Timeline of San Francisco

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of San Francisco, California, United States.

Prior to the 1800s

 * 1776 – Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asís established by colonists from Spain.
 * 1791 – Mission San Francisco de Asís building dedicated.

1800s

 * 1847
 * Yerba Buena renamed "San Francisco."
 * City hotel built.
 * 1848
 * Territory ceded from Mexico to the United States per Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
 * California Gold Rush begins.
 * 1849
 * St. Francis hotel built.
 * Boudin Bakery, Olympic Amphitheatre, and Union Iron Works in business.
 * West Indian Benevolent Association established.
 * 1850
 * April 15: City of San Francisco incorporated.
 * May 1: John W. Geary becomes mayor.
 * October 29: San Francisco becomes part of the new U.S. State of California.
 * Chamber of Commerce Society of California Pioneers, and Jenny Lind Theatre established.
 * Population: 34,000.
 * 1851
 * May 3–4: Fire.
 * San Francisco Committee of Vigilance organized.
 * Pioneer Race Course opens.
 * 1852
 * Ghirardelli in business.
 * Mercantile Library Association of San Francisco, Sons of the Emerald Isle, and San Francisco Turn Verein established.
 * The Golden Era newspaper begins publication.
 * 1853 – California Academy of Sciences, YMCA, and Russ garden established.
 * 1854
 * San Francisco Mechanics' Institute established.
 * Lone Mountain Cemetery established
 * 1855 – Hebrew Young Men's Literary Assoc. active.
 * 1856 – Mirror of the Times and Daily Morning Call newspapers begin publication.
 * 1857 – California State Convention of Colored Citizens, a colored convention, held in city.
 * 1858 – Italian Benevolent Society organized.
 * 1859 – San Francisco Schuetzen-Verein founded.
 * 1860
 * March 27: Japanese embassy arrives.
 * Olympic Club founded.
 * Population: 56,802.
 * 1861
 * Overland Telegraph Company begins operating (New York-San Francisco).
 * Fraternitas Rosae Crucis lodge established.
 * 1862
 * Heald's Business College and Franchise League established.
 * The San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange was founded.
 * 1863
 * San Francisco and San Jose Railroad begins operating soon.
 * St. Andrew's Society founded.
 * Cliff House rebuilt.
 * Charlotte L. Brown sues a racially segregated San Francisco streetcar company and wins.
 * 1864 –
 * Concordia-Argonaut Club founded.
 * Hugh Toland found the Toland Medical College, which would later become the University of California, San Francisco
 * 1865 – Daily Examiner and Daily Dramatic Chronicle newspapers begin publication.
 * 1866 – Merchants' Exchange Association, Caledonian Club, and Woodward's Gardens established.
 * 1867
 * Street begging ban effected.
 * San Francisco City and County Almshouse opens.
 * 1868 – San Francisco County Medical Society and Women's Co-operative Printing Office established.
 * 1869
 * California Theatre opens.
 * San Francisco Yacht Club founded.
 * Grand hotel built.
 * Central Pacific Railroad line to Oakland completed.
 * 1870
 * Golden Gate Park and San Francisco Microscopical Society established.
 * Population: 149,473.
 * 1871 – San Francisco Art Association and St. Luke's Hospital established.
 * 1872 – Bohemian Club and Bar Association of San Francisco founded.
 * 1873
 * Clay Street Hill Railroad begins operating.
 * Polish Society of California organized.
 * 1874 – California School of Design, and Territorial Pioneers of California established.
 * 1875
 * Palace Hotel in business.
 * Fire patrol established.
 * 1876
 * Pioneer Park, Pacific Homeopathic Dispensary Association, and Ligue Nationale Francaise established.
 * Railway connexion to Los Angeles.
 * 1877
 * Board of Trade, Spanish Mutual Benevolent Society, and Workingmen's Party of California established.
 * Anti-Chinese sentiment leads to riots against Chinatown residents and businesses.
 * Baldwin hotel built.
 * 1878 – San Francisco Public Library, Pacific Yacht Club, and Young Women's Christian Association founded.
 * 1879 – Golden Gate Kindergarten Association organized.
 * 1880 – California State Convention of Colored Citizens, a colored convention, held in city.
 * 1881 – Geographical Society of the Pacific organized.
 * 1883 – Pacific Coast Amateur Photographic Association headquartered in city.
 * 1887 – Cogswell Polytechnical College established.
 * 1888 – Associated Charities and San Francisco Business College established.
 * 1889 – Pacific-Union Club formed.
 * 1890
 * California Camera Club and University Club of San Francisco established.
 * Population: 298,997.
 * 1891 – Gregg Shorthand school established.
 * 1892
 * Hibernia Bank built.
 * Trocadero Hotel opens.
 * 1893 – Mark Hopkins Institute of Art established.
 * 1894
 * Wilmerding School of Industrial Arts established.
 * California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894 held; Japanese Tea Garden built.
 * 1895
 * California School of Mechanical Arts established.
 * M. H. de Young Memorial Museum opens as Golden Gate Park Museum.
 * 1896 – Sutro Baths open.
 * 1898
 * San Francisco Ferry Building opens.
 * City rechartered.
 * League of California Municipalities headquartered in city.
 * Buddhist temple founded.
 * 1899
 * San Francisco State Normal School established.
 * City Hall built.
 * 1900 – Population: 342,782.

