Union Square is a 2.6-acre (1.1-hectare) public plaza bordered by Geary, Powell, Post, and Stockton Streets in downtown San Francisco, California. "Union Square" also refers to the central shopping, hotel, and theater district that surrounds the plaza for several blocks. The area got its name because it was once used for Thomas Starr King rallies and support for the Union Army during the American Civil War, earning its designation as a California Historical Landmark. Despite its declining profile, Union Square in San Francisco is still a major retail hub for the city.
This one-block plaza and surrounding area was historically home to one of the largest collections of department stores, upscale boutiques, gift shops, art galleries, and beauty salons in the United States, making Union Square a major tourist destination and a well-known gathering place in downtown San Francisco. The Dewey Monument is situated at the center of Union Square. It is a statue of Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has led to an exodus of companies from Downtown San Francisco, with the Union Square retail district being particularly affected. Many retailers have cited high levels of crime, open-air drug use, homelessness, and closed storefronts in the areas around Union Square.
Union Square has also come to describe not just the plaza itself, but the general shopping, dining, and theater districts within the surrounding blocks. The Geary and Curran theaters one block west on Geary anchor the "theater district" and border the Tenderloin. Union Square is also home to San Francisco's TIX Bay Area, a half-priced ticket booth and Ticketmaster outlet. Run by Theatre Bay Area, tickets for most of San Francisco's performing arts can be purchased the day of the performance at a discounted rate.
At the end of Powell Street two blocks south, where the cable cars turn around beside Hallidie Plaza at Market Street, is a growing retail corridor that is connected to the SOMA district. Nob Hill, with its grand mansions, apartment buildings and hotels, stands to the northwest of Union Square. Directly northeast is Chinatown, with its famous dragon gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street.
The city's historic French Quarter northeast of Union Square and centers on the Belden Place alleyway, between Bush and Pine Streets, and Claude Lane off Bush Street. This area has many open-air French Restaurants and Cafes. Every year the area is the site of the boisterous Bastille Day celebration, the nation's largest, and Bush Street is temporarily renamed "Buisson."
Directly east of the square off of Stockton Street is Maiden Lane, a short and narrow alley of exclusive boutiques and cafes that leads to the Financial District and boasts the Xanadu Gallery, San Francisco's only building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright-with its interior most notable for being the predecessor for New York City's Guggenheim Museum. The square is part of the Barbary Coast Trail, linking many San Francisco landmarks.
Over the years, Union Square became a popular shopping destination. Several department stores sit within the three-block radius of Union Square, including Neiman Marcus, Macy's, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Barneys New York formerly operated a Union Square store which closed in 2019. Bloomingdale's anchors the nearby Emporium Centre San Francisco, a shopping mall built in 1988 on nearby Market Street. Nordstrom was formerly an anchor at Emporium Centre and also operated a Nordstrom Rack store a block away, but closed both stores in 2023.
A mix of upscale boutiques and popular retailers occupy many of the buildings surrounding Union Square. Among the luxury retailers that front Union Square are Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Bulgari, Loro Piana, Moncler, and jeweler Tiffany & Co.; while flagship Victoria's Secret, Williams Sonoma, Nike, and Apple stores also occupy buildings surrounding Union Square. Other notable brands in the surrounding area include Chanel, Prada, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Shapur Mozaffarian, Goyard, Dior and Cartier.
Gap Inc., which is headquartered less than a mile away on the Embarcadero, used to operate multiple flagship and full-line stores for The Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy in and around Union Square, but closed all those stores in the early 2020s and eventually reopened only a small upscale flagship store for Banana Republic in October 2023.
On February 27, 2024, it was reported that Macy's would be closing their West Coast flagship store at Union Square as part of a plan to close 150 stores nationwide by the end of 2026. Macy's stated that the store would remain open until the property was sold to a new owner. More than 400 employees were expected to be impacted as part of the closure.
Video game company Nintendo announced that it will open its second US retail store in Union Square in 2025.
Source: Wikipedia