South San Francisco highlight
"The Industrial City" heritage
Originally developed as an industrial center in the late 1800s, South San Francisco evolved from a meat-packing and manufacturing hub to the birthplace of biotechnology, centered on the opening of Genentech in 1976.
South San Francisco was founded in 1888 by Gustavus Franklin Swift, the founder of Swift & Company, as an industrial suburb modeled after industrial centers like South Chicago and South Omaha. The city was officially incorporated on September 19, 1908, and quickly became known for its stockyards, meat-packing plants, and manufacturing facilities. The nickname "the smokestack capital of the Peninsula" reflected the industrial character that dominated the city's economy and landscape during the early to mid-twentieth century.
The turning point came in 1976 with the founding of Genentech, the world's first biotechnology company, by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson and biochemist Herbert Boyer. Located in South San Francisco, Genentech pioneered the field of genetic engineering and transformed the city's identity from industrial manufacturing to biotechnology innovation. This shift attracted other life sciences and technology companies to the region, establishing South San Francisco as "the birthplace of biotechnology" and creating a new economic foundation centered on research and development.
The evolution from smokestacks to biotech laboratories mirrors the decisions families in South San Francisco make about their economic future. A city that reinvented itself once—from one industry to another—reflects the kind of long-term planning that life insurance supports. Term coverage sized to cover the mortgage or business needs during the working years, then ending when those obligations do, aligns with how households think about the seasons of life and the protection they need along the way.