San Francisco County is named for Francis of Assisi who was a Roman Catholic saint and founder of the Order of Friars Minor ( Franciscans ).
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Marin County
E – Alameda County
S – San Mateo County
W – Pacific Ocean
Created: February 18, 1850 
County Seat:
San Francisco 1850 – present
County Courthouse ( City Hall ) – San Francisco
Location: 1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Place / Van Ness Avenue
Built: 1913 – 1915
Style: Beaux Arts
Architect: Arthur Brown Jr. of Bakewell & Brown
Contractor: George Wagner of Bakewell & Brown
Description: The building faces west and is a four story gray colored stone, steel and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of San Francisco. On the east and west sides are large central porticos with arched entrances on the first story and columns rising to wide pediments at the flat roof line. The second and third stories have columns with recess windows. On the center of the roof is a large dome modeled after the Les Invalides in Paris, France. The building is faced with Madera County granite on the exterior and Indiana sandstone in the interior along withmarbles from Alabama, Colorado, Vermont, and Italy. Much of the statuary is by Henti Crenier. The rotunda has a grand staircase. Located on the second story are the Mayor’s Office and the Board of Supervisors Chamber which room is surrounded by intricately carved Manchurian oak panels, the furniture is California oak and the ceiling looks like wood but is actually plaster.
County Civic Center Courthouse – San Francisco
Location: 400 McAllister Street / Polk Street
Built: 1995 – 1998
Style: Modern Neo-Classical
Architect: Lee/Timcula Architects, Mark Cavagnero & Associates, Ross/Drulius Architects and Hood Miller Associates
Contractor: Huber Hunt & Nichols
Description: The building faces south and is a six story gray colored stone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located in the center of San Francisco on the north side of the City Hall. Along the south side are five large windows with large arch windows at the fifth story. A cornice projects below the sixth story. The south east entrance is angled and rises to a dome with round windows on the sixth story. The building has 44 courtrooms. The building is the San Francisco Civic Center Courthouse and houses the County Superior Court – Civil, Family and Probate.
County Hall of Justice – San Francisco
Location: 850 Bryant Street / 7th Street
Built: 1958 – 1960
Style: Neo-Classical / Art Deco
Architect: Weihe Frick & Kruse
Contractor: Hall Pregnoff & Matheu
Description: The building faces southeast and is a seven story gray colored granite clad and concrete structure. The L-shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of San Francisco to the east of the City Hall. There are three rectangular shaped entrances along the north part of the southeast front. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County Superior Court – Criminal. The building was named for Thomas J Cahill. The building was expanded and renovated in 1979 and 1985. The building served as the San Francisco Police Department’s operational headquarters until 2015.
History: The county was created in 1850 and San Francisco was selected as the county seat. In 1852, the county purchased the Jenny Lind Theatre built in 1851 as the city hall and first courthouse. The second city hall was built between 1872 and 1899. The Jenny Lind Theatre was rebuilt in 1896 to 1900 as the Hall of Justice and second courthouse on the southeast corner of Kearny Street and Washington Street. The building was damaged during the 1906 earthquake. In 1909 to 1912, the third courthouse (Hall of Justice) was designed by Newron Tharp and built on the same site. The building was demolished in 1968. The fourth and present courthouse (Hall of Justice) was constructed in 1958 to 1960. In 1916, the civic courts were housed in the city hall and in 1995 to 1998, the Civic Center Courthouse was constructed as the fifth courthouse at a cost $45,500,000.
See: Located in the coutnty are the 1st Appellate District Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court – San Francisco
County Courthouse ( City Hall ) – San Francfisco
County Civic Center Courthouse – San Francisco
County Hall of Justice – San Francisco
Photos taken 2015