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Southern Pacific Hospital, Fell Street
Ever since gold was discovered in 1849, city pioneers dreamed of a railway from the Mississippi River to San Francisco. The construction of that railroad fell to a railroad visionary named Theodore Judah and four obscure Sacramento merchants, Crocker, Hopkins, Huntington, and Stanford. Those men who would become known as the 'Big Four' and build the Central Pacific Railroad (later Southern Pacific Railroad). The railroad became a transportation monopoly and controlled nearly every business in California, making the Big Four fabulously wealthy.

Today the Southern Pacific is still in business and while it does not have the power it once did, the company is still one of the largest owners of land in California. This is due to its vast agricultural land grants, a legacy that dates back to the day of the Big Four. Pictured above is the former Southern Pacific Hospital in San Francisco, now a retirement facility.
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