The Port of San Francisco is a semi-independent organization that oversees the port facilities at
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is run by a five-member commission, appointed by the
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
and approved by the
Board of Supervisors
A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...
. The Port is responsible for managing the larger waterfront area that extends from the anchorage of the
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
, along the
Marina district, all the way around the north and east shores of the city of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
including
Fisherman's Wharf and the
Embarcadero, and southward to the city line just beyond
Candlestick Point. In 1968 the
State of California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, via the
California State Lands Commission
The California State Lands Commission is a unit of state government that is responsible for management and protection of natural and cultural resources, as well as public access rights, on some of California's publicly owned lands.
The members of ...
for the State-operated
San Francisco Port Authority
The Port of San Francisco is a semi-independent organization that oversees the port facilities at San Francisco, California, United States. It is run by a five-member commission, appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board of Supervisors. T ...
(est. 1957), transferred its responsibilities for the Harbor of San Francisco waterfront to the
City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
/ San Francisco Harbor Commission through the Burton Act AB2649. All eligible State port authority employees had the option to become employees of the
City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
to maintain consistent operation of the Port of San Francisco.
The Port of San Francisco lies on the western edge of the
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
near the
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...
. It has been called one of the three great natural harbors in the world, but it took two long centuries for navigators from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to find the anchorage originally called
Yerba Buena
Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to regi ...
: a port, as was said in its early days, in which all the fleets of the world could find anchorage.
The port area under the Commission's control comprises nearly eight miles of waterfront lands, commercial real estate and maritime piers from Hyde Street on the north to India Basin in the southeast. The list of landmarks under port control include
Fisherman's Wharf,
Pier 39
Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of Cali ...
, the
Ferry Building,
Oracle Park
Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curre ...
(formerly AT&T Park, SBC Park and Pacific Bell Park), located next to China Basin and
Pier 70 at
Potrero Point
Potrero Point is an area in San Francisco, California, east of San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood. Potrero Point was an early San Francisco industrial area. The Point started as small natural land feature that extends into Mission Bay ...
. Huge covered piers on piles jut out into San Francisco bay along much of the waterfront, bordered by the
Embarcadero roadway. In 2015, the City, acting through the Port of San Francisco, launched the San Francisco Seawall Earthquake Safety and Disaster Prevention Program (Seawall Program).
History
The first landing place on the north-eastern tip of the San Francisco peninsula was a rocky promontory below
Telegraph Hill A telegraph hill is a hill or other natural elevation that is chosen as part of an optical telegraph system.
Telegraph Hill may also refer to:
England
* A high point in the Haldon Hills, Devon
* Telegraph Hill, Dorset, a hill in the Dorset Down ...
later known as Clarke's Point that jutted into the
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
at the line of what is now Broadway and Battery Streets.
Yerba Buena Cove
Yerba Buena Cove was a cove on San Francisco Bay where the Mexican pueblo of Yerba Buena was located. It lay between Clarks Point to the north (southeast of Telegraph Hill, near the corner of Broadway and Battery Streets) and Rincon Point to the ...
swept inland from the subsequently named Clarke's Point to as far as
Montgomery Street
Montgomery Street is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, in the United States.
It runs about 16 blocks from the Telegraph Hill neighborhood south through downtown, terminating at Market Street Market Street may refer to:
* ...
to the west, and further south and east to
Rincon Point at the
south of Market area at the foot of Folsom and Spear streets.
The founding padres of
Mission Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to:
* Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores
* Dolores (given name)
Dolores may also refer to:
Film
* ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt
* ' ...
and the other northern California missions found the jetty at Clarke's Point a convenient landing for their commerce in hides and
tallow
Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...
