Financial District, San Francisco

Coordinates: 37°47′43″N 122°24′10″W / 37.7952°N 122.4029°W / 37.7952; -122.4029
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Financial District
ZIP codes
94104, 94108, 94111, 94133
Area codes415/6 28

The Financial District is a

neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States, that serves as its main central business district and had 372,829 jobs according to U.S. census tracts as of 2012-2016.[5] It is home to the city's largest concentration of corporate headquarters, law firms, insurance companies, real estate firms, savings and loan banks, and other financial institutions. Multiple Fortune 500 companies headquartered in San Francisco have their offices in the Financial District, including Wells Fargo, Salesforce, Uber, Gap, and Williams-Sonoma.[6]

Since the 1980s, restrictions on high-rise construction have shifted new development to the adjacent South of Market (SoMa) area surrounding the Transbay Transit Center. This area is sometimes called the South Financial District by real estate developers, or simply included as part of the Financial District itself.[7][8]

The early 2020s have seen high office vacancy rates in the Financial District, driven by remote work since the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among tech companies.[9][10][11] Several owners of office buildings and hotels have defaulted on their loans,[12][13] raising concerns about the effect on San Francisco's tax revenues and the financial stability of local government services.[14]

The area is marked by the cluster of high-rise towers in the triangular area east of

Wall Street of the West
") is the traditional heart of the district.

History

Under

Pueblo of San José with its extremely fertile land. It was not until 1835 that the first settlers established themselves on the shore of Yerba Buena Cove, with the first town plan surveyed in 1839.[16]
Yerba Buena's potential as a seaport made it the eventual center for European and American settlement.

After gold was discovered in the

California Gold Rush, the area boomed rapidly and the Bay shoreline, which originally ended near Montgomery Street, was filled in and extended to The Embarcadero. Gold Rush wealth and business made it the financial capital of the west coast as many banks and businesses set up in the neighborhood. The west coast's first and only skyscrapers, were built in the area along Market Street
.

The neighborhood was nearly completely destroyed in the

Pacific Telephone Building.[17]

The Financial District, looking east down California Street

With the onset of the

freeway revolt
" in the city years earlier. The skyscraper revolt led to the city imposing extremely strict, European-style height restrictions on building construction citywide.

Due to these

Millennium Tower
.

According to TRI Commercial, the traditional Financial District provides approximately 30 million square feet (2,800,000 m2) of office space, and the South Financial District offers about 28 million square feet (2,600,000 m2).[19] Altogether, the combined Financial District had employed over 220,000 office workers.[17] In the 2020s, the COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated an exodus of business from the downtown core of San Francisco.[20]

Location

Pacific Stock Exchange
on Pine Street in the Financial District

Adjacent to the Financial District to the west is the

Embarcadero waterfront and the Ferry Building. To the south lies Market Street and the South of Market
district.

The Financial District is served by more than two dozen

Embarcadero Station in the BART
system.

The nickname "FiDi" is occasionally employed,[1] analogous to nearby SoMa. The area is commonly referred to as "Downtown" as well, although "Downtown" may include the broader Union Square, Chinatown, Tenderloin, and SoMa districts as well.

Characteristics

The Transamerica Pyramid was the tallest building in San Francisco from 1972 until 2017, when it was surpassed by the Salesforce Tower.

The District is home to numerous corporate headquarters, including all six San Francisco

Pegasus Aviation Finance Company, and the Pacific Exchange all had their headquarters in the Financial District.[22][23][24]

There are several shopping malls in the area, including the Crocker Galleria, the

Justin Herman Plaza, which is the current location of the city's New Year's festivities, and Transamerica Redwood Park. St. Mary's Square and Portsmouth Square
are near the borders of the district, but are usually considered as part of Chinatown.

Diplomatic missions

Further information: List of diplomatic missions in the San Francisco Bay Area

Several consulates are located in the financial district. Countries with consulates in the Financial District include

the United Kingdom.[35] The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office is located in the Financial District.[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Financial District (FiDi) neighborhood in San Francisco, California (CA), 94104, 94108, 94111, 94133 detailed profile". City-Data. 2011. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  2. ^ a b "Statewide Database". UC Regents. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  3. ^ "California's 11th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC.
  4. ^ a b "Financial District (FiDi) neighborhood in San Francisco, California (CA), 94104, 94108, 94111, 94133 detailed profile". Urban mapping. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  5. ^ "Demographia United States Central Business Districts" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Fortune 500". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  7. ^ a b "San Francisco Commercial Real Estate Market Boundaries--South Financial District". Archived from the original on 2017-03-08. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  8. ^ Simonson, Sharon (March 4, 2013). "San Francisco City: Next 30 Years, SoMa Surges, Financial District Fades". The Registry. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  9. ^ San Feancisco Chronicle Editorial Board (August 21, 2022). "Downtown San Francisco is dying. This bill could help save it". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  10. ^ Roland Li (August 13, 2022). "New York is roaring back from the worst of the pandemic. Why isn't San Francisco?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Conor Dougherty; Emma Goldberg (December 17, 2022). "What Comes Next for the Most Empty Downtown in America". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2022. On any given week in San Francisco, office buildings are at about 40 percent of their prepandemic occupancy.
  12. ^ Li, Roland (January 12, 2024). "Another big S.F. hotel defaults on mortgage — a bad sign for city's tourism industry". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  13. ^ Li, Roland (September 28, 2023). "More S.F. office buildings are defaulting on mortgages as real estate pain spreads". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  14. ^ Morris, J.D.; Rezal, Adriana (May 3, 2023). "Why bad news for downtown is also bad news for the rest of San Francisco". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  15. ^ King, John (June 20, 2006). "Kearny Street's timeless in its pedestrian way". San Francisco Chronicle.
  16. ^ Hayes, Derek (2007). Historical Atlas of California. Berkeley: "University of California Press".
  17. ^ a b c d "San Francisco General Plan - Downtown Area Plan". City & County of San Francisco. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  18. ^ Toner, Robin (30 September 1990). "California Showdown". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  19. ^ "SAN FRANCISCO TRENDS: 2015 Q4" (PDF). TRI Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  20. ^ San Feancisco Chronicle Editorial Board (August 21, 2022). "Downtown San Francidco is dying. This bill could help save it". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  21. ^ Fortune magazine. "FORTUNE 500". Time Inc. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  22. ^ "Contact Information." AirTouch. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  23. ^ "World Airline Survey." Flight International. April 1963. 540. "Head Office: 311 California Street San Francisco, California"
  24. ^ "Contact." Pegasus Aviation. January 11, 2002. Retrieved on August 8, 2011. "Pegasus Aviation, Inc. Four Embarcadero Center, 35th Floor San Francisco, CA 94111 USA"
  25. ^ "French Consulate, San Francisco".
  26. Consulate-General of Brazil in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on February 14, 2020.
  27. Consulate-General of Guatemala in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on December 14, 2009.
  28. Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  29. Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  30. Consulate-General of Luxembourg in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  31. Consulate-General of Mexico in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on February 1, 2009.
  32. Consulate-General of Ireland in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on June 2, 2009.
  33. Consulate-General of the Netherlands in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on June 30, 2012.
  34. Consulate-General of Singapore in San Francisco
    . Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  35. ^ "San Francisco Archived 2009-02-21 at the Wayback Machine." UK in USA. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  36. Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Los Angeles
    . Retrieved on January 31, 2009.

External links

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