Andrew Nash
Vienna Transport Strategies

Downtown and the Northern Waterfront

Start your tour at Market and 4th Street; this is easily accessible from BART's Powell Street Station and many San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) lines.

Yerba Buena Gardens - Walk south from Market Street on Fourth to Mission. You will see the Metreon, a movie, shopping, and eating center on the southeast corner of Mission. Yerba Buena Gardens is an urban oasis located on Mission Street between Third and Fourth Streets. Surrounding the gardens are some of San Francisco's premier cultural organizations and examples of modern architecture. The website has information on access as well as links to surrounding cultural organizations (for example the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art designed by Mario Botta).

Mission Bay - After exploring Yerba Buena Gardens, catch the Muni's #30 or #45 bus south on Fourth Street to the Caltrain Station (you can also walk). Caltrain provides commuter rail service to the San Francisco Peninsula (including San Francisco Airport, Palo Alto, the Silicon Valley, and San Jose). The Caltrain Station is located in the heart of Mission Bay, San Francisco's former freight rail yard, which is being developed by the Catellus Corporation.

Mission Bay's main tenant is the world-renowned University of California San Francisco (UCSF). UCSF has located a major medical research facility in the southern part of the site (near 16th Street).

North on the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building - From the Caltrain Station you can walk, bike, or take the Muni streetcar east on King Street to the Embarcadero. The route takes you through the Mission Bay neighborhood, past SBC Park (home of the San Francisco Giants) and the small boat harbor. The Giant's stadium design was the result of a long community struggle (the first proposal was defeated by voters), and features very limited automobile parking, replaced by unusually good public transportation and bicycle access.

Turning to continue along the Embarcadero you travel through the South Beach - Rincon Hill neighborhood. The Delancey Street Foundation buildings are located at 600 Embarcadero. The Foundation operates programs for rehabilitating substance users. Their clients built the whole complex themselves and operate the restaurant located in the building (as one of the Foundation's training programs).

San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge - A few hundred meters later you can gaze up at the suspension section of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, which is currently being retrofitted for, improved seismic performance. A history of San Francisco bridges is available at: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist9/mcgloin.html.

Muni F Line - Muni's "F-Line" provides historic streetcar service from Market and Castro Streets down Market to the Ferry Building, where it turns north along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. Regular Muni fares apply for "F-Line" service. The historic streetcars are supported by non profit group called The Market Street Railway. Their website offers information on the historic streetcars and they have a souvenir store/museum in the new hotel located at Mission Street and Embarcadero.

Next you pass the restored Hills Brothers Coffee Plant (now housing offices, restaurants, and condominiums) and the new Gap Headquarters Building (by architect Cesar Pelli).

Ferry Building - The recently renovated Ferry Building was once the center of a vast ferry network. Today it has been converted to an urban marketplace -visit on a Tuesday or Saturday morning for an unbelievable farmers market or any day for great restaurant food and the highest quality produce.

The Embarcadero Freeway - You have been walking along the Embarcadero, San Francisco's traditional wharves. In the 1950s the Embarcadero Freeway was constructed; this monstrosity separated the city from its waterfront and led to a general decline in the area. Following the Loma Prieta earthquake (October 17, 1989), and with much debate, the city decided to tear down the elevated freeway and replace it with a surface roadway. The project transformed San Francisco.

As you walk along, try to imagine a freeway 50 feet high and about 70 feet across above you. The San Francisco Chronicle story on the impact of the Loma Prieta Earthquake on San Francisco Planning offers history and unbelievable photos of the freeway at its Embarcadero Freeway link.

North on The Embarcadero - Heading north from the Ferry Building you pass the Embarcadero Center, Golden Gateway Condominiums and reach Broadway. Continuing north along the Embarcadero, you will see Telegraph Hill with Coit Tower on your left. See the North Beach - Chinatown - Union Square Tour for more information on Coit Tower.

Pier 39 - As you continue north on the Embarcadero you will reach Pier 39, essentially a shopping mall created on an old pier in 1978. The San Francisco Chronicle's late Pulitizer Prize winning architectural critic, Allen Temko, started his review of Pier 39 with the words "Corn. Kitsch. Schlock. Honky-tonk. Dreck. Schmaltz. Merde." The review sparked a lawsuit from Pier 39's architect. Today Pier 39 is especially famous for the sea lions that took up residency there in 1989. For more information on the sea lions stop by the Marine Mammal Center exhibit on Pier 39.

The question of how to re-use San Francisco's finger piers is a huge urban planning problem. While Pier 39's retail approach is frowned upon by many, it provides enough income to pay for rehabilitating the pier and supporting public access. Many other San Francisco finger piers are in danger of crumbling into the San Francisco Bay. The Port of San Francisco is trying to find ways to raise the money to maintain their historic piers, but rehabilitation costs are high and the legally acceptable uses are limited. This is an issue that you can probably read about in the local papers when you visit.

Fisherman's Wharf - Continue walking west into Fisherman's Wharf, you will pass ferry docks (you can catch a ferry to Alcatraz here, but make reservations early, the trips sell-out days in advance). Alcatraz, once a federal prison for notorious criminals, is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (see later tour).

Next you pass through the heart of Fisherman's Wharf, the restaurants offering crab and seafood, and the boat harbor. A bit further on is the Cannery, originally a fish cannery, now restaurants and gift shops. Past the Cannery is the San Francisco Maritime Park, also part of the GGNRA, with exhibits of historical ships. At this point Victorian Park is on your left. Here you can catch the Powell-Hyde Street Cable Car to Union Square or continue walking to the Aquatic Park and Ghirardelli Square. Further west is Fort Mason, Crissy Field, and the Golden Gate Bridge (see later tour).