Washington Square, Urban park in North Beach, San Francisco, US.

Washington Square is a 2.8-acre park in North Beach, San Francisco, established in 1847. Its central grassy expanse, worn to bare earth in places, is encircled by benches along curving paths and Lombardy poplars, the layout set by Francis McCarthy and Douglas Baylis in the 1950s. Columbus Avenue cuts through the original square, leaving Marini Plaza as a separate pocket at Union and Powell streets.

The park was established in 1847 as one of San Francisco's early public green spaces. Following the 1906 earthquake, it provided temporary shelter for hundreds of residents who had lost their homes.

The square hosts Columbus Day celebrations and Italian festivals, a legacy of the Italian community that shaped North Beach. Cafés and restaurants such as Mama's, Tony's Pizza Napoletana, Park Tavern and Liguria Bakery line the edges. The park appears in Richard Brautigan's 1967 novel Trout Fishing in America and Lawrence Ferlinghetti's 1979 poem The Old Italians Dying.

The park is located at the intersection of Filbert and Stockton Streets with public restrooms nearby. Street parking is available in surrounding areas, and public transit connections make access straightforward from downtown.

A statue of Benjamin Franklin with a fountain at its base has occupied the park's center since 1879. This gift from a private donor reflects the philanthropic gestures that shaped San Francisco's public spaces in the late 1800s.