San Francisco Ferry Building
The clock tower survived. When the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed much of San Francisco, the Ferry Building's 245-foot tower remained standing at the foot of Market Street, its clock face becoming a beacon for a ruined city. The building had opened in 1898 as the primary transit point for ferry passengers crossing the bay, and at its peak in the 1930s it was the second-busiest transit terminal in the world after London's Charing Cross Station, handling 50,000 commuters daily. The Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge killed the ferries. A freeway buried the building. Then the city dug it out again.
Gateway to the City
Before the bridges, if you wanted to reach San Francisco from the East Bay or Marin, you took a ferry, and you arrived at the Ferry Building. The terminal's nave -- a grand, naturally lit hall running the length of the building -- processed thousands of passengers daily who transferred to streetcars for the trip up Market Street. The building's Beaux-Arts design, modeled loosely on the Giralda bell tower in Seville, gave arrival in San Francisco a sense of occasion. The clock tower became the city's most recognizable landmark, a role it held until the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937.
Buried and Reborn
The opening of the Bay Bridge in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 made the ferries obsolete almost overnight. Ferry ridership collapsed, and the building's function evaporated. In 1957, the Embarcadero Freeway was built directly in front of the Ferry Building, cutting it off from the city it had served. For three decades, one of San Francisco's finest buildings sat behind a concrete highway, visible only to those who knew to look. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the freeway, and the city seized the opportunity to demolish it. The Ferry Building's 2003 renovation transformed the interior into a food hall and marketplace, and ferry service returned to the waterfront.
The Saturday Market
The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday on the plaza in front of the building, has become one of the finest farmers' markets in the United States. Vendors sell produce from California's Central Valley and coastal farms, artisanal cheeses, fresh seafood, baked goods, and flowers. The Saturday market draws thousands of shoppers and has become a social event as much as a commercial one. Inside the building, permanent tenants include restaurants, shops, and food purveyors that anchor a culinary destination. The Ferry Building's rebirth as a food hall completed its transformation from transit terminal to public gathering place, restoring its role as the point where San Francisco meets the water.
From the Air
Located at 37.80°N, 122.39°W on the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street. The 245-foot clock tower is a prominent San Francisco landmark visible from the bay and from altitude. KSFO is 11 nm south.