South of Market: Historical Archaeology of 3 San Francisco Neighborhoods-Volume I

llustrated map of the neighborhood between Market St on the right and Mission Bay on the left.

1878 birds-eye view of the neighborhood between Market Street on the right and Mission Bay on the left. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

South of Market: Historical Archaeology of 3 San Francisco Neighborhoods-Volume I

Client
: 
Caltrans
Date
: 
May, 2001 to January, 2009
Period
: 
Historic
Subject
: 
Cultural Resources Study
Type
: 
excavation
Context
: 
CEQA
City
: 
San Francisco
County
: 
San Francisco
State
: 
California
Full Report
: 
South of Market: Historical Archaeology of 3 San Francisco Neighborhoods-Volume I

The West Approach to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (SFOBB), a project of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 4, involved seismic upgrades to the bridge approach on 14 city blocks from the West Anchorage of the SFOBB between Fremont and Beale streets to the beginning of the SF-80 Bayshore Viaduct between Fourth and Fifth streets. As part of its plan to comply with Public Resources Code 5024, Caltrans contracted with the Anthropological Studies Center (ASC) at Sonoma State University to examine the right-of-way and construction easements along the alignment. An archaeological sensitivity study combined with logistical constraints reduced the portion of the impact area likely to contain important archaeological remains from 14 city blocks to portions of 6 city blocks.

The report is divided into four parts. Each part contains main essays (structured as chapters), short essays, and sidebars. The short essays connect thematically with the main essay and are focused on specific self-contained topics. Some cover relevant historical topics, others cover purely archaeological manifestations, and others range between both sources. Sidebars present “minor illustrative material,” either of an archaeological or a literary nature, in hope to catch the general reader’s interest.