The Peninsula's Residential & Income Property Resource

The most visible landmark of South San Francisco is the white letters that spell SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO THE INDUSTRIAL CITY on Sign Hill.               

The sign was created in 1923 through the efforts of engineer E. Knesse and with the support of the Chamber of Commerce, for the price of $300.00. The original letters were painted with a mixture of white washed lime and white cement. The orange poppies, blue irises and the crimson sage gave it the look of an embroidered pillow.

The Chamber of Commerce got involved in the project because the city needed to recover from World War 1. The Chamber decided to invite people to come to our town to build homes and raise their families. Industries were encouraged to start their operation and as a result 30 industries located here. The original sign attracted a new world, so the Chamber decided to recast the sign .

The members agreed on a $5000 bond that was approved by the city voters to create a new sign of 60-inch cement letters. The members consisted of Ed Kauffman, E. Peck, W.H. Dinning, H.L. Haker, and Ben Truaz. They all agreed that the sign would be an advertisement for the city. To prepare for the sign, local engineers went to Tanforan Race Track in San Bruno and used surveying equipment to lay it out, so that the letters would be straight from all directions.

The sign has brought laughter and fun to many children who climbed the hill and rolled down to the bottom on cardboard sheets. The blue irises were often cut and sold by local youngsters such as William Borba and his friends. Through the years the sign has had many faithful friends such as pilots who used the white letters to guide them to the airport during foggy or rainy weather. The sign was honored in 1929, when the city received an award signed by Charles Lindberg for contribution to "aerial navigation". During the football season between Cal and Stanford the letters C would be painted blue and the S would be in red. After the game, volunteers would repaint the letters with paint donated by W. P. Fuller & Co. (now Fuller O'Brien).

In 1986 though, the future of the sign seemed in jeopardy. At that time some people wanted the sign removed from the hill, or at least have Industrial City removed because the city was changing. Through the efforts of Edna Harks who was a member of the newly formed Historical Preservation Commission, the sign was given historic status, and on July 11 1996 the sign was placed on the California Registration of Historical Resources pursuant to Section 5024.1 of the Public resources Code.

The sign has survived and weathered many storms. New industries have replaced the original 30. South San Francisco may no longer be the Industrial City, but maybe that sign on the hill may have contributed to it becoming the Biotech Capital of the World.