Historic Landmarks of San Francisco

Union Square, bounded by Post, Powell, Geary, and Stockton Streets, can with some justification be called the center of modern San Francisco. It is located in the heart of the City's shopping district. The 2.6 acre parcel was given to San Francisco January 3, 1850, by Mayor John W. Geary. It received its present name in 1860, when it became a gathering place for Union sympathizers. The square is dominated by Newton Tharp's centrally located Naval Monument. The 97-foot granite pillar is surmounted by Robert I. Aitkin's bronze casting of Victory, which memorializes Dewey's taking of Manila harbor during the Spanish-American War.

Ground for the monument was broken by President McKinley in 1901. President Theodore Roosevelt dedicated it two years later. Union Square was a gathering place for refugees from the great 1906 fire. During World War II a parking lot was constructed beneath the square.

A state plaque, dedicated May 26, 1958, by the California State Park Commission, the City of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Landmarks Council, may be found at the southwest entrance to the Square, in a low wall to the right of a short flight of steps.