Inscription
Historic District
Has been place on the
National Register
of Historic Places
By the United States
Department of the Interior
1971
Details
| HM Number | HM13QI |
|---|---|
| Additional Information | Gold Street, a one block alley in the Jackson Square District, still has many of its original brick buildings from the 1850s, largely spared by earthquakes and fires. Fifty-six Gold Street at the corner of Balance Street can, in a way, claim notoriety as the location that started the Gold Rush. It was an assay office. This is a place to which the government distributed standard gold and silver coins used for measuring the bullion, coins, dust, ore or nuggets coming in from the gambling parlors, banks and—eventually—gold mines. The comparisons were for purity, weight, composition and value. Miners would dump their rocks hopefully on the counter, and come away thrilled and rich or occasionally disappointed. On May 12, 1848, more than three months after the first gold was found 135 roadless miles east at Sutter's Mill, Sam Brannan announced the presence of gold in the Sierra to the tingling ears of Yerba Buena town. He then walked into the 56 Gold Street assay office with a bottle of flakes and dust, to prove his rumor. His rumor became a gold rush. Yerba Buena became San Francisco. Since 56 Gold Street was right at the water's edge, Balance Street was water, the deepest and southernmost corner of Yerba Buena Cove. One of the ships that brought miners and adventurers—only to be abandoned at the dock—was the Balance. Its remains are buried beneath Balance Street, where it gave its name to its gravestone. |
| Tags | |
| Historical Period | 18th Century |
| Historical Place | Gov Building |
| Marker Type | Historic Building |
| Marker Class | Historical Marker |
| Marker Style | Mounted |
| Year Placed | 1971 |
| Placed By | United States Department of the Interior |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Friday, September 19th, 2014 at 7:00am PDT -07:00 |
Pictures
Locationbig map
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 10S E 552565 N 4183443 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 37.79685000, -122.40293333 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 37° 47.811', W 122° 24.176' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 37° 47' 48.6600" N, 122° 24' 10.5600" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 415, 925, 408 |
| Can be seen from road? | Yes |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 56 Gold St, San Francisco CA 94133, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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