Historic Landmarks of San Francisco

A central square, or plaza, was characteristic of California towns during the Spanish and Mexican periods. The village of Yerba Buena was no exception. Its plaza had previously been a potato patch owned by Candelario Miramontes. It was the site of the raising of the American flag on July 9, 1846, by Captain Montgomery of the USS Portsmouth. From the vessel the plaza took its new name, Portsmouth Square.

Montgomery temporarily quartered his troops in the old Spanish Custom House, located at the northwest corner of the square. Portsmouth Plaza became the nerve center of the bustling community, soon to be renamed San Francisco. Later in 1846 it was the site of the first election held under United States authority in the City. Washington Bartlet, an officer from the Portsmouth, was elected alcalde, or mayor. In 1851 John Jenkins was hanged from a beam of the old Custom House by the first Vigilance Committee. Several years later 30,000 gathered in and around the Square to hear Colonel Baker's funeral oration for Senator Broderick, killed in a duel near Lake Merced by David Terry. As the City expanded, Portsmouth Square ceased to be the center of social and political activity. However, it still retains some of its former characters, being a major gathering place for the Chinese community.

Portsmouth Plaza covers one half square block and is bounded by Clay, Kearny, and Washington Streets, and Brenham Place. It is a public park with benches, trees, a small playground, and a subterranean parking lot. A very large state plaque, dedicated September 6, 1950, by the California Centennial Commission, is mounted in a cement wall next to the central stairway connecting the two levels of the Square. There is also a small 1924 DAR marker near the northwest corner of Portsmouth Plaza, on the site of the old Custom House.

The very large state plaque referred to below seems to be gone; the small DAR plaque remains.