One
of the three oldest squares in San Francisco
- the other two are Portsmouth Square
and Washington Square - Union Square
was originally the site of a massive
sand bank called O'Farrell's Mountain.
In 1850, John W. Geary, the first American
mayor of San Francisco, donated the
land to The City for a public plaza.
Like much of hilly downtown, the square
was leveled by steam paddies (so-called
because Irish laborers were called "paddies"
and the steam shovel replaced them)
and the sand used to fill in Yerba Buena
cove, now the Financial District.
Source:
Walking San Francisco on the Barbary
Coast Trail
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