SAN FRANCISCO’S EMBARCADERO

Reimagining the city’s storied urban

waterfront to meet the needs of today
PIER 39
39
San Francisco’s Embarcadero has been reinvented many
times over the course of its history. At one time, this stretch
of land was the city’s connection to the global marketplace. BAY 35
STR
Over the years it has been the site of devastation from fire EET
and earthquakes. Today, the Embarcadero boasts some of 33

the city’s most important public space, but lacks an identi-

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ty and faces serious implications in the face of climate change.

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27

• How might we draw on lessons from the Embarcadero’s past

to inform future uses?

STREE
• How can we mitigate (un)natural risks along the Embarcadero?

T
23

• How are people interacting with and moving through the 19

EMBARCADERO
Embarcadero? BRO
AD 15-17
WA
• What conditions activate or deactivate the public realm? Y
9

3
1

FERRY BLDG
T S T R E E T
MA R K E

S T R E E T
FO L S O M

26

28

30-32

38
40

Study Area: The 2.5 mile-long stretch of the

BALLPARK

Embarcadero, from Pier 39 to Oracle Ballpark. 2019

UC Berkeley DCRP | CP 208 Embarcadero Plan Preparation Studio | Spring 2019

Professor Elizabeth Macdonald | Tyler Brown | Andrea Carranza | Christa Cassidy | Elena Eimert | Aaron Gatdula | Lex Gelb | Anisha Kimble | Natalie Koski-Karell
Melisa Krnjaic | Maggie Laush | Emily Mann | Brieanne Martin | Josie Morgan | Vanessa Ordonez | Joy Pasquet | Marta Polovin | Ivana Rosas | Jun Tanabe
PRE - DEVELOPMENT: 8,000 BC - 1848 AD
LEGEND
Sandy dunes
Early Settlement of Yerba Buena
The Birth of a City
Current shoreline
Creek
Early residences (1835) Pre-1776 Native American Origins
Trade ships For 10,000 years before the arriv-
5 ft interval al of the Spaniards, the Ohlone peo-
ples inhabiated the coastal area be-
Presidio
re
res
essid
dio
d io
o tween Point Sur and the San Francisco Bay.
(17776)
7
76
(1776)6)
6)

1776-1822 Colonization
In 1776, Spanish military and civilian set-
tlers arrived in the Bay Area to establish mil-
itary garrisons, civil settlements, and Fran-
ciscan missions (Presidio and Dolores).

1835 Pitching a Tent

When Englishman William Richardson
pitched a tent inland from Yerba Buena
Cove, his daughter described the area as
“nothing but sand dunes, cov-
ered with shrubbery and trees...
Wild animals were very numerous,
such as bears, wolves, coyotes. “
Yerba Buena Cove

1846 Pioneers Arrive

In 1846, Yerba Buena doubled in
population with the arrival of about
240 Mormon pioneers led by
Sam Brannan. A year later, Captain Mont-
gomery renamed the settlement San Fran-
Rincon Point
cisco. In 1848, the city and the rest of Cal-
ifornia officially came under U.S. control.

Mission
Missio
siio
sio o Dolores
iion
on Do
D
Dolo
Dolor
Dol
ol
oloores
or
re
rres
ess
e
1848 Gold Rush
(1776)
6)) 3 mi
1776)
776) mi
Brannan publicized findings of gold
in the Sacramento Valley, and within
one year the population of San Fran-
cisco increased from 1,000 to 25,000.
Ohlone shellmounds
3 mi
Ships docked at Yerba Buena Cove were

1835 ¯ abandoned by their crews and cap-

tains, and left buried under the infill of
present day downtown/Embarcadero.

(1) Malcolm Margolin (2013). The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area. Hey-
day Books: Berkeley, CA. (2) National Park Service (2015). “Ohlones and Coast Miwoks.” (3) K. Maldet-
to. “William Richardson and Yerba Buena Origins.” FoundSF.org. (4) Wikipedia. “History of San Francisco.”

