This travelogue of San Francisco, California begins crossing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Toll Bridge into the title city, which is the most important city in Northern California as its gateway to the region. The city grew up from the missions built here in the late sixteenth century, the location being seen as favorable to the Fransicans. Because of this heritage, there are still many cathedrals dotted throughout the city. Perhaps the city’s most famous landmark is the Golden Gate Bridge, the longest single span bridge in the world. The Palace of Fine Arts is a remnant of the World’s Fair held in the city in 1915. Another exposition was held in 1939/40, the buildings constructed on a man-made island called Treasure Island. Another part of San Francisco’s history centers on the gold rush of 1849, as the starting point of the Wells-Fargo stagecoach, and eventually of the Pacific Railway as well.