The San Francisco Bay Area

[yoshikoroyimara 5]

jim5917...nice screenshot...San Jose looks pretty good...that street that crosses above Hwy 17 to Santa Cruz... ...is I think East Hamilton Avenue...I think...if its near the Campbell Pruneyard Center with the black skyscraper in the middle of nowhere, then yes...

Hey...can you please show a screenshot of Milpitas...or at least where Milpitas should be?

...and nice fantasy BART...it was very stupid of them not to connect it when they made BART in the first place...why make VTA, when you can travel to SF or Oakland and further using BART? but now...you made my dreams come true...so to speak!

[jim5917 1]

hijodecordoba: (from 4/03)  Thanks – I think that church turned out to be one of the nicer ones also.

Jjune4991:  Thanks – hope my previous post answered your question.

Hijodecordoba: Thanks.  The San Mateo Br. is another diagonal one – it wouldn’t have ended up in the correct spot on the other side of the shore.  Hopefully I will be able update the transit picture to show the “proposed” route of the bridge.

Smarty218:  Thanks

Edmonton_stinks:  Basically the BART line from SJ Arena to Millbrae follows the CalTrain tracks.  CalTrain is a different commuter train that goes from Gilroy to SF.  I think it has 22 stops between San Jose and SF.   I put one station in each city going up the peninsula – except Atherton. 

Yoshikoroyimara:  Ha Ha – YES!!! That’s Hwy 17 at Hamilton Ave.  And that’s the Pruneyard Center.  I’ll work on Milpitas a little bit more then send you a pict – you can critique it before I include it in my journal.  If I forget send me a private message in a few weeks. 

[jjune4991 1]

yes, that last one helped. is there gonna be an update soon?

[jim5917 1]

CHAPTER 4: SAN FRANCISCO

Although the Ohlone Indians had long since discovered the area, the city of San Francisco's official beginnings are marked with the arrival of the Franciscan priests and first mass at Mission Dolores on June 29, 1776.  Along with the mission a presidio was built a few miles north on a hill overlooking the entrance to the bay.   For the next several decades these structures, along with another fort located where Fort Point stands today, were all that existed when Mexico declared war on Spain in 1810.  By the time Mexico gained independence in 1821 these structures were already feeling the effects of 11 years of neglect.  This continued under Mexican rule, which had all but abandoned Alta California.  

In 1834 the Mexican government, hard up for money, decided to secularize the missions.  The farmland of Mission Dolores was divided and sold, becoming 12 separate ranchos.  With Spain no longer in control and Mexico turning it's back trade with other countries became increasingly important on the bay.  American ships along with those of other countries were a regular site.  In 1835 the first permanent dwelling was built by William A. Richardson near the shore.  He named the town Yerba Buena, Spanish for good herb, and by the end of the decade the little town on the edge of the bay was beginning to grow.

During the 1840s a steady steam of immigrants from America began arriving from the east.  America was expanding and coveted this unsecured land.  On July 9, 1846, American Captain John B. Montgomery and a group of men came ashore and planted the American Flag.  With little fanfare Yerba Buena all but became American territory; and at a price $3.5 million less than was offered 11 years earlier by President Andrew Jackson.  It wasn't until 2 years later following America's victory over Mexico in Texas that California was officially ceded to America.  In 1947 the town of about 500 officially changed its name to San Francisco.

The discovery of gold in Coloma, CA in 1848 caused San Francisco to rise from a sleepy town into a city known throughout the world almost overnight.  Some of the more profitable mining fields in the sierras yielded up to 5 pounds a day - $75,000 by today’s value.  By 1849 gold seekers were arriving in hordes from all over the world.  San Francisco became a place for the 49ers to trade in their gold, reload on supplies and rest up.  Restaurants, bars, hotels and banks were sprouting up everywhere and charged high premiums for anyone that wanted their services.  In fact, everything except gold was selling for several times more than on the east coast.  Drinking, prostitution and gambling were prominent and any resemblance of the Ohlones' or Spanish way of life had long since disappeared.  In the coming years as the gold mines dried up crime became rampant; as were fires, which were often the result of arson.  The population turned to vigilante justice, which ultimately restored the safety of the citizens to acceptable levels.  

In 1859 San Francisco was once again blessed with good fortune.  This time it was the discovery of a vast concentration of silver, which was dubbed the "Comstock Load" near Carson City, NV.  One of the major beneficiaries was William Ralston, co-founder of the Bank of California, who reinvested most of his fortune back into San Francisco.  The discovery of silver and the riches that came with it also paved the way for the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which linked San Francisco to the eastern part of the country.

