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pioneered. Later the building was renamed from the Spanish word for
“cottonwood tree.” The Alamo became the cradle of Texas liberty
when its 187 defenders courageously fought to the death against
5,000 attacking Mexicans.
San Diego, California
Deemed the birthplace of California, San Diego was first discovered in
1542 by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. He landed at Point Loma and claimed
what is now California for the Spanish Crown. The locales of the
original mission and the fort can still be seen in Old Town San Diego.
Today San Diego is the second largest metropolis in California.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco is comparatively young, yet rarely is there found a
greater passion for preservation of the past with all its colorful legends
and architecture. This spirit is unmistakable in the preservation
of historic buildings as well as the renowned cable cars. Joined with
this love of the city is the great determination and courage that
rebuilt the city not once but seven times after catastrophic fires. Six
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
of them came within a
period of two boomtown
years; the last one,
which ravaged fourfifths
of the town,
blazed for days after the
1906 earthquake broke
the water mains and
rendered firefighting
equipment all but useless.
Perhaps it is the
beauty of San
Francisco’s setting that
commands such loyalty.
Varying in altitude from
sea level to 929 feet,
the city rests on 40 hills
at the tip of a slender
peninsula, bound on
one side by the Pacific
Ocean and on the other
side by the San
Francisco Bay. It is one
of the World’s largest
land-locked harbors in the world. It was the city’s bayside location
that lured its earliest colonizers. Today’s San Francisco, still fun
loving, is also a significant financial and industrial center. Its financial
district, located at the lower end of Montgomery Street, is often called
the “Wall Street of the West.” Additionally, the city port handles
millions of tons of cargo annually.
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