The neighborhood of the Gateway is truly the historic heart of San Francisco, where the past is still visible today. Located at the city’s original 1850s waterfront, the streets around the Gateway were once piers and wharves, home to clipper ships that brought goldseekers from around the world. Over time, the water between the piers was filled in to create the expansive, level neighborhood we see today.
Many buildings, especially along Jackson and Pacific Streets, vividly capture the experience of the Barbary Coast era. What are now fashionable galleries and design studios were once the haunts of sailors, miners, bandits, and other bohemians from San Francisco’s most colorful period. Construction crews at the Gateway site found many artifacts from this time that are available for viewing at our conference center.
In the last century, the area became the center for the city’s produce market, a tightly packed group of warehouses and alleys that brought fruits and vegetables from around the Bay to restaurants and grocers in the city. The concrete arch in the park is the lone survivor of this period.
