South San Francisco, California

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Coordinates: 37°39′22″N, 122°25′32″W
City of South San Francisco
Nickname: "South City; The Industrial City"
Location of South San Francisco within San Mateo County
Country	United States of America
State	California
County	San Mateo
Incorporated	September 3, 1908
Mayor	Joe Fernekes
City Manager	Barry Nagel
Area
- City	77.0 km² (29.7 sq mi)
- Land	23.4 km² (9.0 sq mi)
- Water	53.7 km² (20.7 sq mi) 69.7%
Population
- City (2000)	60,552
- Density	2,591.9/km² (6,712.8/sq mi)
	United States Census Bureau
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
Website: http://www.ssf.net

A Genentech-sponsored sign declaring South San Francisco to be the "Birthplace of Biotechnology."

South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 60,552 at the 2000 census.

The city lies north of San Francisco International Airport in a small valley between San Bruno Mountain and the Coast Range. The city is served by two major highways, U.S. Route 101 (the Bayshore Freeway) and Interstate 280. A BART station opened in South San Francisco in 2003, supplementing Caltrain service to San Francisco and San Jose. The city's small downtown and several aging residential subdivisions, such as Sunshine Gardens, Avalon Park, Winston Manor, and Rancho Buri Buri, are located west of Highway 101, while the area east of Highway 101 is dominated by bland industrial complexes interspersed with futuristic office parks, particularly the Oyster Point Marina. The extreme western portions of the city near Interstate 280 sit along a hillside and offer views of San Francisco Bay. This area is known to local residents as Westborough. The southern part of the city, closest to the airport, is home to a large number of car repair shops, airport parking lots, and airport hotels. With the South San Francisco BART station in place, residential developments have begun surrounding the station, forming a transit village.

Locals refer to the town as "South City," in much the same way that San Francisco is called "The City." People unfamiliar with the area often mistake South San Francisco as the southern part of the city of San Francisco.

South San Francisco is home to two high schools: El Camino High School and South San Francisco High School, two schools that share a cross-town rivalry. The city also has three middle schools: Parkway Heights, Westborough, and Alta Loma.

1 Attractions
2 Economy
3 Climate
4 Geography
5 Demographics
6 External links

[edit] Attractions

South San Francisco is not known as a tourist destination, but a key landmark of the city is visible to anyone who travels along the San Francisco Peninsula or travels through the nearby San Francisco International Airport. Sign Hill, near San Bruno Mountain State Park has huge letters on its mountainside [1] which read: "SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO THE INDUSTRIAL CITY". The letters are made of concrete and sit flush with the hillside (in contrast to the raised steel letters of the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles). A discontinued tradition involved painting the "c"s on the sign blue and the "s"s red in significance of the annual "Big Game" played by Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. However, a new tradition has replaced it. Every year South San Francisco High School plays their rival El Camino High School (both schools are located in South San Francisco) in the Bell game, the last game of the season for both teams. It is said that students from South City paint the "SC" in blue before the start of the Bell Game. But On the top of Sign Hill, a tall pole with electric lights serves as an electric Christmas tree, which is typically lit from the day after Thanksgiving until January 6. The "tree" is visible for many miles at night.

South San Francisco has a number of parks, the largest of which is Orange Memorial Park. This park has softball fields, soccer fields, picnic grounds, play areas, tennis courts, basketball courts, and an indoor swimming pool. The South San Francisco Public Library has served the city since 1917. The city also has a marina along the shore of San Francisco Bay, named Oyster Point.

[edit] Economy

Much of what is now South San Francisco was initially agricultural land, and was originally known as "Baden". Small pockets of farmland still exist near San Bruno Mountain, but these lands are disappearing quickly because of demand for housing and retail development. Acres of Orchids, founded by the Rod McLellan Co. in the 1930s, was one such victim of housing development. Once one of the largest facilities in the United States producing orchids and gardenias, the nursery closed in 1997. A new housing tract now sits upon land formerly occupied by Acres of Orchids greenhouses.

South San Francisco is considered to be an important hub of the biotech industry. The city is home to Genentech, one of the world's largest biotech companies and a satellite office of the world's largest Biotech. Many other biotech companies have also started or moved to South San Francisco to be in proximity to the UCSF, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley; all within a one hour drive. Additionally, South San Francisco's office parks and industrial zoning are favorable to meet needs of the biotech industry.

See's Candies is also headquartered in South San Francisco.

[edit] Climate

The climate of South San Francisco resembles that of nearby San Francisco. Summers are dominated by fog and wind from the Pacific Ocean. However, the hills to the west of the city prevent fog from moving completely over the city until the late afternoon. It is not unusual for the western parts of the city to be in cold and windy fog, while the eastern portions are sunny and considerably warmer. Winters are mild, but rainy, and snow is rare. Fall and Spring are typically the seasons with the most favorable weather.

[edit] Geography

Location of South San Francisco, California

South San Francisco is located at 37°39′22″N, 122°25′32″W (37.655983, -122.425525)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 77.0 km² (29.7 mi²). 23.4 km² (9.0 mi²) of it is land and 53.7 km² (20.7 mi²) of it (69.67%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 60,552 people, 19,677 households, and 14,659 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,591.9/km² (6,712.8/mi²). There were 20,138 housing units at an average density of 862.0/km² (2,232.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 44.05% White, 2.82% African American, 0.60% Native American, 28.92% Asian, 1.56% Pacific Islander, 15.01% from other races, and 7.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.84% of the population.

There were 19,677 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.51.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $61,764, and the median income for a family was $66,598. Males had a median income of $41,442 versus $35,452 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,562. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

By Bay Area standards (where the cost of living is very high), South San Francisco is a middle class and working class city. However, that image is quickly changing as many luxury homes have been built in the area in recent years to take advantage of the city's close proximity to downtown San Francisco, bio-tech industry, and the peninsula.