Facing the church, this is the geographic and social center of North Beach. One of three city parks set aside by San Francisco's first mayor in 1848, this grassy, unpretentious place is an official Historical Landmark. In the early morning, a group of Chinese women often do tai chi exercises on the lawn, a visible symbol of the neighborhood's changing ethnic balance.
Long-time San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote of Washington Square: "...its heart is Washington Square, which isn't on Washington Street, isn't a square, doesn't contain a statue of Washington but of Benjamin Franklin. Head for the statue, which stands atop a (now closed) water fountain erected by Henry Cogswell, a crusader for temperance.
Watch out for doggy deposits in the grass as you walk toward the northeast corner of the park.
At the corner of Stockton and Filbert, you'll find a monument (the first in San Francisco to honor a woman) where you will learn about Juana Briones, an extraordinary pioneer woman who was the area's first settlers.