This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2024)
1884
In 1884,[1] the first state-owned Fisherman's Wharf was built at the foot of Union Street,[2] jutting out from the shore on a north by northeast angle, comprising a long narrow rectangle about 450 feet long and 150 feet wide, with an entrance along the leeward eastern side.[3]
1900
In 1900, the state of California set aside the waterfront between the foot of Taylor and Leavenworth streets for commercial fishing boats.[4]
1970s
Despite its redevelopment into a tourist attraction during the 1970s and 1980s, the area was still home to many active fishermen and their fleets.
2000s to present-day
In 2010, a $15 million development plan was proposed by city officials hoping to revitalize its appearance for tourists, and to reverse the area's downward trend in popularity among San Francisco residents.[5][6][needs update]
Seafood restaurants are plentiful in the area, including the floating Forbes Island restaurant at Pier 39 to stands that serve fresh seafood. Some of the restaurants, including Fishermen's Grotto, Pompei's Grotto and Alioto's, go back for three generations of the same family ownership. Other restaurants include chains like Applebee's and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The area also has an In-N-Out Burger; local business leaders said they opposed every other fast food chain except In-N-Out, because they wanted to maintain the flavor of family-owned, decades-old businesses in the area, with one saying locals would ordinarily "be up in arms about a fast-food operation coming to Fisherman's Wharf," but the family-owned In-N-Out "is different."[7]
There is a sea lion colony next to Pier 39. They "took-up" residence months before the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. The sea lions lie on wooden docks that were originally used for docking boats.
Fisherman's Wharf plays host to many San Francisco events, including a firework display on the Fourth of July and some of the best views of the Fleet Week air shows featuring The Blue Angels.