History of Richmond District, San Francisco
About the past in Richmond District SF
Richmond district is one of the San Francisco neighbourhoods. It is located in the northwest of the city. It borders the Golden gate park on the south, borders the Presidio to the north, and Arguello Boulevard to the east, and in the west, it borders the Pacific Ocean. The neighbourhood is divided into four parts
- Lake street
- Inner Richmond
- Central Richmond
- Outer Richmond
The district has so much dense housing that guests of property owners often park illegally on the street and get towed by the city. Sometimes our Richmond District towing service is hired to pick these vehicles up for the city.
Name
The neighbourhood got its name from an Australian immigrant, George Turner Mash. He was an art dealer and among the first residents of the neighbourhood. George named his house Richmond house, which was similar to where he was born, Australia. Even though the name has been in use for a long time, it was only in 2009 that the name became official.
History
The Richmond district started its development as early as the 19th century. Before the development, the Ohlone people settled the coastal sites. Later on, the Spanish explorers arrived and started setting up and wanted to displace the Ohlone people. Adolf Sutro, one of the large-scale developers, purchased the cliff house, and he built the Sutro Baths.
Shot from above of the San Francisco bay area, with Richmond District closest to the camera. It was a great sunny day for this shot.
The 1906 earthquake destroyed most buildings, and construction began to replace the houses. The area, which was initially covered by a dune, was now fully built and replaced by a streetcar suburb.
The neighborhood experienced consequent civil wars and brought many ant communist immigrants such as orthodox Russian and white Russian.
In 1965, the Chinese immigrants began to flock in and replaced the Irish Americans and the Jewish who dominated the District before world war II. Currently, the Chinese make up almost half of the population in the Richmond district.
Economic activities
Long before Richmond was open for development, the wide spaces had attracted some dairy farmers and several ranches. The dairymen built the first road in the 1860s that helped them transport their farm produce to the market.
The economy grew at the ocean with restaurants, hotels, and gardens being established. The cliff house restaurant was later sold to Adolph Sutro, an engineer who later became San Francisco mayor. He built a railroad that leads to the restaurant. He would later buy much of the Richmond to become one of the renowned businessmen.
Architecture
The District has several 19th-century cottages that are found throughout the District. Currently, the neighborhood is urbanized with commercial buildings along clement street and Geary Boulevard. Single-family dwellings are seen towards the Presidio.
Transportation
Before the neighborhood experienced an influx in the population, the issue of transportation needed to be addressed. Franchises were awarded contracts to built transport lines. Initially, the lines were used by horse cars, and later on, replaced by steam trains. The early 20th century saw the introduction of electric streetcars.
The housing
The outer and central Richmond has a style known as Marina style. It is a sun-room that can only be accessed through a bedroom. It is a bedroom within a bedroom. The house is built so that the bathroom and the toilet are separated. The housing was designed this way so that it can attract buyers
Education
The District has elementary schools, middle, and high schools.