UC Berkeley DCRP | CP 208 Embarcadero Plan Preparation Studio | Spring 2019

Professor Elizabeth Macdonald | Tyler Brown | Andrea Carranza | Christa Cassidy | Elena Eimert | Aaron Gatdula | Lex Gelb | Anisha Kimble | Natalie Koski-Karell
Melisa Krnjaic | Maggie Laush | Emily Mann | Brieanne Martin | Josie Morgan | Vanessa Ordonez | Joy Pasquet | Marta Polovin | Ivana Rosas | Jun Tanabe
 BUILDING UP THE EMBARCADERO: 1851-1912
LEGEND 1851 The Great Fire
1859 fill
1915 fill A devastating fire destroyed San
Current Francisco’s waterfront. The first
Shoreline
series of bay fill begins by cutting
DEMOGRAPHICS down sand hills along the Bay to
Chinese
Italian create new dry land.
Irish
BA German
YS
TRE
ET 1860s The First Sea Wall
Work began on the first seawall in
the 1860s. However, construction
was not fully completed until 1916.

1869 Transcontinental Railroad

The arrival of this railroad meant
that cargo traffic to the Port of San
Francisco fell by 50%.
BR
OA
D WA
Y
1873 The First Cable Car
The first cable car on the streets
of San Francisco lead to a boom
in transportation.
FERRY BLDG
EMBARCADERO STREET

MARKET STREET
1898 Ferry Building Opens
This iconic building becomes the
transportation focal point for any-
one arriving by train or ferry.

M S T R E E T
FOLS O 1906 Earthquake & Fire
A great earthquake and fire devas-
tates the city, prompting a massive
era of rebuilding.

1912 Municipal Railway Opens

Popularly known as Muni, the rail-
way would grow to a become a vital
city-wide mode of transportation.
1915
Map sources: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection 1859-1915.
Content sources: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Found SF; SF Chronicle.

UC Berkeley DCRP | CP 208 Embarcadero Plan Preparation Studio | Spring 2019

Professor Elizabeth Macdonald | Tyler Brown | Andrea Carranza | Christa Cassidy | Elena Eimert | Aaron Gatdula | Lex Gelb | Anisha Kimble | Natalie Koski-Karell
Melisa Krnjaic | Maggie Laush | Emily Mann | Brieanne Martin | Josie Morgan | Vanessa Ordonez | Joy Pasquet | Marta Polovin | Ivana Rosas | Jun Tanabe
 ACTIVATING THE EMBARCADERO: 1915-1934
Legend 1915 Panama Exposition
1935 Shoreline
2019 Shoreline
Steamship Pier
Marking the completion of the
Cable Car Panama Canal, the exposition provid-
Railroad ed a platform to showcase the City’s
FIS recovery from the 1906 disasters.
HE
RM
WH AN
AR ’S
F

BA
YS
TRE
ET
1915 The Age of Vehicles
With over 2 million registered
vehicles on the road, transporta-
tion use and overall population
was on the rise.
EMBARCADERO STREET

1916 First Sea Wall Completed

BR While the project began in the

OA
D WA 1860s, contruction was ultimately
Y delayed and was not completed
until 1916. This seawall marked a
major piece of infrastructure, that
has not been fully updated since.

1920s The Rise of The Ferry

FERRY BLDG

The ferry building averaged

MA R K E T S T R E E T
50,000 ferry communters daily.
With ferries traveling from Oak-
land, Alameda, Richmond, as well
as Sausalito, Muir Woods and Mt.
Tamalpais. This marked an era of
economic and population boom.
O M S T R E E T
FOLS

1934 “Bloody Thursday”

West Coast longshoremen went
on strike, shutting down docks
along 2,000 miles of coastline. The
strike is reffered to as “Bloody
Thursday” as increasing tensions
prompted violence and resulted
in hundreds of people wounded.

