Chinatown in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Watershed History (North Shore)

Watershed History Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 12, 2021

1. Watershed History Marker

Inscription. Historically, the underlying soil of the North Shore Watershed was primarily sand with serpentine outcroppings. The basin's shoreline and soil composition changed when large sections of Yerba Buena Cove (now the Financial District), Fisherman's Wharf, and the Marina District were filled in with sand, bay mud, and urban rubble to make new land for development. Because of urban fill, substantial sections of the North Shore Watershed are subject to liquefaction. The natural dunescape of the North Shore Basin also contained a number of freshwater bodies, though they were rare and their water precious. The most famous was Washerwoman's Lagoon in Cow Hollow, used first for drinking and later for laundry. By 1882, the lagoon was also filled due to water contamination and a cholera outbreak. The North Shore Basin's remaining significant natural areas are located in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, primarily in the Presidio.

Erected by SFwater.org.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Environment.

Location. 37° 47.685′ N, 122° 24.448′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Chinatown. Marker is on Spofford Street near Washington

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Street, in the median. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 47 Spofford Street, San Francisco CA 94108, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Spofford Alley / 斯呂宋巷 (within shouting distance of this marker); Ross Alley / 舊呂宋巷 (within shouting distance of this marker); The Birthplace of a Great City (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); First Chinese American Boy Scout Troop in America (about 300 feet away); Hang Ah Alley / 香亞巷 (about 300 feet away); Alleyways in Chinatown (about 300 feet away); California Star (about 400 feet away); Site of San Francisco’s First Book Store (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.

More about this marker. The marker is about 30 feet south of Washington Street in Spofford Street, set amongst some planters. (Note, Spofford Street is more of an alley - no vehicles allowed, and good luck finding parking anywhere nearby.)

Also see . . . SF Watersheds. (Submitted on June 13, 2021.)

Watershed History Marker - wide view, looking south on Spofford image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 12, 2021

2. Watershed History Marker - wide view, looking south on Spofford

The marker is visible here, mounted to a pole and set amidst the planters.

The Eight Historical Watersheds image. Click for full size.

Photographed By SFwater.org

3. The Eight Historical Watersheds

Map of San Francisco (taken from a panel on the other side of the marker), showing SF's historical watersheds, as well as a star indicating the subject marker site.

Cow Hollow, showing Washerwoman's Lagoon image. Click for full size.

courtesy of the Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley, 1896

4. Cow Hollow, showing Washerwoman's Lagoon

This is a picture of Cow Hollow, showing Washerwoman's Lagoon (the body of water on the left), as denoted and depicted on the marker. The marker photo of Cow Hollow is dated circa 1888, and is virtually the same photo in content, perspective, and lighting as this photo from the Bancroft Library, which has dated it to 1896 - although somewhat confusingly, "1856" is visible on the photo where a date would be expected. (NB: Bancroft possesses the negative.) That the marker and Bancroft photos are one and the same seems fairly certain - if one looks at the Loveland residence in the foreground of the Bancroft photo, the shadow of the chimney and the positioning and amount of ivy growing up the side of the house are identical. The San Francisco Public Library's History Center also has the same photo, and dates it to circa 1866-67. To further muddy the waters, the Bancroft Library has another extremely similar photo by Carleton Watkins, dated tentatively to circa 1857-62. Regardless of the photo date, what remains today of the lagoon is a street name - Laguna Street.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 13, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 201 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 13, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.