California Street is a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It is one of the longest streets in San Francisco, and includes a number of important landmarks. It runs in an approximately straight east–west line from the

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

on the West Side of the city.

Description

California Street begins at the intersection of Market Street, Main Street, and Drumm Street in front of the

Hyatt Regency Hyatt Regency is a brand of hotels under the Hyatt banner. The brand contains 211 locations in 189 cities over 40 countries, and is one of the company's 14 hotel brands overall. It tends to cater to business travelers. Locations Locations inc ...

Embarcadero Center Embarcadero Center is a commercial complex of four office towers, two hotels, and a shopping center located in San Francisco. An outdoor ice skating rink is open in the center during winter months. Embarcadero Center sits on a site largely bo ...

, one block from the Ferry Building, then travels through

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, over

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highe ...

, through

Lower Pacific Heights Lower Pacific Heights, also known as Upper Fillmore, is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, between Pacific Heights, the Fillmore District, Laurel Heights, and Japantown. The neighborhood is centered on the commercial corridor of Fi ...

, Laurel Heights, and the Lake District. The street makes a slight bend at 8th Avenue, then parallels the edge of the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...

through the Richmond District until its dead end terminus just west of 32nd Avenue, at Lincoln Park. Fifty-four blocks of California Street, from

Van Ness Avenue Van Ness Avenue is a north–south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. Originally named Marlette Street, the street was renamed in honor of the city's sixth mayor, James Van Ness. The main part of Van Ness Avenue runs from Market Str ...

westward to the dead end past 32nd Avenue, comprised the last major leg of the final 1928 alignment of the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

, the first road across

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, leading out to the highway's western terminus in

. The route has four to six lanes for its entire length. A cable car line runs on the eastern portion from Market to Van Ness Avenue and a

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

line runs on the western portion between Steiner and 32nd Avenue.

Landmarks and points of interest

* 50 California Street * 101 California Street * 150 California Street * 345 California Center ( Loews Regency San Francisco) * 400 California Street ( Bank of California Building) * 465 California Street ( Merchants Exchange Building) *

555 California Street 555 California Street, formerly Bank of America Center, is a 52- story skyscraper in San Francisco, California. It is the fourth tallest building in the city as of February 2021, and in 2013 was the largest by floor area. Completed in 1969, ...

( Bank of America Center) * 580 California Street * 650 California Street (Hartford Building) *Sing Chong and Sing Fat buildings at Grant and California, in

* 600 Stockton (

Ritz Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates the Hotel#Luxury, luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 conference and resort hotels, luxury hotels an ...

hotel) * 905 California Street ( Stanford Court Hotel) * 800 Powell Street (University Club) * Fairmont Hotel * 999 California Street (

Mark Hopkins Hotel The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco is a luxury hotel located at the top of Nob Hill, San Francisco, Nob Hill in San Francisco, California. The hotel is managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 5,000 hot ...

) * 1000 California Street (

Pacific-Union Club The Pacific-Union Club is a social club located at 1000 California Street in San Francisco, California, in the Nob Hill neighborhood. It was founded in 1889, as a merger of two earlier clubs: the Pacific Club (founded 1852) and the Union Club ( ...

), the former Flood Mansion * 1075 California Street ( Huntington Hotel) * 1111 California Street ( Masonic Auditorium) *

Huntington Park Huntington Park is a city located in the South Central region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area includes the separate communities of Florence, California, Florence, Firestone Park, California, Firestone Park, Graham, ...

* Grace Cathedral *

California Pacific Medical Center Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) is a general medical/surgical and teaching hospital in San Francisco, California. It was created by a merger of some of the city's longest established hospitals and currently operates three ...

In popular culture

Two novels are named for San Francisco's California Street: ''California Street'' (1959) by

Niven Busch Niven Busch (April 26, 1903 – August 25, 1991) was an American novelist and screenwriter of movies such as the acclaimed '' The Postman Always Rings Twice''. His novels included ''Duel in the Sun'' (1944) and ''California Street'' (1959). H ...

, which documents the rise of a publishing magnate; and ''California Street'' (1990) by Donna Levin. Levin's novel is the story of a psychoanalyst searching for a missing woman. Both novels use "California Street" as a metaphor for the milieu in which the stories unfold.

External links

{{Authority control Streets in San Francisco History of San Francisco Lincoln Highway Chinatown, San Francisco Nob Hill, San Francisco

Description

Landmarks and points of interest

In popular culture

See also

External links