By the late 19th and early 20th century San Francisco's middle class was growing in

[jim5917 1]

Originally posted by: jjune4991 yes, that last one helped. is there gonna be an update soon?quote>

Yep!

[jjune4991 1]

whoo hoo! it looks very cool. and the downtown area is great. now is that san fran? and is oakland on the other side of the bay? sorry, but im from florida, so i dont know that area that well. nice chinatown. keep it up dude! o yea, nice history. and i'm sure that earthquake suuuuuucked. im sooo happy that i dont have to worry about those here.

[Smarty218 2]

OH MY GOD!

Oh wait, I am god...

OH MY SELF!

THAT IS AWESOME!

[ky72x 13]

I'm pretty familiar with the Bay Area, as I've taken many trips there. Also, my mother grew up in Watsonville, California, so it's cool to see the precise locations of it and neighboring cities in your faithful SC4 recreation of the region. Any chance that you'll showcase some of those cities, as well?

Even if you just stick with San Francisco and the many cities around it, I'll still be quite pleased. Why? Well, for one, you've done an amazing job so far! The pictures are very nice and crisp, I really like that. Plus, the numbering of the highways and freeways is great. Overall, your presentation of these updates is simply top-notch. As for the latest one, highlights for me were the selection and variety of buildings used that really express the overall feel of the area. Keep it up, I'll definitely be back to see much more!

- Kyle

[hijodecordoba 74]

this is absolutly stunning awesome work. the overview picture is great and your w2w buildings looking really good too. what esle to say, i'm speechless.

great work

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull history my friend,excellent work your doing here looking great so far.

[jim5917 1]

jjune4991:  Yes, all the picts were of San Francisco.  Oakland is on the other side of the bay.  Check out Chapter 3 for the map. 

Smarty218:  Lol.  In that case I’m glad I could impress you.

Ky72x:  Thanks for the kind words and welcome to my journal.  Yes I am planning to do all the other cities.  Just added a table of contents on page 1 – should give you an idea of where I’m going.  Some cities will be represented better than others due to my limited knowledge of every city.  Not sure where I’ll put Watsonville (w/ Hwy 1, w/ Salinas or in a new chapter with Gilroy and San Juan Bautista).

Hijodecordoba:  Thanks a lot.  It took a while to get the picts looking good. 

Jacqulina:  Thank you very much.

For everyone - Like I mentioned above I added a table of contents to page 1.  Also you may (or may not) be wondering how I managed to fit the 9x12 SF City Hall Landmark in my small scale city.  The pictures in the prior update along with the following update are from a different region.  My actual city uses a smaller city hall.  I wanted to include the landmark version and this was the best way.  Up next is the 49 mile scenic drive of San Francisco.  This will take about a month to complete with 2 updates each week.  Enjoy.

[jim5917 1]

THE 49-MILE SCENIC DRIVE OF SAN FRANCISCO

Just in time for the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939-40 the Downtown Association inaugurated San Francisco’s 49-Mile Scenic Drive.  Festivities were kicked off on September 14, 1938 when “famed flier Douglas ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan – who two months earlier had gained notoriety by ‘mistakenly’ ending up in Dublin after taking off from New York and claiming to be headed for Los Angeles – drove it backwards”.

Along this journey you will wind your way over the hills, through the valleys and along the shorelines that make up the beautiful city of San Francisco.  While on the tour take the time to stop and enjoy each neighborhood and district, which make San Francisco as diverse and exciting as any city in the world.

City Hall (D-6)

Our tour begins right in the middle of the city at Civic Center Plaza.  After the original city hall was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake the city looked to D.C. Arthur Brown Jr. to design a new structure.  Completed in 1916, San Francisco City Hall has seen almost everything from Joe DiMaggio’s marriage to Marilyn Monroe in 1954, student protesting in the 1960s, the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978 and filming of the Raiders of the Lost Arc with Harrison Ford in 1981.  The building was damaged during the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989 and subsequently was seismically retrofitted.  Inside you can take in views of the rotunda, which is larger than the one at the US Capital, or visit the Museum of the City of San Francisco.

Union Square (D-7)

Located in the heart of downtown and home to the most upscale shopping experience in San Francisco, Union Square is an urbanites dream come true.  The name originates from the days of the Civil War and the city’s support of the Union.  In between shopping at Sacks Fifth Avenue and Neiman-Marcus stop by the historic St. Francis Hotel and admire the elegant lobby.  The Dewey Monument, commemorating the naval battle at Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, stands tall in the middle of Union Square.  If you visit during the holiday season don’t miss the tree lighting ceremony.

