It was a busy day at San Francisco's Union Square Thursday.
Not many stores were open, but visitors still went out to enjoy the sunny holiday afternoon in the newly-cleaned downtown area.
For much of the day, the skating rink was crowded with holiday visitors. And in several of the blocks surrounding the shopping core, people were strolling, cable cars were brimming with riders, and tourists were tipping the street performers.
It’s the scene the city has been hoping for, but many San Francisco residents and visitors alike say they're surprised to see it.
"I saw quite a few folks enjoying the tree,” said visitor Angelea Rombero. "I'm impressed, I'm really happy to see folks here."
"I didn't expect that, there are a lot of people in the city. I saw there are so many people,
I didn't expect a sunny day in San Francisco, but it's very nice today,” said Jiyung Choi, who was visiting from South Korea.
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Most of the stores were closed for the day, but they will be open for Black Friday.
One of the only shops that was open on Thanksgiving day was Friscostocks, a premium sneaker shop on Powell Street.
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The owner said the neighborhood has been busy since this summer.
"Location in a plus. A lot of walk-ins, a lot of tourists. A lot of local customers. It's amazing, I love it,” said Ben Kas.
The hope from city leaders and local merchants is that the crowds will remain in Union Square through the holiday season.
To help ensure that, San Francisco is now promising to saturate the city's shopping core with police officers.
The increased police presence, and the upcoming installation of license plate readers, will all be paid for using state grant money.
Though the area is still struggling with vacant storefronts, the streets are noticeably cleaner and far more active than they’ve been. Largely due to the recent APEC summit.
While helping serve up the annual Thanksgiving dinner at GLIDE, police Chief Bill Scott says the city got some momentum from the meeting of international leaders here.
“We gotta keep things going. A lot of people doubted whether we would be able to have the success that we did, and we did,” he said. “So, I think that we showed the world that we're resilient."
