Western Addition, San Francisco Explained

37.7825°N -122.4283°W

Western Addition
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Name:	United States
Subdivision Type1:	State
Subdivision Name1:	California
Pushpin Map:	United States San Francisco Central
Pushpin Label Position:	left
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location within Central San Francisco
Pushpin Mapsize:	250
Leader Title:	Supervisor
Leader Name:	Dean Preston
Leader Title1:	State Assembly
Leader Name1:	and ^[1]
Leader Title2:	State Senator
Leader Title3:	U. S. Rep.
Area Footnotes:	^[2]
Area Total Sq Mi:	0.463
Area Land Sq Mi:	0.463
Population As Of:	2008
Population Total:	12934
Population Density Sq Mi:	27919
Coordinates:	37.7825°N -122.4283°W
Postal Code Type:	ZIP Code
Postal Code:	94102, 94109, 94115, 94117
Area Code Type:	Area codes
Area Code:	415/628

The Western Addition is a district in San Francisco, California, United States.

Location

The Western Addition is located between Van Ness Avenue, the Richmond District, the Haight-Ashbury and Lower Haight neighborhoods, and Pacific Heights.

Today, the term Western Addition is generally used in two ways: to denote either the development's original geographic area or the eastern portion of the neighborhood (also called the Fillmore District) that was redeveloped in the 1950s.

Those who use the term in the former sense generally consider its boundaries to be Van Ness Avenue on the east, Masonic on the west, California Street on the north, and Fell or Oak Street on the south. From there, it is usually divided into smaller neighborhoods such as Lower Pacific Heights, Cathedral Hill, Japantown, the Fillmore, Hayes Valley, Alamo Square, Anza Vista, and North Panhandle.

The San Francisco Association of Realtors defines the term more closely to the latter sense, treating it as "District 6D" (not to be confused with Board of Supervisors districts; much of the Western Addition is in supervisors District 5), bounded by Geary Boulevard in the north, McAllister and Fulton streets, and Golden Gate Avenue on the south, Van Ness Avenue in the east, and Divisadero Street on the west. By this definition, the Western Addition is roughly synonymous with the Fillmore and Cathedral Hill neighborhoods.^[3]

History

Historically, the Western Addition was first platted during the 1850s as a result of the Van Ness Ordinance. This large tract encompassed some 500 blocks running west from Larkin Street (the city's previous western boundary) to Divisadero Street, (hence the name "Western Addition") creating Jefferson Square, Hamilton Square, Alamo Square, Alta Plaza, and Lafayette Square. The area was initially used for small-scale farming; but, following the invention of the cable car during the 1870s, the Western Addition developed as a Victorian streetcar suburb. It survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake with its Victorian-style buildings largely intact.

After the Second World War, the Western Addition — particularly the Fillmore District — became a population base and a cultural center for San Francisco's African-American community, a consequence of opportune housing supply due to the internment of Japanese Americans.^[4] Since then, urban renewal schemes^[5] and San Francisco's changing demographics have led to major changes in the economic and ethnic makeup of the neighborhood, as the Fillmore District suffered from crime^{[6] [7] [8]} and poverty while many other districts underwent significant gentrification. The Central Freeway used to run through the neighborhood to Turk Street, but that section of the freeway was closed immediately after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and later demolished.

Since the early 1990s, the Western Addition has undergone significant gentrification.^{[9] [10]}

Government and infrastructure

The San Francisco Police Department Northern Station serves the Western Addition.^[11]

