Belden Place facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Belden Place
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 Belden Place
Location in San Francisco
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| City | San Francisco |
Belden Place is a small, narrow street, like an alley, located in the busy Financial District of San Francisco, California. It's known as the heart of San Francisco's small French American community.
Contents
Discover Belden Place: San Francisco's French Quarter
People in San Francisco sometimes call this street by different names, like Belden Lane or Belden Alley. The area around it, including nearby small streets and parts of Bush Street, is often called San Francisco's French Quarter. This is because many early French immigrants settled here, and today it has many popular French restaurants and cultural places.
The History of Belden Place: A French Connection
Belden Place is named after Josiah Belden, an early California pioneer. He was San Jose's first mayor and a successful real estate businessman. Belden owned land in this area, including a block near Kearny Street. He built several important buildings here.
This area was home to San Francisco's first French settlers. About 3,000 French people arrived in 1851, near the end of the Gold Rush. They were sponsored by the French government.
According to historian Gladys Hansen, early French settlers shared Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue) with Chinese settlers. This was during the early days of Chinatown. The French were often more understanding of the Chinese community's concerns.
French writer Alexandre Dumas, père, famous for The Three Musketeers, wrote about San Francisco in 1852. He mentioned local Chinese cooks trying out French cuisine. Even as many other immigrants came to the area, like Chinese, Italian, and Irish people, the French community stayed strong.
Exploring Belden Place: Food and Fun
Belden Place is a one-block-long street. It runs from Pine Street to Bush Street. It's located between Montgomery and Kearny streets. You can find it just south of the Bank of America tower. This area is roughly between Chinatown and the Financial District.
In 1990, two restaurateurs, Olivier Azancot and Eric Klein, opened Cafe Bastille. This restaurant helped set the lively mood for the area today. The French, Italian, and Catalan restaurants here are very popular. Locals, tourists, and office workers all enjoy them. Many people think they are some of the best casual European restaurants in the city.
Some famous restaurants right on Belden Place include Sam's Grill, Cafe Bastille, Cafe Tiramisu, Plouf, B44, Belden Taverna, and Brindisi Cucina di Mare. Nearby, you can also find Café de la Presse and Le Central.
The area also has important French cultural spots. These include the Alliance Française, which promotes French language and culture. There's also the French consulate and the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church. Mass is still celebrated in French at this church, and it has an elementary school. You'll find other French-related places, cafes, and hotels along Bush Street and Claude Lane, another nearby alley.
Enjoying the Outdoor Dining Scene
The cafes, hotels, and restaurants in this area have a special "joie de vivre" (joy of living). This fits the neighborhood's French heritage. San Francisco doesn't have many other places with such a great street dining scene. This is partly because of the cooler weather and limited outdoor spaces.
Belden Place is closed to cars. For lunch and dinner, it fills up with portable chairs, tables, umbrellas, and outdoor heaters. At night, the street becomes very lively. It's lit with candles and Christmas lights strung overhead. Light also spills out from inside the restaurants. Restaurants often have friendly hosts outside to invite people to dine.
Every year, Belden Place hosts a big Bastille Day celebration. This is France's national holiday, and the celebration here is one of the largest in the United States. During this event, Bush Street is even temporarily renamed Buisson.
