San Francisco

Today, Macy's Union Square is easily recognized by its modern five-story concave glass façade on Geary Street. But this historic San Francisco store has a vibrant past worth exploring.

Macy's has been at the heart of San Francisco's historic Union Square for decades. Today, the bustling one-block plaza and surrounding neighborhood are still a popular hub in downtown San Francisco, offering shopping, theaters and hotels in abundance.

In 1866, O'Connor, Moffat, & Co. pioneered the department store in the West. The 1928 Union Square location was converted to Macy’s in 1947, and expanded in 1948. Macy's remodeled it and the stand-alone 1974 Men’s Store in the 1990s, and expanded into the upper floors of a 1946 I. Magnin store. Macy's also replaced two buildings on Geary Street, creating the glass entry on Union Square.

Since 1989 Macy’s has kicked off the holiday season with the Annual Great Tree Lighting Ceremony in Union Square Park. Following a series of musical performances, Macy’s has presented the Great Tree – a beautiful, reusable, 83-foot tree decorated with more than 33,000 twinkling energy-efficient LED lights and 1,100 shining ornaments – as its annual holiday gift to the City of San Francisco.