1900s–1940s

 * 1901
 * Labor strike of restaurant workers.
 * San Francisco Architectural Club organized.
 * 1902 – Eugene Schmitz becomes mayor.
 * 1905 – 1908: San Francisco graft trials
 * 1906 – April 18: Earthquake and fires.
 * 1907
 * July: Mayor Eugene Schmitz imprisoned.
 * International Hotel built.
 * A. Mutt comic strip begins publication in the San Francisco Chronicle.
 * 1908 – South San Francisco incorporated near city.
 * 1910
 * San Francisco Housing Association organized.
 * Population: 416,912.
 * 1911
 * San Francisco Symphony founded.
 * Cort theatre opens.
 * 1912
 * Lux School for Industrial Training for Girls opens.
 * Book Club of California established.
 * James Rolph becomes mayor.
 * Tadich Grill in business.
 * 1914 – San Francisco National Guard Armory and Arsenal built.
 * 1915
 * January 25: First transcontinental telephone call occurs (San Francisco-New York).
 * February 20: Panama–Pacific International Exposition opens; Tower of Jewels built.
 * San Francisco Labor Temple built.
 * San Francisco City Hall rebuilt.
 * Veterans Auditorium opens.
 * 1916
 * Preparedness Day Bombing.
 * Legal Aid Society established.
 * Buena Vista Cafe in business.
 * 1917 – Strand Theater built.
 * 1922 – Golden Gate Theatre, and Castro Theatre built.
 * 1923
 * January: Mae Nolan becomes U.S. representative for California's 5th congressional district.
 * August 2: US President Harding dies in the Palace Hotel.
 * 1924
 * California Palace of the Legion of Honor opens.
 * April 24th, opening of the Metropolitan Theatre in Cow Hollow
 * 1925
 * Fleishhacker Pool built.
 * Florence Prag Kahn becomes U.S. representative for California's 4th congressional district.
 * 1926 – Playland at the Beach in business.
 * 1927 – San Francisco Municipal Airport dedicated.
 * 1928 – Amazon Theater opens.
 * 1929
 * Fleishhacker Zoo established.
 * Topsy's Roost (restaurant) in business.
 * 1930 – Pacific Stock Exchange Lunch Club formed.
 * 1931
 * Stern Grove opens as city park.
 * El Rey Theatre opens
 * 1932
 * War Memorial Opera House opens.
 * Photographers' Group f/64 founded.
 * 1933
 * San Francisco Opera Ballet founded.
 * Coit Tower built.
 * 1934
 * May 9: General Strike begins.
 * U.S. Penitentiary established on Alcatraz Island.
 * Golden Grain Macaroni Company in business.
 * 1935 – San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opens as San Francisco Museum of Art in Veterans Memorial Building.
 * 1936 – Bay Bridge opens.
 * 1937 – May 27: Golden Gate Bridge opens.
 * 1940 – Holly Courts housing project built.
 * 1944 – Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples established.
 * 1945
 * Tonga Room in business.
 * April 25: United Nations Conference on International Organization begins.
 * June 26: United Nations Charter signed.
 * 1946 – National Urban League branch and Marines' Memorial Club established.
 * 1949 – Presidio Theatre built.

