Fisherman's Wharf
Fisherman's Wharf began as the logical place for fishermen of the post-Gold Rush boomtown of San Francisco to anchor their boats. It was close enough to walk to "after all, the city in those days didn't go much beyond what is now the downtown area" and it was close to the Golden Gate, which meant just a short sail to the ocean fishing grounds beyond. From this vantage point it was also easy to judge the fast-changing weather patterns that are vital to fishermen even today.
The early fishermen were of many different nationalities, but Italians predominated, first from the northern regions around Genoa and later from Sicily, whose hardy seafarers brought with them the colorful felucca with its crescent-shaped sail. With the advent of the gasoline engine, feluccas gave way to the little "Monterey" boat, long a symbol of Fisherman's Wharf but itself supplanted by larger, more powerful vessels in recent times.
At any thriving fishing port, it is natural for eating places to spring up, both to serve the fishermen themselves and to make use of the freshly unloaded bounty of sea. This is exactly what happened at Fisherman's Wharf, and many of today's internationally famed seafood restaurants are run by descendents of the original fisher folk.
While today there are many other attractions in the Fisherman's Wharf area, there is no question that its heart is the fishing industry. Our generation's debt to the courageous and hard-working men and women who put Fisherman's Wharf on the map is symbolized by the Fishermen's and Seamen's Memorial, a tranquil chapel overlooking the fishing boat basin.
History can be found, too, at the Hyde Street Pier, once the busy terminal for ferryboats to Marin County before the building of the Golden Gate Bridge. Now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, it is the mooring point for a number of historic ships, which are open to the public. The Balclutha, the last sail-powered ship to go round the Horn, is docked nearby at Pier 43 and can also be visited. The National Maritime Museum, with dozens of fascinating exhibits, is at the foot of Polk Street and open 7 days a week.