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa countie ...

. The name of the street was changed to honor the city's Latino community, but the change was controversial at the time. Recognizing the negative effects created by the widening of the street, in 2011 the city started an effort to make the street more pedestrian friendly. The ''Cesar Chavez Streetscape Project'' implemented measures to "improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, enhance greening, promote ecology function, and make the street work better ..."

References

External links

* {{Streets in San Francisco Streets in San Francisco

Background

See also

References

External links