Attractions
 SoMa (South of Market) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
South of Market was originally a warehouse district, with longer blocks
than other parts of the city. Today, in addition to warehouses, there
are a great many bars and nightclubs, restaurants, and residential
lofts in the area.
Looking northwest toward the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The waterfall drains into the pool on the right.
Especially near the waterfront, Yerba Buena Gardens and Financial District, South of Market is rapidly gentrifying, with a large number of new residential high-rises and hotels.
The conference center, Moscone Center, occupies three blocks and hosts many major trade shows. Moscone South opened its doors in December 1981. Moscone North opened in May 1992, and most recently Moscone West in June 2003.
With the opening of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1995, the Yerba Buena Center region of the South of Market has become a hub for museums. Other museums in the area include the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Cartoon Art Museum, the children's Zeum, and the temporary home of the California Academy of Sciences. The planned sites for the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Mexican Museum are also in the Yerba Buena area.
The Center for the Arts, along with Yerba Buena Gardens and the Metreon,
is built on top of Moscone North. Across Howard Street, built on top of
Moscone South, is a children's park featuring a large play area, an ice
skating rink, a bowling alley, a restaurant, the Zeum, and the restored
merry-go-round from Playland At the Beach. The children's park and Zeum
are joined to Yerba Buena Gardens by a footbridge over Howard Street.
Most
San Franciscans prefer to refer to the neighborhood by its full name,
South of Market, though there is a trend to shorten the name to SOMA or SoMa,
probably in reference to SoHo (South of Houston) in New York City, and,
in turn, Soho in London. Before being called South of Market this area
was called "South of the Slot". The reason
being that cable cars used to run on Market Street and the cable car
tracks have a center slot where the cable car attaches to the cable.
While the cable cars have long since disappeared from Market Street
some "old timers" still refer to this area as "South of the Slot". 
SOMA (South of Market)
The
South of Market district (SoMa) is becoming San Francisco’s center of
art and nightlife with a broad selection of museums, galleries,
restaurants, cafes, bars and nightclubs.
Yerba Buena Gardens
Yerba
Buena Gardens has 5.5 acres of gardens, theaters, shopping, ice skating
, bowling, a historic carousel and a technology center and outdoor
performance area. You will also find the largest man-made waterfall
outside of Atlanta here. Walk behind the waterfall for a unique, and
misty, experience. The reflecting pond in the first panorama at the
left is at the top of the waterfall.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
SFMOMA opened a new museum facility, designed by renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta, on Third Street in 1995.
Sony Metreon
Sony
Metreon, a Sony Entertainment Center is a first-of-its-kind
entertainment and technology marketplace. Covering 350,000 square feet
on four levels, Metreon houses 15 movie theatres, an IMAX theatre,
three interactive attractions, nine restaurants and world-class
shopping
Restaurants in walking distance:
- Rocca's Cafe - Freshly made Italian/American Cuisine
- Julie's Supper Club
- Brainwash Cafe - Organic Foods
- Basil - Fine Dining Thai Cuisine
- India Gardens - Fine Dining North Indian Cuisine
- Sushi Groove - Great Creative Sushi/Japanese Cuisine
- Bloodhound Bar – pool and bar
- Extreme Pizza
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