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San Francisco Ferry Building
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San Francisco Ferry Building
The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay, a food hall and an office building. It is located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California and is served by Golden Gate Ferry and San Francisco Bay Ferry routes.
On top of the building is a 245-foot-tall (75 m) clock tower with four clock dials, each 22 feet (6.7 m) in diameter, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city.
Designed in 1892 by American architect A. Page Brown in the Beaux-Arts style, the ferry building was completed in 1898. At its opening, it was the largest project undertaken in the city up to that time. One of Brown's design inspirations for the clock tower may have been the current 16th-century iteration of the 12th-century Giralda bell tower in Seville, Spain. The entire length of the building on both frontages is based on an arched arcade.
With decreased use since the 1950s, after bridges were constructed to carry transbay traffic and most streetcar routes were converted to buses, the building was adapted to office use and its public spaces broken up. In 2002, a restoration and renovation were undertaken to redevelop the entire complex. The 660-foot-long (200 m) Great Nave was restored, together with its height and materials. A marketplace was created on the ground floor, the former baggage handling area. The second and third floors were adapted for office and Port Commission use. On every hour during daylight, the clock bell chimes portions of the Westminster Quarters. The ferry terminal is a designated San Francisco landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Opened on July 13, 1898, the building replaced a wooden predecessor constructed on the same site in 1875. The well built reinforced building with its arched arcades survived both the 1906 and the 1989 earthquakes with little damage. It served as the destination for commuters to San Francisco from the East Bay, who rode the ferry fleets of the Southern Pacific and the Key System. It also served as the connection to San Francisco for the transcontinental rail lines of the Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and Western Pacific which terminated in Oakland, and for the Northwestern Pacific running north from Marin County. The ferry piers north of the clock tower served the Key System, Santa Fe, and Northwestern Pacific, while the piers south of the tower served the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific. Streetcars were initially served on Market Street with a turntable utilized for reversing cars. Following the 1906 earthquake, a two-track balloon loop was installed in front of the building to enable convenient transfers to streetcars. When the Twin Peaks Tunnel began carrying streetcars in 1918, a third loop was added. This layout was capable of handling up to 295 cars per hour. A large pedestrian bridge spanned the Embarcadero in front of the Ferry building to facilitate safe crossing of the busy plaza and transit hub. In the 1940s, the bridge was dismantled to supply scrap metal for the Second World War.
Until the completion of the Bay Bridge (which began to carry railroad traffic) and Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s, the Ferry Building was the second busiest transit terminal in the world, second only to London's Charing Cross Station. After the bridges opened, and the new Key System and Southern Pacific (Interurban Electric/IER) trains began running to the East Bay from the Transbay Terminal in 1939, passenger ferry use fell sharply. In the second half of the 20th century, although the Ferry Building and its clock tower remained a part of the San Francisco skyline, the condition of the building interior declined with changes. Beginning in the 1950s, unsympathetic renovations installed a mezzanine level, broke up the grand space of the Great Nave, and partitioned the ticketing counters and waiting room areas into office space. The formerly grand public space was reduced to a narrow and dark corridor, through which travelers passed en route to the piers. Passengers were made to wait for ferries on outdoor benches, and the ticketing booths were moved to the pier.
In the late 1950s, the Embarcadero Freeway was built, which passed right in front of the Ferry Building, and views of the once-prominent landmark were greatly obscured from Market Street. Pedestrian access was treated as an afterthought, and the public was cut off from the waterfront.
Market Street Railway services terminated at a loop in front of the building prior to the construction of the Transbay Terminal. The last streetcars ran on July 2, 1949.
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San Francisco Ferry Building
The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay, a food hall and an office building. It is located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California and is served by Golden Gate Ferry and San Francisco Bay Ferry routes.
On top of the building is a 245-foot-tall (75 m) clock tower with four clock dials, each 22 feet (6.7 m) in diameter, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city.
Designed in 1892 by American architect A. Page Brown in the Beaux-Arts style, the ferry building was completed in 1898. At its opening, it was the largest project undertaken in the city up to that time. One of Brown's design inspirations for the clock tower may have been the current 16th-century iteration of the 12th-century Giralda bell tower in Seville, Spain. The entire length of the building on both frontages is based on an arched arcade.
With decreased use since the 1950s, after bridges were constructed to carry transbay traffic and most streetcar routes were converted to buses, the building was adapted to office use and its public spaces broken up. In 2002, a restoration and renovation were undertaken to redevelop the entire complex. The 660-foot-long (200 m) Great Nave was restored, together with its height and materials. A marketplace was created on the ground floor, the former baggage handling area. The second and third floors were adapted for office and Port Commission use. On every hour during daylight, the clock bell chimes portions of the Westminster Quarters. The ferry terminal is a designated San Francisco landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Opened on July 13, 1898, the building replaced a wooden predecessor constructed on the same site in 1875. The well built reinforced building with its arched arcades survived both the 1906 and the 1989 earthquakes with little damage. It served as the destination for commuters to San Francisco from the East Bay, who rode the ferry fleets of the Southern Pacific and the Key System. It also served as the connection to San Francisco for the transcontinental rail lines of the Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and Western Pacific which terminated in Oakland, and for the Northwestern Pacific running north from Marin County. The ferry piers north of the clock tower served the Key System, Santa Fe, and Northwestern Pacific, while the piers south of the tower served the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific. Streetcars were initially served on Market Street with a turntable utilized for reversing cars. Following the 1906 earthquake, a two-track balloon loop was installed in front of the building to enable convenient transfers to streetcars. When the Twin Peaks Tunnel began carrying streetcars in 1918, a third loop was added. This layout was capable of handling up to 295 cars per hour. A large pedestrian bridge spanned the Embarcadero in front of the Ferry building to facilitate safe crossing of the busy plaza and transit hub. In the 1940s, the bridge was dismantled to supply scrap metal for the Second World War.
Until the completion of the Bay Bridge (which began to carry railroad traffic) and Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s, the Ferry Building was the second busiest transit terminal in the world, second only to London's Charing Cross Station. After the bridges opened, and the new Key System and Southern Pacific (Interurban Electric/IER) trains began running to the East Bay from the Transbay Terminal in 1939, passenger ferry use fell sharply. In the second half of the 20th century, although the Ferry Building and its clock tower remained a part of the San Francisco skyline, the condition of the building interior declined with changes. Beginning in the 1950s, unsympathetic renovations installed a mezzanine level, broke up the grand space of the Great Nave, and partitioned the ticketing counters and waiting room areas into office space. The formerly grand public space was reduced to a narrow and dark corridor, through which travelers passed en route to the piers. Passengers were made to wait for ferries on outdoor benches, and the ticketing booths were moved to the pier.
In the late 1950s, the Embarcadero Freeway was built, which passed right in front of the Ferry Building, and views of the once-prominent landmark were greatly obscured from Market Street. Pedestrian access was treated as an afterthought, and the public was cut off from the waterfront.
Market Street Railway services terminated at a loop in front of the building prior to the construction of the Transbay Terminal. The last streetcars ran on July 2, 1949.
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