One of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the City, the San Francisco Excelsior district is situated along Mission Street and just south of Interstate 280. In existence since 1869, the area is home to many Asian Americans, Latinos and other groups that have settled there over the last several decades. In its earlier days, many of the streets and avenues in the Excelsior district were named for cities and countries. But some, like China, Japan and India were renamed during World War II due to changes in the country’s political climate.
One of the Excelsior’s most famous former residents – San Francisco icon and Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia – is honored every year with “Jerry Day’ and it’s the largest civic and cultural event to take place in the Excelsior neighborhood.
