San Francisco Bay History

Old photos of San Francisco Bay

Library of Congress

View from Steamboat Point, San Francisco.

Photos collected from public sources showing what San Francisco and the bay area looked like from the Gold Rush until the early 1900s.

Old illustrations of San Francisco

Library of Congress

San Francisco Before the Gold Rush. This beautiful engraving shows Yerba Buena Cove in 1847, before the Gold Rush, when this was all there was of the town outside of the Presidio and the Mission. The Transamerica Building now sits where the beach lies in the center of this image.

These wonderful 19th century illustrations show the dramatic growth of San Francisco.

Old charts of San Francisco Bay and maps of the area

NOAA

San Francisco Bay Entrance Chart.

Old charts show how the shoreline of San Francisco has changed since the gold rush -- and how early charts showed California as an island!

See David Rumsey's San Francisco GIS viewer for a great presentation of historical maps of San Francisco in precise overlays.

Contemporary photos of historic ships and sites on San Francisco Bay

Full-Rigged Ship Balclutha.

There's lots of history still visible all around San Francisco Bay. These contemporary photos show many of the historic sites and ships. (See also our photos of classic sailboats that still sail the bay.)