Next Stop - 555 California Ave.

remember you can reference the location of the pictures/landamarks using the grid map in the previous update

[anarchy0029 2]

Wow, after reading this journal from head to toe. I really like what you have posted. Although, you have to be brief in displaying the bay Area, becuase it is huge as hell. But I really like the CJ so far. I'm heading up to the Bay Area next month. So I'll be looking forward to your work on this CJ. Keep up the good work.

[hijodecordoba 74]

this is and will be great tour

I've been to union square and saw it from the elevator of an hotel nearby. we drove round about 5 times up and down to take pictures from the highest level.

nice update

[lucky7 73]

Wonderful updates and very informative, looking forward to the rest of the tour,

lucky7

[Smarty218 2]

Amazing! Looking forward to more!

[Godzillaman 21]

I like your version of SF. It's simple yet elegant.

[Twenty20 28]

Excellent, I like the night shots. This city looks very realistic, good work !

[waiyeap90 0]

Woah impressive....

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Very great CJ here, and I like that raised park in the last update. Can't wait to see more

[skyliner22 16]

Good progress, I like this mini version of SF and that region map looks great. Your fictional BART seems interesting, I'd rather go with Andreas Roth's BART skin. If you need to know anything bout SF or Bay Area just give me a PM!

555 California, Bank of America Building!

[yoshikoroyimara 5]

Ditto...feel free to PM anytime! (and remember, Milpitas)...and also: YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES, your SF looks great...Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, Candlestick Point...everything...awesome! were the freeways hard to make? Just driving them makes me crazy...

[panthersimcity4 162]

Beautiful! I just love those missions in the past few updates. Your pictures of San Francisco are very scenic as well.

[jacqulina 162]

beautifull work and pics i sure do love those night shots my friend.

[ky72x 13]

Placing Watsonville in a particular chapter would be a coin toss for me, too... it could go in any one of your options.

I'm blown away once again with the amazing quality of your pictures. The gird map is a clever reference point for these updates, so thanks very much for making it! Impressive levels of activity in both pics, but most notably in the Union Square shot, where traffic is heavy. The mix of buildings in there represents the actual thing well (and at the same time, looks great). Spectacular work on another update!

- Kyle

[jim5917 1]

555 California Street (D-7)

Completed in 1969, the 779 ft. tower is located in the western part of the Financial District.  It served as headquarters for Bank of America from it’s opening until 1998.  Carnelian stone gives the tower its reddish-brown appearance.  555 California was the tallest building in San Francisco for only a few short years until the Transamerica Building surpassed it in 1972.  Since then 555 California has remained the second tallest building in the city.  The Carnelian Room offers fine dining at the top on the 52nd floor.  There are several dining rooms to choose from; each with amazing, one of a kind views of the city below. 

Chinatown Gate (C-

The Chinese first began to arrive in San Francisco during the Gold Rush of the 1850s and settled near the base of Nob Hill.  Following the gold rush the hard working, underpaid Chinese laborers began working on the transcontinental railroad.  When times were good and jobs were plentiful the Chinese were tolerated, but during times of a struggling economy in a young city things were much different.  Often the scapegoat for high unemployment rates and even the subject of anti-Chinese legislation they settled back into their own area of the city where they ran their own businesses and tried to stay out of the rest of the city’s affairs.  While the anti-Chinese legislation and resentment have long passed Chinatown remains a unique and exciting area of the City.  Whether touring the Fortune Cookie Factory, watching the Chinese New Year Parade or simply browsing the many shops and taking in the sites and sounds a stroll through Chinatown is like taking a journey to the orient.  The gate, designed by Clayton Lee, was completed in 1970.  The materials were donated from the Republic of China (Taiwan).

 

Next Stop - The Transamerica Pyramid

[Bombshoo 3]

Great city journal. I espeically love Union Square and Pacific Heights. I must tell you though, you have one tiny mistake in your writing. The Dragon Gate was donated by the Republic of China (Taiwan) not The People's Republic of China (Mainland China), as the United States did not even have diplomatic relations with PRC in 1970.

[hijodecordoba 74]

i like the chinatown entrance and the little slope. that's exactly the picture i can remember.

[ky72x 13]

It's cool how you pictured the BoA building like that, instead of just having a full-sized (800x600) shot of it. Exact same thing goes for the Chinatown picture as well. Nice information on both areas, and I definitely cannot wait for the next update. Experience in here tells me that it will be excellent.

- Kyle

[The Big Z 103]

Great job on the recreating San Francisco. I love Chinatown! Keep it up.