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Dedicated in 1850 by San Francisco’s first mayor, Mexico War hero John Geary (and later Civil War general), Union Square was named after the massive pro-Union rallies that occurred here before and during the American Civil War. It is now the center of San Francisco’s high fashion and shopping district (also called Union Square), including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Barneys New York, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Tiffany & Co., De Beers, Polo Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hermès and so on. As a symbol of San Francisco high society, Union Square has been depicted in several films, including the Conversation, Vertigo, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and the Birds.
In the background is the 1904 Westin St. Francis. Constructed by the estate of Charles Crocker in 1904 at a cost of .5 million, it was gutted in 1906 Earthquake but quickly rebuilt. It was host to luminaries ranging from Helen Keller to Douglas McArthur, and Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan to VM Molotov of the Soviet Union, Queen Elizabeth II of the UK and Emperor Hirohito of Japan. It was a center of Hollywood Stars in the 1920s, including Charlie Chaplin, and in 1921 was the site of the Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle Scandal that launched the Hays Office censorship of films. Famed entertainer Al Jolson died of a heart attack here in 1950 after entertaining troops in Korea. In 1975, President Gerald Ford was the target of an assassination attempt here by Sara Moore. Finally, the St. Francis was the home of famed chef Victor Hirtzler when he invented Celery Victor (and possibly Crab Louis), as well as La Mousse Faisan Lucullus that supposedly bankrupted the Kingdom of Portugal and led to the downfall and assassination of King Carlos I.
Union Square, San Francisco, California
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