Union Square

Union Square in San Francisco

Union Square is a cobblestone square in San Francisco that is home to fashionable clothing stores, flower stalls, and large department stores. At the end of Commerce Street is housed the city’s oldest ferry dock. It was carefully restored and turned into the Ferry Building Marketplace, a covered food market that operates daily, with a farmers’ market outside twice a week. Then head to Montgomery Street, the centerpiece of the city’s affluent Financial District. Don’t miss the 260-meter-tall Transamerica Corporation Pyramid skyscraper at the corner of Montgomery and Washington Streets.

Background

Two years before the Gold Rush, in 1847, Jasper O’Farrell created a design for San Francisco, with Union Square as the centering plaza. In 1880, it was a fashionable residential neighborhood. After the great earthquake of 1906, Union Square became the main shopping center in San Francisco, and in 1930 it became the site of the world’s first underground parking garage. Large stores are centered around the square, including the world’s premier Levi’s custom jeans store, Levi Strauss Flagship Store – 300 Post Street. It was in San Francisco that Bavarian Jew Levi Strauss and Nevada tailor Jacob Davis patented the metal rivets on men’s pants, later called jeans. Next to Levi’s is the giant Loehman’s, where designer – also European – brands are sold at up to 70% off, as well as the American quality department stores Macy’s (170 O’Farrell Street, www.macys.com) and Neiman Marcus (150 Stockton Street, www.neimanmarcus.com) In addition, all kinds of boutiques, I will list only a tenth of them: “Emporio Armani” – 1 Grant Avenue, “Diesel” – 101 Post Street, “Dior – Christian Dior” – 216 Stockton Street, “The Disney Stor” – 400 Post Street, “Richart Chocolates” – 393 Sutter Street.

Many people drink Starbucks coffee/from the popular chain of coffee shops, especially convenient for providing free Internet access, so there are usually always a lot of students, well, and knowledgeable tourists, among which you are automatically included.

Sometimes in the square they hold exhibitions of paintings or something similar.

On the sightseeing tour from the second floor of the tour bus, you can see Union Square in detail, particularly the 1903 monument-column topped by a bronze statue of the Goddess of Victory modeled by Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, a person of great influence in San Francisco’s creative community.

From Union Square, you can also see the monument-column topped by a bronze statue of the Goddess of Victory modeled by Alma de Bretteville Spreckels.

From Union Square, one can go in any direction in San Francisco by any mode of transportation, including the cable car, whose station is nestled two blocks down near the city’s main artery, Market Street. The #2, 30, 38, 45 bus, the Powell-Hyde Cable Car and the Powell-Mason Cable Car will take you directly to Union Square.