. It is the same location where Russian ships anchored to load supplies of meat and grain. Early European visitors were the British ''Raccoon'' in 1814 and the
French frigate ''Artemise'' in 1839. The sloop
USS ''St. Louis'', which arrived in 1840, was the first warship to fly the American flag in
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
. On July 9, 1846, the sloop
USS ''Portsmouth'' gave a 21-gun salute and Captain
John Berrien Montgomery
John Berrien Montgomery (1794 – March 25, 1872) was an officer in the United States Navy who rose up through the ranks, serving in the War of 1812, Mexican–American War and the American Civil War, performing in various capacities including the ...
and his detachment rowed ashore and hoisted the American flag on the Mexican flagpole in the small settlement's plaza, later named
Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most densel ...
in honor of the ship.
The earliest development of a port in San Francisco, two and a half miles east of the Presidio, was under the Mexican regime, begun in 1835 as the town of
Yerba Buena
Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to regi ...
. Before this time, the port at Monterey was considered the official port of entry to California.
Captain Richardson erected the first abode of a European on the hill overlooking the Bay. He became the first harbor master by appointment of the Governor Mariano Guadaloupe de Vallejo.
Whalers took umbrage at the taxes charged by the Mexican governor
Manuel Micheltorena
Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general of the Mexican Army, adjutant-general of the same, governor, commandant-general and inspector of the department of Las Californias, then ...
in 1843, and the outright banning of their trading in the port, then relocated from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands.
Commodore
John D. Sloat
John Drake Sloat (July 26, 1781 – November 28, 1867) was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.
Life
He was born at the family home of Sloat House in Sloatsburg, New York, of Dutch ancestr ...
claimed California for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on July 7, 1846, during the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
, and Captain
John B. Montgomery
John Berrien Montgomery (1794 – March 25, 1872) was an officer in the United States Navy who rose up through the ranks, serving in the War of 1812, Mexican–American War and the American Civil War, performing in various capacities including the ...
arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. In 1847, the first American
alcalde
Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
, Lt.
Washington Allon Bartlett
Washington Allon Bartlett (''c.'' 1816 – February 6, 1865) was the first U.S. citizen to serve as alcalde of Yerba Buena/San Francisco, appointed by the military government during the Mexican-American War and serving from August 14, 1846, to ...
changed the name from
Yerba Buena
Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to regi ...
to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, "so that the town may have the advantage of the name given on the public map."
The United States governor of the newly occupied territory of California, General
Stephen W. Kearny, renounced the rights of eminent domain of the American government in favor of the city of San Francisco. The early city built up on the west side of Yerba Buena Cove around
Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most densel ...
.
Immediately, the municipality of San Francisco was given the right, by General Kearney acting as governor of California, to sell "water lots" in the tidelands between Clarke's Point and Rincon Point so the city might gain revenues from the sale. At the same time, the owner of the land at the foot of Telegraph Hill, W. S. Clarke built a timbered wharf and the location became known as Clarke's Point. Later, a substantial wharf long and wide was erected to the depth of water, , made the landing available to deep water ships. this project was followed by other wharves built below Broadway and Clay streets, and at Commercial street.
When gold was discovered in California, the first hulk of an old iron revenue steamer, the ''James K. Polk'', was beached at the foot of the bluff near Clarke's Point and became the foundation of the first real passenger landing in the city. It was at this site that the population of San Francisco met the Pacific mail liner the ''Oregon'' to receive the official announcement that California had been admitted to the Union. The bluff at the point was quickly leveled and on the land created a wharf was built that became the first regular berthing place, for a short time, for the Pacific mail steamships. Whatever products came to California, and whatever California produced, had to be carried by ship. In the first year of the gold rush, hundreds of ships were beached and abandoned in the tidal flats of Yerba Buena Cove, and numerous ships were run aground to become parts of the city itself. In 1853, the Vallejo Street wharf lease was granted, and a larger wharf was built.
In the ensuing years, the state legislature passed bills concerning the sale of water lots and authorizing the city to construct wharves beyond its boundary and to set wharfage rates. The battles over control of the waterfront, water lots, and docking privileges began.