1950s–1990s

 * 1952 – The Purple Onion nightclub in business.
 * 1953 – City Lights Bookstore in business.
 * 1955 – City Lights Pocket Poets Series begins publication.
 * Allen Ginsberg reads his poem Howl for the first time at the Six Gallery
 * 1957
 * San Francisco International Film Festival founded.
 * Caffe Trieste in business.
 * Sister city relationship established with Osaka, Japan.
 * The San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange (formed in 1882) and the Los Angeles Oil Exchange (formed in 1899) merge to create the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange.
 * 1959 – Embarcadero Freeway opens.
 * 1960 – Mandarin restaurant in business.
 * 1963– The Reverend Cecil Williams becomes pastor at Glide Memorial Church, shifting the church's politics to the left.
 * 1964 – City's "San Francisco History Center" established.
 * 1965 – Intersection for the Arts incorporated.
 * The musical group the Jefferson Airplane is created.
 * 1966– The Compton's Cafeteria riot breaks out when transgender patrons become angry over police harassment.
 * 1967 – Summer of Love.
 * January: The Human Be-In takes place in Golden Gate park, a prelude to the Summer of Love.
 * The anarchist group The Diggers is founded, and begins distributing free food.
 * 1968 – Sister city relationship established with Sydney, Australia.
 * The Church of John Coltrane is established, and continues religious services until 2016.
 * 1969
 * 555 California Street built.
 * Sister city relationships established with Assisi, Italy; and Taipei, Taiwan.
 * The San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner receive their first letters from The Zodiac Killer.
 * 1970 – Regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission established.
 * 1971 – Peoples Temple in San Francisco and Church of the Tree of Life established.
 * 1972
 * San Francisco Pride begins.
 * Golden Gate National Recreation Area established.
 * Transamerica Pyramid built.
 * 1973
 * October: Zebra murders begin.
 * Church of the Gentle Brothers and Sisters incorporated.
 * Sister city relationship established with Haifa, Israel.
 * 1974
 * People's Food System active (approximate date).
 * Southern Exposure (art space) and San Francisco Cable Car Museum established.
 * April 15: Hibernia Bank robbery by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
 * 1975
 * Rainbow Grocery Cooperative opens.
 * Sister city relationship established with Seoul, South Korea.
 * September 22: Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in front of the St. Francis Hotel by firing two gunshots at Ford; both shots missed.
 * 1976 – Bay Area Video Coalition founded.
 * 1977
 * Theatre Rhinoceros and Suicide Club founded.
 * Golden Dragon massacre
 * San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association active.
 * 1978
 * June 25: Rainbow flag (LGBT movement) introduced.
 * November 18: Jonestown mass murder-suicide at the People's Temple Guyana compound.
 * November 27: Moscone–Milk assassinations.
 * December 4: Dianne Feinstein becomes mayor.
 * 1979
 * The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence make their first appearance on Castro Street.
 * May 21: White Night riots.
 * Sister city relationship established with Shanghai, China.
 * 1980 – Davies Symphony Hall opens.
 * 1981
 * San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and Hansberry Theatre established.
 * Sister city relationship established with Manila, Philippines.
 * 1982 – City/county handgun ban approved; later struck down by state court.
 * 1983
 * San Francisco General Hospital AIDS clinic established.
 * The first San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival takes place.
 * 1984 – Sister city relationship established with Cork, Ireland.
 * 1986
 * Cacophony Society formed.
 * A bonfire of a wooden man is held on Baker Beach which evolves into the Burning Man event.
 * Sister city relationship established with Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
 * 1987 – Luggage Store (arts organization) established.
 * 1988 – San Francisco Museum and Historical Society founded.
 * 1989
 * October 17: Loma Prieta earthquake.
 * San Francisco becomes a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants.
 * 1990
 * Population: 723,959.
 * Sister city relationship established with Thessaloniki, Greece.
 * 1991 – Museum of the City of San Francisco opens.
 * 1992
 * Critical Mass (bicycle event) began.
 * Clarion Alley Mural Project organized.
 * Latino Coalition for a Healthy California headquartered in city.
 * 1993
 * Yerba Buena Center for the Arts opens.
 * 101 California Street shooting occurs.
 * 1994 – Santarchy begins.
 * 1995
 * Craigslist founded.
 * Sister city relationship established with Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
 * 1996
 * City website online (approximate date).
 * Willie Brown becomes mayor.
 * Internet Archive headquartered in city.
 * Long Now Foundation established.
 * 1997
 * Sister city relationship established with Paris, France.
 * Pinecrest Diner, a popular all-night diner-style restaurant in San Francisco, becomes notorious for a murder over an order of eggs.
 * 1998 – Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts founded.
 * 2000 – Population: 776,733.

