The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and the resulting fire destroyed the remaining Rincon Hill mansions. It was rebuilt as an industrial and maritime district, benefiting from its proximity to the Port of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge, completed in 1936. However, as the city’s industrial and maritime industries declined (as in most US cities), the area became underutilized and rundown.

While its potential for housing development has long been recognized due to its proximity to downtown, blight prevented its effective redevelopment. In 1985, the City adopted an area plan for Rincon Hill in the city’s General Plan, zoning this area adjacent to downtown for high-density residential development. However, due to the presence of the former elevated Embarcadero Freeway surrounding the neighborhood, development in the area was slow coming, suffered from mediocre architecture, and lacked the pedestrian-oriented streets and open spaces emblematic of San Francisco’s cherished neighborhoods. After the physical and psychological barrier of the Embarcadero Freeway (damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake) was removed in the early 1990s, the area within walking distance of downtown rocketed in attractiveness.

*Source: Wikipedia read more here