1908 Cistern Circles

What you need to know

Gold Circles in the Street Hiding Emergency Water

After the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed 80% of San Francisco, largely because broken water mains left firefighters helpless, the city buried over 170 underground cisterns beneath its intersections. Each holds tens of thousands of gallons of emergency water reserved exclusively for firefighting. The brick-ringed circles marking their locations are visible on the street surface, many painted gold. Once you know what they are, you’ll start seeing them everywhere.

What Makes It Worth It

This isn’t a destination. It’s a citywide scavenger hunt. The circles are scattered across San Francisco, with concentrations in older neighborhoods like the Mission, Hayes Valley, Nob Hill, and the Financial District. They’re typically at intersections, flush with the pavement, a ring of bricks or a painted gold circle about three feet in diameter.

Most people walk over them daily without knowing what they are. The cisterns are still maintained and operational. The city’s Auxiliary Water Supply System tests and fills them regularly. It’s one of the few direct, visible responses to the 1906 disaster that remains in active use.

No single cistern is worth a special trip. But knowing what the circles mean adds a layer to every walk through San Francisco. The gold-painted ones are the easiest to spot.

Visiting

Address: Throughout San Francisco, over 170 locations at intersections citywide

Hours: Always visible

Cost: Free

Best time to go: Anytime you’re walking the city. Rain makes the gold paint stand out more.

What to know: The highest concentration of cisterns is in neighborhoods that burned in 1906: the Mission, SoMa, and the Financial District. Look down at intersections for the brick or gold circles.

Getting There

Transit: Anywhere. They’re throughout the city.

Parking: N/A

Walking: Visible on any walk through central San Francisco neighborhoods.