A southern view from Alta Plaza Park, which is in the
Pacific Heights neighborhood. Most of the valley in the central part of this image is in the Western Addition neighborhood.
Today, the term Western Addition is generally used in two ways: to denote either the development's original geographic area or the eastern portion of the neighborhood (also called the
Fillmore District) that was
redeveloped in the 1950s.
The San Francisco Association of Realtors defines the term more closely to the latter sense, treating it as "District 6D" (not to be confused with Board of Supervisors districts; much of the Western Addition is in supervisors District 5), bounded by
Geary Boulevard in the north, McAllister and Fulton streets, and Golden Gate Avenue on the south, Van Ness Avenue in the east, and Divisadero Street on the west. By this definition, the Western Addition is roughly synonymous with the Fillmore and Cathedral Hill neighborhoods.[4]
History
Historically, the Western Addition was first
platted during the 1850s as a result of the
Van Ness Ordinance. This large tract encompassed some 500 blocks running west from Larkin Street (the city's previous western boundary) to
Divisadero Street, (hence the name "Western Addition") creating Jefferson Square, Hamilton Square,
Alamo Square,
Alta Plaza, and Lafayette Square. The area was initially used for small-scale farming; but, following the invention of the
cable car during the 1870s, the Western Addition developed as a Victorian
streetcar suburb. It survived the
1906 San Francisco earthquake with its
Victorian-style buildings largely intact.
After the
Second World War, the Western Addition — particularly the Fillmore District — became a population base and a cultural center for San Francisco's
African-American community, a consequence of opportune housing supply due to the
internment of Japanese Americans.[5] Since then,
urban renewal schemes[6] and San Francisco's changing demographics have led to major changes in the economic and ethnic makeup of the neighborhood, as the
Fillmore District suffered from crime[7][8][9] and poverty while many other districts underwent significant
gentrification. The
Central Freeway used to run through the neighborhood to Turk Street, but that section of the freeway was closed immediately after the 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake and later demolished.
Since the early 1990s, the Western Addition has undergone significant
gentrification.[10][11]
Building at 1840–1842 Eddy Street, 1840–1842 Eddy Street. Built in 1875, a residential house; listed as a California Historical Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.[13][14]
Goodman Building, 1117 Geary Blvd. Built around 1860, residential hotel and commercial building, formerly an artists coop building.[22]
Japanese YWCA/Issei Women’s Building, 1830 Sutter Street. Because Japanese women were barred from using the main San Francisco YWCA, this was founded by
Issei Japanese women in 1912; listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark.[23]