New York comes out swinging with it's long history. The Square came together in the 1830's while San Francisco's wasn't built until 1850. New York strikes again by maintaining a larger area of about 3.5 acres to San Francisco's Square of about 2.6 acres. New York takes round one.
San Francisco delivers a strong hit for being named for the Union Army. Although no Civil War battles were fought on San Francisco soil, several pro-Union demonstrations took place in the square. Meanwhile, New York was simply named because it was a "union" of two different streets that don't even exist anymore. The second round goes to San Francisco.San Francisco challenges New York's available transportation. While New York offers several different lines from Union Square, including the 4,5 and 6 trains which run up to Grand Central, San Francisco's cable cars are icons of public transportation. Two cable cars serve the area as well the Muni Metro and the BART subway located a short distance from the park. San Francisco comes out on top and takes this round.
In the final round, New York jabs with its shopping, restaurants and nightlife around the Union Square area. Stores surround the entire park, including a Filene's Basement and DSW combination punch at the south end of the park. Restaurants like the original Heartland Brewery and Blue Water Grill right next door. The park is fully Starbucks-equipped with one Starbucks at the northwest corner and another in the southeast corner. A third Starbucks is just a short walk over on 15th Street and Third Avenue, easily keeping Union Square visitors caffeinated. Finally, New York lands a hit right to the face with nearby Pete's Tavern, the restaurant where O. Henry wrote the Gift of the Magi.
San Francisco is still standing and swinging back with six major department stores, including Macy's flagship store that looks over the park. The elegant Michael Mina restaurant is located near the park. But even with San Francisco's Comedy College and Clubhouse so close you can hear the laughs, San Francisco doesn't have enough steam to finish off New York. New York takes the final round as we go into a sudden-death tie breaker.
San Francisco scores with the Dewey Monument. New York keeps hope alive with it's green market. San Francisco returns with the Xanadu Gallery, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. New York, exhausted, goes down.
We have a winner. San Francisco takes the title for Best Union Square!
