San Francisco Neighborhoods · Fishermans Wharf
Fishermans Wharf
Sun zoneA working crab fleet turned world-famous waterfront — barking sea lions at PIER 39, steaming Dungeness pots, and the cable car clanging to a stop at the bay's edge.
- Iconic SF waterfront
- Sea lions at PIER 39
- Dungeness crab heritage
- Cable cars & streetcars
On the map
Open Fishermans Wharf on the map →The story
The Wharf grew in the late 1800s as Italian immigrant fishermen — many from Genoa — launched lateen-rigged feluccas and Monterey clippers to chase herring and Dungeness crab, selling their catch from stalls along the pier. It was here that Genoese fishermen created cioppino, the communal seafood stew. After the 1906 earthquake the area was rebuilt over the rubble of the old Meiggs Wharf, and through the 20th century the shrinking fishing fleet gave way to a tourism economy of crab stands, restaurants, and shops. In October 1989, following the Loma Prieta earthquake, California sea lions began hauling out on PIER 39's K-Dock; by 1990 hundreds had taken over, and they have lived there ever since. Today a small commercial fishing fleet still works alongside one of America's most-visited waterfronts.
Things most people don’t know
Sea lions since 1990
Hundreds of California sea lions haul out on PIER 39's K-Dock; a record 2,000-plus crowded the docks in April 2024.
Ghirardelli Square
The former Ghirardelli chocolate factory, with roots to 1852, became one of the first major U.S. adaptive-reuse projects in the 1960s.
Birthplace of cioppino
Genoese fishermen invented the Dungeness-crab stew cioppino here in the late 1800s.
Cable-car turnarounds
The Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason cable car lines both terminate at the Wharf, at Hyde & Beach and Taylor & Bay.
Irish coffee's U.S. debut
The Buena Vista, near the Hyde Street turnaround, is credited with introducing Irish coffee to America in 1952.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- Scoma's · 1965 Al Scoma Way (Pier 47)
- Fog Harbor Fish House · PIER 39, Suite A202
- The Franciscan Crab Restaurant · Pier 43 1/2
- Bistro Boudin · 160 Jefferson St
Bars
- The Buena Vista · 2765 Hyde St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. F-Market & Wharves historic streetcar serves the Embarcadero and Jefferson St. Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason cable cars terminate at the Wharf (Hyde & Beach, Taylor & Bay). E-Embarcadero streetcar and buses 8, 30, 39 and 47 also serve the area.
Nearest hospital. CPMC Van Ness Campus, 1101 Van Ness Ave (about 1.5 mi)
Thinking about Fishermans Wharf?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.