| Washington Square Park | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Aerial view of Washington Square in North Beach (with social distancing circles during the COVID-19 pandemic) | |
  Washington Square  Washington Square  Washington Square | |
| Location | North Beach district,San Francisco,California |
| Coordinates | 37°48′03″N122°24′36″W / 37.800868°N 122.410001°W /37.800868; -122.410001 |
| Created | 1847 |
Washington Square is an American park in theNorth Beach district ofSan Francisco. It was established in 1847 and is one of the city's first parks. The park is bordered by sidewalk cafes and restaurants such asMama's (restaurant),Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, and Park Tavern restaurants and theLiguria Bakery, as well asSts. Peter and Paul Church.
In the 19th century, the area was used by the Mexican rancherJuana Briones to grow potatoes and raise cattle, before it was designated a city square in 1847 when surveyorJasper O'Farrell laid out San Francisco's street grid.[1][2] It became an unofficial dump next to a cemetery, but by the 1860s, it hosted Fourth of July celebrations, and laterColumbus Day celebrations and Italian festivals.[2]
Originally, it was a complete rectangle, all the way to Powell Street. But in 1873–75, the City built Columbus Avenue, then known as Montgomery, cutting through the square. The avenue was built, evidently, because business and banking interests in the Financial District wanted greater interaction with North Beach, which was isolated, geographically, by the hills, the Barbary Coast, and Chinatown.[1]
Washington Square was a place of refuge for many fleeing fires on Telegraph Hill, notably in 1894 and 1901. It was home for a year for some 600 people who lived in wooden barracks and Army tents after the1906 earthquake and fire.[citation needed]
The base of the statue[3] is atemperance fountain donated in 1879 by temperance crusaderHenry D. Cogswell.[4]
Separated from the main park by Columbus Avenue, Marini Plaza is a tiny park at the corner of Union and Powell streets, named after civic benefactor Frank Marini (1862–1952).
In the 1950s, a coalition of community groups, the Committee to Beautify Washington Square, spearheaded an effort to redesign the square, eliminating the paths that criss-crossed the park. Landscape architects Francis McCarthy andDouglas Baylis putLombardy poplar trees in the center of a grassy expanse encircled by paths lined with benches, the configuration seen today. AlthoughLawrence Halprin is often credited with the design, his plans exceeded the available budget.[5] In 1958, the City tried to solve the parking problem by putting a parking garage under the square, a plan that was defeated then but resurfaced periodically until the park was granted landmark status in 2000.
Washington Square has been featured in many movies.[6] DirectorDon Siegel featured Sts. Peter and Paul Church and the nearby Dante Building, as settings of sniper attacks by the "Scorpio Killer", in the 1971 filmDirty Harry.[7] The park and surrounding area are also featured in the 2000 filmBedazzled.
Many chapters inRichard Brautigan's 1967 novelTrout Fishing in America take place in Washington Square.[8] It was also the setting forLawrence Ferlinghetti's 1979 poemThe Old Italians Dying.[9]
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