Initially developed in the early 1870s, Dogpatch contains the oldest and most intact concentration of industrial workers' housing in San Francisco.

No other district of San Francisco or California was industrialized to the degree of Potrero Point during the last quarter of the 19th Century. The shipyards and other maritime-related industries of Potrero Point required a steady supply of inexpensive immigrant labor in an area that was geographically cut off from the rest of the City. Local developers and landholders, including Santa Fe Land Improvement Company, responded to this need by constructing rows of inexpensive cottages and selling individual parcels to laborers and their families, allowing the neighborhood to develop as an informal company town.

Residences within the district reflect vernacular forms of architectural styles that were prevalent throughout the country, including Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Italianate, Eastlake and Classical Revival styles, or combinations thereof. The district has several clusters, and pairs of identical dwellings, including a group of thirteen identical Eastlake-style cottages based on the plans of San Francisco architect John Cotter Pelton, Jr.

Adapted from San Francisco Planning Code: Article 10, Appendix L

For more about the Central Waterfront, see Pier 70 San Francisco.