The great Central Wharf was built in 1849, named for the central wharf in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, and was located where Commercial street is now. Eventually a huge forest of masts from a fleet of abandoned vessels filled Yerba Buena Cove. By 1851, the Central Wharf had ten times more business offered than it could handle, and many new wharves were struck into the bay, including those at Market, Sacramento, Washington, California, Clay, Jackson and Pacific Streets. The filling of Yerba Buena Cove and extensive corruption and legislation led to a period, during the gold rush, when major portions of the city were built on water lots, reclaimed by hook or by crook, on pile driven and rough planking overlain. Early San Francisco was a wharf city of planks and sheds and subject to devastating fires. Half the early city was built on trembling wharves and the scrub and sandy hills were not appreciated, amongst them only a few abodes and scattered tents were found. The early wharves and their buildings fell into the bay and by 1857, the waterfront was a jumble of abandoned ships and rickety piers. Businesses looked for more solid facilities.
Two wharves of notice projected out into the bay from the foot of Taylor street; McMahon's Wharf, and Meiggs Wharf. They had "T" and "L" shaped extensions, the former was a landing for wood and charcoal. The latter, after Harry Meiggs absconded, became the landing for the
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
to
Sausalito
Sausalito (Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sausalito's p ...
.
Merchant's (or Cousin's) Dock built and repaired ships at the site that is now Kearney and Bay streets. It was swallowed up when a new location for the Seawall was established along the cure that is now the Embarcadero. Merchant's Drydock was moved to the foot of Harrison and the company established floating drydocks at
Hunter's Point. The North Point dock at the north side of Telegraph Hill was built in 1853 and became the landing site for immigrant ships from Italy and France. Numerous other wharves, privately built and owned, stretched along the northern waterfront; Flint's, the India docks, Cowell's, Shaw's, Law's, Buckelew's, Cunnigham's and the Long Wharf. Many of these wharves were on city lands that might be filled at any time, and most disappeared with the building of the Seawall and the modern piers built into the early 20th century. Amidst intense disputation over ownership and litigation unparalleled in the history of any port in the world, the establishment of the Board of State Harbor commissioners created a San Francisco waterfront as a separate institution by law, having no connection to the city government and indirectly controlled by the state.
Until the 1860s, supplies could also be delivered up
Mission Creek
Mission Creek (from Spanish: ''misión'') is a river in San Francisco, California. Once navigable from the Mission Bay inland to the vicinity of Mission Dolores, where several smaller creeks converged to form it, Mission Creek has long since bee ...
by boat to the vicinity of
Mission Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to:
* Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores
* Dolores (given name)
Dolores may also refer to:
Film
* ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt
* ' ...
.
California Board of State Harbor Commissioners
Chapter 306 of the Statutes of 1863 created the California Board of State Harbor Commissioners and set about the task of building a
Seawall
A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
on the San Francisco waterfront. The project that would eliminate the patchwork and jagged lines of the waterfront, ending it cleanly at the modern
Embarcadero. After four years of litigation, the commissioners offered a thousand dollar prize for the best plan for the San Francisco Seawall. One of the designers of the plan, W.J. Lewis was appointed engineer in chief of the project. Another engineer on the project, T.J. Arnold designed the curving waterfront eventually settled on.
A pit or channel in the
mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...
s was dredged to a depth of below low tide level and huge loads of rock were placed from watercraft at the center line of the trench until they stopped sinking, to make an evenly graded ridge the whole way at the height of mean low tide. The rocks became the foundation for the Seawall. Coffer dams were sunk and forms constructed inside them while constant pumping occurred. A mass of concrete thick and wide was poured over the rocks and a masonry wall seven feet at the base and nine feet high was constructed. The area inside the wall was pumped out and filled with rock, rubble and trash to the city grade. It took the board several years to acquire the leases on private wharves.