Notable buildings

• Building at 1840–1842 Eddy Street, 1840–1842 Eddy Street. Built in 1875, a residential house; listed as a California Historical Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.^[12]
• Building at 1813–1813B Sutter Street. Built in 1876, a rental house and commercial building; listed as a California Historical Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.^[13]
• Building at 1735–1737 Webster Street, 1735–1737 Webster Street. Built between 1876 and 1885; listed as a California Historical Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.^{[14] [15]}
• Bush Street–Cottage Row Historic District, 2101–2125 Bush Street, 1–6 Cottage Row, and 1940–1948 Sutter Street. Comprising 20 historical residences, a walkway and a small park; listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.^{[16] [17] [18]}
• Goodman Building, 1117 Geary Blvd. Built around 1860, residential hotel and commercial building, formerly an artists coop building.^[19]
• Japanese YWCA/Issei Women’s Building, 1830 Sutter Street. Because Japanese women were barred from using the main San Francisco YWCA, this was founded by Issei Japanese women in 1912; listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark.^[20]
• Stadtmuller House, 819 Eddy Street. Built in 1880, a highly decorated house featuring late 19th-century Italianate architecture; listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark, a California Historical Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.^[21]

See also

• Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (San Francisco, California)
• Fillmore District

Notes and References

1. Web site: Statewide Database . UC Regents . December 8, 2014.
2. Web site: Western Addition neighborhood in San Francisco, California (CA), 94102, 94109, 94115, 94117 subdivision profile - real estate, apartments, condos, homes, community, population, jobs, income, streets. www.city-data.com.
3. Web site: propertiessanfrancisco.com - propertiessanfrancisco Resources and Information.. www.propertiessanfrancisco.com.
4. Barton. Stephen E.. 1985. The Neighborhood Movement in San Francisco. Berkeley Planning Journal. en. 2. 1. 10.5070/BP32113201. 1047-5192. free.
5. Web site: Jerry Mandel (1960) UC Berkeley Sociology Department. sociology.berkeley.edu. 2019-11-11.
6. News: Turner . Wallace . 1981-07-30 . San Francisco Tackling 'Den of Thieves' Project . en-US . . 2019-11-11 . 0362-4331.
7. Web site: Gordon . Rachel . 2005-08-05 . SAN FRANCISCO / Western Addition deadliest city area / 3rd slaying in 8 days prompts response from police, mayor . 2019-11-11 . . en.
8. Web site: Van Derbeken . Jaxon . 1999-08-14 . Bloodshed in Alamo Square / Drug dealers, thugs plague picturesque S.F. neighborhood . 2019-11-11 . . en.
9. Web site: San Francisco: Where Violent Street Gangs and Silicon Valley Tech Bros Coexist. Cherney. Max. 2015-02-08. Vice. en. 2019-11-11.
10. Web site: In Their Words: Growing Up in Old Fillmore. Hoodline. Shaquina. Blake. March 5, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170205184841/http://hoodline.relaymedia.com/amp/2016/03/in-their-words-growing-up-in-old-fillmore. February 5, 2017.
11. "Northern Station." (Archive) San Francisco Police Department. Retrieved on September 1, 2013.
12. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=73000437}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Building at 1840--1842 Eddy Street ]. May 24, 2023 . National Park Service. With
13. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=73000443}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Building at 1813--1813B Sutter Street ]. May 24, 2023 . National Park Service. With
14. Web site: Building at 1735–1737 Webster Street . CA State Parks . en.
15. Web site: January 9, 1973 . [{{NRHP url|id=73000444}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Building at 1735--1737 Webster Street ]. National Park Service. With
16. Web site: Bush Street-Cottage Row Historic District . NPGallery, Digital Asset Management System.
17. Web site: National Register #82000983: Bush Street Cottage Row Historic District in San Francisco, California . 2023-05-24 . noehill.com.
18. Web site: San Francisco Historic District: Bush Street-Cottage Row . 2023-05-24 . noehill.com.
19. Web site: Writer . Maitland Zane, Chronicle Staff . 1996-06-22 . Artists' Colony Reblooms in S.F. / `Goodman 2' opens 13 years after old building closed . 2022-11-28 . . en-US.
20. Web site: San Francisco Landmark #291: Japanese YWCA/Issei Women’s Building . 2023-05-24 . noehill.com.
21. Web site: Graham . Tom . 2006-04-16 . The Great Quake: 1906-2006 / A city walker steps back 100 years . 2022-11-28 . . en-US.