Washington Square is an American park in the North Beach district of

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 ...

. It was established in 1847 and is one of the city's first parks. The park is bordered by sidewalk cafes and restaurants such as

Mama's (restaurant) Mama's on Washington Square is a family-owned restaurant located in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. The restaurant sits on the corner of Stockton Street and Filbert Street, across from Washington Square Park. Founded in 1964, Mama's se ...

and Park Tavern restaurants and the Liguria Bakery, as well as Sts. Peter and Paul Church.

History

In the 19th century, the area was used by the Mexican rancher Juana Briones to grow potatoes and raise cattle, before it was designated a city square in 1847 when surveyor

Jasper O'Farrell Jasper O'Farrell (1817–1875) was an Irish-American politician who served as the first surveyor for San Francisco. He designed the "grand promenade" that became today's Market Street. O'Farrell Street in San Francisco is named after him. Early ...

laid out San Francisco's street grid. It became an unofficial dump next to a cemetery, but by the 1860s, it hosted Fourth of July celebrations, and later

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. He went ashore at ...

celebrations and Italian festivals. Originally, it was a complete rectangle, all the way to Powell Street. But in 1873–75, the City built Columbus Avenue, then known as Montgomery, cutting through the square. The avenue was built, evidently, because business and banking interests in the Financial District wanted greater interaction with North Beach, which was isolated, geographically, by the hills, the Barbary Coast, and Chinatown. Washington Square was a place of refuge for many fleeing fires on Telegraph Hill, notably in 1894 and 1901. It was home for a year for some 600 people who lived in wooden barracks and Army tents after the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Ben Franklin statue

The base of the statue is a temperance fountain donated in 1879 by temperance crusader Henry D. Cogswell.

Marini Plaza

Separated from the main park by Columbus Avenue, Marini Plaza is a tiny park at the corner of Union and Powell streets, named after civic benefactor Frank Marini (1862–1952).

Committee to Beautify

In the 1950s, a coalition of community groups, the Committee to Beautify Washington Square, spearheaded an effort to redesign the square, eliminating the paths that criss-crossed the park. Landscape architects Francis McCarthy and Douglas Baylis put

Lombardy poplar ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

trees in the center of a grassy expanse encircled by paths lined with benches, the configuration seen today. Although

Lawrence Halprin Lawrence Halprin (July 1, 1916 – October 25, 2009) was an American landscape architect, designer, and teacher. Beginning his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in 1949, Halprin often collaborated with a local circle of modernist ...

is often credited with the design, his plans exceeded the available budget. In 1958, the City tried to solve the parking problem by putting a parking garage under the square, a plan that was defeated then but resurfaced periodically until the park was granted landmark status in 2000.

Popular culture

Washington Square has been featured in many movies. Director

Don Siegel Donald Siegel ( ; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film director and producer. Siegel was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut plots centered o ...

featured Sts. Peter and Paul Church and the nearby Dante Building, as settings of sniper attacks by the " Scorpio Killer", in the 1971 film ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American action-thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry (film series), ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first appearance as San Francisco Polic ...

''. The park and surrounding area are also featured in the 2000 film '' Bedazzled''. Many chapters in

Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. He wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four books of poetry. Brautigan's work has been publi ...

's 1967 novel '' Trout Fishing in America'' take place in Washington Square. It was also the setting for

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and ...

's 1979 poem ''The Old Italians Dying''.

Gallery

File:Washington Square cathedral San Francisco.jpg, Saints Peter and Paul Church in Washington Square File:2015-30 views of San Francisco.jpg, Aerial view of Washington Square File:Washington Square Park San Francisco September 2006.JPG, Washington Square Park (eastern side) File:2011-08-14 San Francisco 120 Washington Square.jpg, Washington Square (western side) File:Volunteer Firemen Memorial by Haig Patigian - Washington Square, San Francisco, CA - DSC04869.JPG, Volunteer Firemen Memorial by

Haig Patigian Haig Patigian (, ; January 22, 1876 – September 19, 1950), was an Ottoman Empire-born American sculptor, of Armenians, Armenian heritage. He spent most of his life in San Francisco, California. Biography Haig Patigian was born on January 22, ...

San Francisco - Coit Tower from Washington Square (939873936).jpg, A sign in the park, with

Coit Tower Coit Tower (also known as Coit Memorial Tower) is a tower in the Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California, overlooking the city and San Francisco Bay. The tower, in the city's Pioneer Park, San Franc ...

in the background

References

External links

Washington Square , San Francisco Recreation and Park