Kearny Street

Kearny Street in San Francisco, California runs north from Market Street to The Embarcadero. Toward its south end, it separates the Financial District from the Union Square and Chinatown districts. Further north, it passes over Telegraph Hill, interrupted by a gap near Coit Tower. History Kearny Street was originally named "La Calle de la Fundacion" by the Spanish, meaning "street of the founding". The origin of the present name, Kearny Street, is generally assumed to be Stephen Watts Kearny, the first military governor of California under U.S. rule. Another possible namesake is General Philip Kearny. It is sometimes erroneously assumed to be named after the (differently spelled) labor leader Denis Kearney, known for his racist anti-Chinese agitation. At Kearny and Clay was the lower end of the first cable car line in America, launched by Andrew S. Hallidie on August 2, 1873, climbing five blocks up Clay Street hill toward Nob Hill.