2000s

 * 2001 - Fatal dog mauling of Diane Whipple.
 * 2003
 * Bernal Heights Preservation established.
 * U.S. National Security Agency/AT&T Room 641A in operation.
 * Sister city relationship established with Zürich, Switzerland.
 * 2004 – Gavin Newsom becomes mayor.
 * 2005 – November: Gun control ordinance San Francisco Proposition H (2005) passes; later struck down.
 * 2006 – the Metro Theatre in Cow Hollow closes
 * 2007
 * Twitter Inc. in business.
 * Noisebridge founded.
 * 2008
 * Edible Schoolyard established at San Francisco Boys and Girls Club.
 * One Rincon Hill (apartment building) constructed.
 * Airbnb in business.
 * 2009
 * The Millennium Tower opens, later sinking and tilting.
 * Uber begins operating.
 * FailCon begins.
 * San Francisco Appeal begins publication.
 * Sister city relationships established with Bangalore, India; and Kraków, Poland.
 * 2010
 * The Bay Citizen and Ocean Beach Bulletin begin publication.
 * Population: 805,235; metro 4,335,391.
 * Sister city relationships established with Amman, Jordan; and Barcelona, Spain.
 * 2011
 * January 11: Ed Lee becomes mayor.
 * November 8: San Francisco mayoral election, 2011.
 * TechCrunch Disrupt conference begins.
 * 2013
 * San Francisco tech bus protests begin.
 * Civic Industries in business.
 * 2014 – San Francisco Giants baseball team win World Series contest.
 * 2015 – Shooting of Kathryn Steinle.
 * 2020 – Orange Skies Day makes international headlines
 * 2023 - Significantly high levels of crime, open-air drug use, homelessness, and closed storefronts have become more prominent features of Union Square.

Published in the 1800s

 * San Francisco (article) (1870) The Overland Monthly, January 1870 Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 9–23. San Francisco: A. Roman & Co., Publishers
 * San Francisco (article) (1870) The Overland Monthly, January 1870 Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 9–23. San Francisco: A. Roman & Co., Publishers
 * San Francisco (article) (1870) The Overland Monthly, January 1870 Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 9–23. San Francisco: A. Roman & Co., Publishers

Published in the 1900s

 * 1900s–1940s


 * 1950s–1990s

Published in the 2000s

 * Solnit, Rebecca. Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas (University of California Press, 2010). 144 pp. ISBN 978-0-520-26250-8
 * Solnit, Rebecca. Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas (University of California Press, 2010). 144 pp. ISBN 978-0-520-26250-8
 * Solnit, Rebecca. Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas (University of California Press, 2010). 144 pp. ISBN 978-0-520-26250-8
 * Solnit, Rebecca. Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas (University of California Press, 2010). 144 pp. ISBN 978-0-520-26250-8