Saturday, November 14, 2009

The Growth Of San Francisco From A Quiet Hamlet To An Eventful Metropolis

By Jack Wagon

Some may find it hard to believe that San Francisco used to be a sleepy hamlet, which slowly transformed into a busy metropolis. Up till the mid'th century, San Francisco was not known to the rest of the world. It was only after the California gold rush, that the city gained popularity.

It had been sleeping peacefully on the banks of the Pacific Ocean for ages. In 1769, some explorers travelling from Mexico to Canada, led by Sergeant Jose Ortega, woke this town from its deep slumber, and opened the gates of San Francisco to the entire world. Settlement actually began in 1776. Missionaries only visited it, until the discovery of gold in California sent thousands and thousands of immigrants from all the continents of the world. The population of this city increased manifolds. Over the eons of time, San Francisco established its place, as a multi cultural, and economic hub of North America.

San Francisco is no more a little, unidentified town with very small number of citizens, without prosperity and business, apart from a small trading station, and a Spanish armed forces base. The place has been a top sea port since the Spanish era of the conquistadors.

Its citizens had no knowledge of industry or trade, the paving way of the US factory owners to establish their individual trade in the town. Their citizens paid to buy hides from the genuine inhabitants, given that crop growing and farming animals were the major professions there. They produced leather articles, and they used to sell these things back to the local citizens.

After the findings of gold, everything changed at once. San Francisco was seen as a lavish metropolis to be located in, seeing its highly rising prices of food stuff, possessions and housing. In San Francisco labourers get much better wages as compared to other parts of America. During'69 its earliest transcontinental railway was built up. This gave new ways for the locals to do more business by escalating their trade. Building of wooden houses changed the entire look of the area. Followed with all sorts of land clashes, the town was planned one more time and spread out accordingly.

The place did not develop methodically. There have been times of crime, lawlessness and illegitimate activities. Natural disasters, for example, fire and earthquakes further devastated the place. But, the fortitude of the town and its residents did not extinguish.

The Montgomery road along the bay became a centre of business activities. The American government found an excellent sea port in the form of San Francisco. Around 500 vessels were catered to, annually from this port. The US increased its trade with Asia and Europe. The city provided easy access to the Arctic Ocean, which was required for whale hunting. The skyline of the city changed dramatically with the church spires, chimney fumes, and 2-3 storey buildings.

They stood up to the world by holding the Panama Pacific exposition in'15. They kept on travelling their unguided journeys on the roads of industrialisation and commerce. Today, this place is known as the financial district of USA.

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