1935
Map sources: Harrison Goodwin Map of San Francisco 1935.
Content sources: Gabriel Moulin 1914; Found SF; One SF.

UC Berkeley DCRP | CP 208 Embarcadero Plan Preparation Studio | Spring 2019

Professor Elizabeth Macdonald | Tyler Brown | Andrea Carranza | Christa Cassidy | Elena Eimert | Aaron Gatdula | Lex Gelb | Anisha Kimble | Natalie Koski-Karell
Melisa Krnjaic | Maggie Laush | Emily Mann | Brieanne Martin | Josie Morgan | Vanessa Ordonez | Joy Pasquet | Marta Polovin | Ivana Rosas | Jun Tanabe
INDUSTRIALIZING THE EMBARCADERO: 1935-1977
LEGEND
Piers standing in 1960 1936 Bay Bridge opens
State Belt Line, 1960
Embarcadero Freeway, 1959
Bay Bridge, 1936
The Bay Bridge provides valuable
PIER 39 Industrial zones, 1960 connectivity with the East Bay
Piers 37-39: Unassigned, general cargo
Industrial facilities, 1960 via car and rail. The Golden Gate
39
Breweries and beverage bottlers Bridge opens six months later.
Meat
Pier 35: Pacific Far East Line, Princess Fish
Cruises, Holland America
Produce
35 Apparel
BAY
STR Pier 33: Unassigned, transient Lumber
EET operations Coffee and chocolate
33
CO LU

Canneries and can manufacturies

Pier 27-31: Pacific Far East Line
31
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29

1941-1945 WWII wartime uses

STREE

Almost every pier and wharf along

T

27

23 Pier 19-23: Pacific- the Embarcadero was being used

BRO
Oriental Terminal to support military action in the
19
AD Pacific Theater.
WA
Y 15-17
Piers 15-17: Cresent
Wharf & Warehouse
Company
1959 Embarcadero Freeway
9 Pier 9: Marine Terminals
The new freeway delivers
7
cars from the Bay Bridge,
Pier 7: Unknown

5 Pier 5: Condemned
severing the Embarcadero
3 Pier 3: Merchant Towboat,
Paladini Fish Company from the rest of the city.
1 Pier 1: Unassigned
FERRY BLDG

E E T 1974 BART transbay tube opens

R K E T S T R
MA
The new tunnel provides import-
Pier 14: Destroyed by a ant redudancy in the transporta-
14
fire
Pier 16: Mainten. shop
tion network, and connects com-
16
18 Pier 18: Not available for
muters to the Financial District and
marine use
beyond.
Pier 20: Best Way System
20 Dray (trucking)

S O M S T R E E T 22 Pier 22: Service Enginee- 1969 Tidelands Trust

FOL ring Co. (ship repair)
24 Pier 24: Cal Auto Service The city assumes ownership
of Embarcadero from the
(repair)
26 Pier 26: Calif. Stevedore
and Ballast Company State. BCDC is given permit
28
Pier 28: Unassigned, general
cargo
authority over waterfront.
30-32
Housing development banned
Pier 30-32: Cresent Wharf & on piers.
Warehouse Company
34
36 Pier 34: Unknown
Pier 36: Pacific Ship Repair

38 1977 South Beach redevelopment

Pier 38: General cargo, unassigned

Rincon Point-South Beach rede-

40
Pier 40: Star Terminal Company
velopment begins. Demolition of
traces of area’s past as port and
1960 warehouse district.
Map source: Infinte City: A San Francisco Atlas, Rebecca Solnit, 2010
Content sources: SPUR, SF Planning Department, SF Gate, FoundSF, California Historical Society

UC Berkeley DCRP | CP 208 Embarcadero Plan Preparation Studio | Spring 2019

Professor Elizabeth Macdonald | Tyler Brown | Andrea Carranza | Christa Cassidy | Elena Eimert | Aaron Gatdula | Lex Gelb | Anisha Kimble | Natalie Koski-
Karell | Melisa Krnjaic | Maggie Laush | Emily Mann | Brieanne Martin | Josie Morgan | Vanessa Ordonez | Joy Pasquet | Marta Polovin | Ivana Rosas | Jun Tanabe
REVITALIZING THE EMBARCADERO: 1978-2019
LEGEND 1978 Pier 39 opens
1970s redevelopment
1990s redevelopment An mix of shops and restaurants
2000s redevelopment opens, largely for tourists. Though
2010s redevelopment successful, it is many San Francis-
Current underutilized space
Current open space
cans’ nightmare of what the entire
PIER 39 waterfront could become.
Pier 39 Redevelopment

