1935 Wells Fargo Historical Pictorial Map of San Francisco, California

San Francisco in the Wake of the Gold Rush.

This is a c. 1935 historical pictorial map of downtown San Francisco, prepared by Wells Fargo Bank. It includes multiple references to sites and events from the city's early history.

A Closer Look

Oriented with west at the top, the map covers today's downtown portion of San Francisco, east of Mason Street and north of Market Street, also the site of the early American city that emerged with the California Gold Rush. The original waterline is indicated, reflecting the amount of landfill that occurred in the following decades. Illustrations and whimsical historical notes appear throughout, highlighting important events in the early history of San Francisco, from its rough and tumble Gold Rush era (Fort Gunnybags - 'Fortified by vigilantes') to the city's first post office, city hall, fire engine, streetcar, streetlights, telegraph line, paved street, and cable car. Early locations of Wells Fargo Bank and the Union Trust Co. (which merged with Wells Fargo in 1924) are highlighted.

Although broadly true to the history of San Francisco as an American (U.S.) city that emerged in the mid-19th century following the Gold Rush, the map does not mention the earlier Spanish-Mexican history of the city nor the sizable Chinatown that emerged around Portsmouth Square in the second half of the 19th century.

Wells Fargo and the California Gold Rush

Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, Wells Fargo and Company was established to capitalize on the explosive growth triggered by the California Gold Rush. While the founders were already successful with American Express in the East, they recognized a desperate need for reliable banking and express delivery services in the booming Western frontier. San Francisco served as the company's primary hub, acting as the gateway through which gold flowed from the Sierra Nevada mines to the rest of the world. By offering both 'express' (the secure transport of gold and mail) and banking (buying gold dust and providing credit) services, Wells Fargo became the vital financial artery of the West. The company's connection to San Francisco was cemented during the financial panic of 1855. When many other banks collapsed due to overspeculation, Wells Fargo was one of the few institutions to keep its doors open, earning a reputation for stability and integrity. This infrastructure helped transform San Francisco from a chaotic tent city into the financial capital of the Pacific Coast, anchoring the city's identity as a center of commerce and innovation.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by an unknown artist around the year 1935 for Wells Fargo Bank (named in the margin, which is trimmed here). There are two printings of the map with different color schemes (the other having strong red-brown tones as opposed to blue and green here), but otherwise without variations. The map is rare to the market regardless of printing, while four examples are recorded in the OCLC at Stanford University (the California Historical Society Collection), the University of California Berkeley, the Huntington Library, and the University of California Santa Cruz.

Condition

Good. Trimmed to neatline. A few verso repairs.

References

OCLC 48175066.