Old Map of San Francisco, California by USGS, 1950 – Sausalito, Tiburon & Golden Gate

“San Francisco North,” issued by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1950 using survey data from that same year, captures the northern half of the city and its dramatic meeting of ocean, bay, and headland at a pivotal postwar moment. At 1:24,000 scale, it presents San Francisco with the disciplined precision of modern federal cartography: streets, blocks, shorelines, piers, military reservations, parks, and elevation are all rendered with scientific clarity. The map’s title is spare, but the geography it contains is anything but—stretching from Ocean Beach and Land’s End to the Golden Gate, from the Presidio and Fort Mason to the dense urban neighborhoods facing San Francisco Bay.

The cartographic language of the U.S. Geological Survey gives this map its particular authority and elegance. Fine contour lines describe the city’s celebrated terrain: the climb toward Twin Peaks, the ridges above the Pacific, the steep approaches to the Presidio, and the softer lowlands near the waterfront. Color-coded relief and careful hatching make the topography legible at a glance, while the grid and dense street pattern reveal San Francisco as both a natural amphitheater and a rigorously planned urban landscape. Unlike pictorial tourist maps, this is a working document of terrain, infrastructure, and place—its beauty emerging from exactitude, proportion, and the quiet confidence of official survey work.

The map is especially compelling for its treatment of the Golden Gate, where land, water, weather, and engineering converge. The Presidio of San Francisco commands the southern approach, while the Marin Headlands rise across the strait, framing one of the most iconic maritime passages in the world. Sausalito and Tiburon appear to the north, each occupying a distinctive position along the bay’s irregular edge, while Angel Island and Alcatraz Island sit in the waters between city and county. These names evoke layers of military, immigrant, maritime, and civic history, all set within the physical drama of steep slopes, narrow channels, and tidal expanses.

Within San Francisco itself, the map records neighborhoods and landmarks at a moment of transition after World War II. North Beach, Chinatown, the Tenderloin, the Mission District, Golden Gate Park, and the city’s waterfront are shown before later waves of redevelopment, freeway construction, demographic change, and gentrification transformed many familiar streetscapes. Treasure Island and the Bay Bridge speak to the infrastructure and ambition of the mid-twentieth-century Bay Area, while Ocean Beach and the Pacific coastline retain their elemental presence at the city’s western edge. The map’s urban blocks are not merely graphic units; they are a snapshot of a living city poised between wartime legacy and metropolitan expansion.

As a historical topographical document, “San Francisco North” offers more than orientation—it preserves a highly specific vision of the Bay Area in 1950. The U.S. Geological Survey’s mission to provide reliable scientific information about the nation’s land and resources is visible in every contour, shoreline, road, and built-up district. Here, public policy, military geography, urban planning, and natural form meet on a single sheet. For San Francisco, a city defined by steep hills, seismic history, maritime gateways, and restless reinvention, the map is both practical record and cultural artifact: a measured portrait of one of America’s most storied landscapes at the dawn of the modern Bay Area.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• San Francisco
• Sausalito
• Tiburon
• Angel Island
• Alcatraz Island
• Golden Gate
• Ocean Beach
• Presidio of San Francisco
• Fort Mason
• Land's End
• Bay Bridge
• Treasure Island
• Candlestick Park
• Mission District
• North Beach
• Chinatown
• Tenderloin District
• Twin Peaks
• Golden Gate Park
• Marin Headlands
• Pacific Ocean
• San Francisco Bay
• Multiple streets and avenues, with specific names not listed

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map produced using survey data from 1950.
• Created by the U.S. Geological Survey, known for reliable scientific mapping and information about land, natural resources, and the environment.
• Uses a clear grid representation for organized geographic reference.
• Features extensive contour lines to show elevation changes across the landscape.
• Includes color-coded relief hatching to convey topographical features.
• Urban areas are delineated with detailed blocks.
• Shows varied terrain, including hills and lowlands typical of the Bay Area.
• Reflects a specific post-World War II period in the region’s development.
• Documents the area before later urban, infrastructural, population, and neighborhood changes.

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.