South of Market

Commercial and residential area to the south of Market Street, in San Francisco, California. Formerly a thriving industrial zone, it went through a period of decline after World War II, but urban regeneration programmes from the 1970s onwards have turned it into a lively avant-garde, small business, and entertainment district.

South of Market was formerly known as ‘South of the Slot’, in reference to the cable car tracks on Market Street. The northern part of the Mission District, SoMa had factories by the 1850s, and enjoyed prosperity for almost a century. As the area declined after 1945, it became home to poorer Hispanic immigrants and to artists. Among the prestige projects that have regenerated the area are the Moscone Convention Centre, Yerba Buena Centre (business and residential), and the mixed-use Mission Bay Project to the south.