The opening of the
First transcontinental railroad
North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...
in 1869 halted harbor development and the building of the Seawall. The tonnage of vessels arriving at the port dropped by nearly half in the next two years. By 1871, the commissioners could report that they were in possession of all the wharves along the city front except those that bordered Channel Street between Third and Fourth streets. In 1881, the harbor commissioners began contracting for the construction of the San Francisco Seawall. The Seawall took 50 years before completion of the last sections in the
China Basin
San Francisco, in the US state of California, has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. While there is considerable fluidity among the sources, one guidebook identifies five m ...
. Chapter 835 of the Statutes of 1929 created the State operated San Francisco Harbor Bond Finance Board. The 1929 act provided for the issuance and sale of state bonds to create a fund for the improvement of
San Francisco Harbor
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
by the California Board of State Harbor Commissioners. Chapter 368 of the Statutes of 1937 changed the name of the commission to the California Board of State Harbor Commissioners for San Francisco Harbor. Chapter 112 of the Statutes of 1957 renamed the commission yet again as the
San Francisco Port Authority
The Port of San Francisco is a semi-independent organization that oversees the port facilities at San Francisco, California, United States. It is run by a five-member commission, appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board of Supervisors. T ...
which still remained under State authority/jurisdiction. Chapter 1333 of the Statutes of 1968 transferred all authority, jurisdiction and control of the San Francisco Port Authority over San Francisco Harbor and facilities to the
City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. Upon the transfer of these authorities, the port authority ceased to function and was dissolved. The newly created Harbor Commission of the City and County of San Francisco assumed responsibility and control. Eventually this commission was renamed, yet again, Port Commission of the City and County of San Francisco and the Port of San Francisco to this day.
Filling the downtown district
Steam powered machines called "
paddies" were eating away at the sand dunes and rock hills, especially Telegraph Hill, a few blocks west of the filled zone. Rock was also imported from
Brooks Island
Brooks Island Regional Preserve includes both the of Brooks Island above the low-tide line and of the surrounding bay. The only public access to the island is via an East Bay Regional Park District naturalist tour.
Brooks Island is a mostly fla ...
off Point Richmond. Temporary steam train lines carried the earthen fill for dumping onto the mudflats. Both the
Ferry Building and the
Southern Pacific Building
The Southern Pacific Building is one of three office buildings comprising One Market Plaza along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. The historic 11- story, building, also known as "The Landmark", was started in 1916 and completed in ...
at the foot of Market Street were built upon thousands of
Douglas-fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
piles, up to deep.
Belt Railroad
In 1890 the port commissioners began developing a series of switchyards and warehouses on the reclaimed land for use of the
San Francisco Belt Railroad
The San Francisco Belt Railroad was a short-line railroad along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. It began as the State Belt Railroad in 1889, and was renamed when the city bought the Port of San Francisco in 1969. As a state owned ...
, a line of over 50 miles that connected every berth and every pier with the industrial parts of the city and railways of America with all the trade routes of the Pacific. For a decade or more, railcar ferry transfers on steamers were the means of carrying railcars to the transcontinental systems. In 1912, the belt line was driven across Market Street in front of the Ferry Building to link the entire commercial waterfront with railways both south and north and across the continent. The line was extended north along Jefferson Street through the tunnel to link up with U.S. Transport Docks at Fort Mason and south to China Basin.
Much of the Belt Railroad's right-of-way was removed following the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...
and replaced with streetcar tracks now used by the
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni or Muni), is the public transit system for the City and County of San Francisco. It operates a system of bus routes (including trolleybuses), the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic cable ...
. The Belt Railroad Engine House and Sandhouse was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on February 13, 1986.
Embarcadero
The Embarcadero (Spanish: Wharf) is the eastern waterfront and roadway of the Port of San Francisco constructed atop an engineered Seawall on reclaimed land. San Francisco's shoreline historically ran south and inland from Clarke's Point below
Telegraph Hill A telegraph hill is a hill or other natural elevation that is chosen as part of an optical telegraph system.