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

BAY Earthquake shakes loose portions
STR
EET of the Embarcadero Freeway’s el-
evated ramps, collapsing whole
COLU

sections.
MBUS

James Herman
STREE

Cruise Terminal

1991 Freeway demolition

T

Embarcadero Freeway comes

BRO down after much consternation
AD about whether or not to rebuild.
WA
Y

1993 State Belt Line shuts down

As the port closed operations, so
Golden Gate
too did the State Belt Line railroad
Redevelopment which in its heyday, had 67 miles
of track serving every pier.
Project
FERRY BLDG

T S T R E E T
MA R K E
1995 Golden Gate Redevelopment
Ten-acre mixed-use redevelop-
ment is completed on site of for-
mer wholesale produce market.

S T R E E T
FO L S O M
2000 Pacific Bell Ballpark opens
Opens four years after voters al-
Central SoMa Rincon Point-South
low a privately funded ballpark
Development Beach Project at China Basin. The investment
spurs new interest in the Rincon
Plan

Hill-South Beach neighborhood.

2003 Ferry Building restored

Pacific Bell
Ballpark A four-year $100 million resto-
ration of the 1889 Ferry Building
is completed, a gem of the city.
2019
Sources: SF Planning Dept., California Historical Society, SPUR, SF Gate

UC Berkeley DCRP | CP 208 Embarcadero Plan Preparation Studio | Spring 2019

Professor Elizabeth Macdonald | Tyler Brown | Andrea Carranza | Christa Cassidy | Elena Eimert | Aaron Gatdula | Lex Gelb | Anisha Kimble | Natalie Koski-
Karell | Melisa Krnjaic | Maggie Laush | Emily Mann | Brieanne Martin | Josie Morgan | Vanessa Ordonez | Joy Pasquet | Marta Polovin | Ivana Rosas | Jun Tanabe
 UNREALIZED PLANS: IMAGINING THE EMBARCADERO
1 8 9 7
Willis Polk proposed a peristyle and arch at
the foot of Market Street, an early exam-
ple of creating a “front porch” for the city.
Polk’s plan failed to find political ground-
ing within the community, setting off a long
trend of unbuilt proposals for the site.

1 9 0 4
Daniel Burnham was invited to SF to trans-
form the city from its rough Barbary
Coast days into a new “Paris of the Pa-
cific”, a City Beautiful overhaul that was
forgotten after the earthquake in 1906.

1 9 5 1
William Merchant’s World Trade Cen-
ter proposal recalls The Embarcade-
ro’s history as a center of commerce
and trade; failed due to a lack of funds.

1 9 6 0 s
Architects Born & Bolles’ “Embarcadero City”
envisioned a waterfront metropolis, includ-
ing an extension of the elevated freeway.

SF’s 1963 Downtown Plan proposed shear-

ing off the wings of the Ferry Building.

1 9 7 1
An artists’ vision of the Ferry Build-
ing as an island, and piers as parks.

1 9 8 1
I.M. Pei & Partners imagine a
World Trade Center atop Pier One.

2 0 1 2
An approved condo development at 8
Washington was defeated by referendum.
(1) Paolo Polledri (1990). Visionary San Francisco. (2) Online Archive of California (2003). “William G. Merchant”. (3) On-
line Archive of California (2009). “Inventory of the Ernest and Esther Born Collection”. (4) California Historical Society (2013). “Un-
built San Francisco”. (5) Max Dreger (2013). “Vestiges of San Francisco’s Unbuilt Waterfront”. Berkeley Planning Journal (2013).

UC Berkeley DCRP | CP 208 Embarcadero Plan Preparation Studio | Spring 2019

Professor Elizabeth Macdonald | Tyler Brown | Andrea Carranza | Christa Cassidy | Elena Eimert | Aaron Gatdula | Lex Gelb | Anisha Kimble | Natalie Koski-Karell
Melisa Krnjaic | Maggie Laush | Emily Mann | Brieanne Martin | Josie Morgan | Vanessa Ordonez | Joy Pasquet | Marta Polovin | Ivana Rosas | Jun Tanabe