Telegraph Hill may also refer to:
England
* A high point in the Haldon Hills, Devon
* Telegraph Hill, Dorset, a hill in the Dorset Down ...
to present-day
Montgomery Street
Montgomery Street is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, in the United States.
It runs about 16 blocks from the Telegraph Hill neighborhood south through downtown, terminating at Market Street Market Street may refer to:
* ...
and eastward toward Rincon Point, enclosing a cove named Yerba Buena Cove. As the city grew, the cove was filled. Over 50 years a large offshore Seawall was built and the mudflats filled, creating what today is San Francisco's Financial District. The roadway follows the Seawall, a boundary first established in the 1860s and not completed until the 1920s. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on November 20, 2002.
History of the Embarcadero Seawall
Constructed between 1879 and 1916, the Embarcadero Seawall was built by dredging a trench through the mud, filling that trench with rock and rubble, covering the filled land with a timber pile bulkhead wall and wharf, then filling the tidal marshland area behind the Seawall. More than 500 acres of land were filled behind the Seawall, thus extending the footprint of the city. The Seawall acts as a retaining wall for the filled land behind it. The Seawall is the foundation of the Embarcadero Historic District, which includes the bulkhead buildings and finger piers that extend into the Bay.
After the Seawall was built, in 1900 alone, six million tons of goods passed through the Port of San Francisco. To support the demand, the Port constructed new piers – by 1908, 23 new piers were built. In 1922, with the new Seawall and piers in place, 14.5 million tons of goods passed through the Port of San Francisco.
In 1898, the
Ferry Building was built and served as the headquarters for the Harbor Commission.
Modern developments
According to port historian Edward Morphy, the achievement of building a great port, "was rendered possible solely by the fact that its harbor commissioners, through the succeeding of generations, not only had behind them the credit of the state of California but also were in a position to rise superior to the narrow influences of local politics... The development of the waterfront itself, the Embarcadero, the Seawall and piers, the Belt Railroad and the Seawall lots, could not have been carried out under private or municipal auspices in the manner so beneficial, so efficient, and so economical as is now apparent."
With the fire after the
1906 earthquake, a new era of port development began on the San Francisco waterfront. In 1909, the San Francisco Harbor Improvement Act was passed. A total of $9 million was allocated by the state legislature and in 1913,
Islais Creek
Islais Creek or Islais Creek Channel (previously known as Du Vrees Creek, Islais Channel and Islais Swamp) is a small creek in San Francisco, California. The name of the creek is derived from a Salinan Native American word "''slay''" or "''islay' ...
and
India Basin lands were purchased. The Board of State Harbor Commissioners began extensive development along the waterfront, always meeting expenses from the revenues of the busy port.
Upon completion of the modern piers, odd-numbered to the north of the Ferry Building and even-numbered to the south, the port of San Francisco became the only port in the United States under a single control. The piers were leased to tenants. By the early 1920s, the port's assets were valued at $50 million and $8 to $9 million worth of merchandise and raw goods were handled yearly.
In the 1920s and 1930s, numerous old piers on both sides of Market Street were razed and a smaller number of concrete piers with wider slips between them were constructed. The port also built the six-story China Basin Warehouse to bring together ships, rail, and truck for the handling of products. At India Basin, it built a plant to handle vegetable oils.
The federal government in 1922 began dredging a 40-foot channel through the Bay's outer bar in at the entrance to the harbor after 1922 and the dredging of Islais Creek with the so-called reclamation of of adjacent creek tidelands.
Two graving docks at Hunter's Point that could accommodate the largest ocean-going vessels, five floating
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
s, eight marine railways, four
shearleg derrick
A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and a ...
s and ten floating boom derricks were available.
In the 1920s, the emergence of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
as the West Coast's largest city—and in particular, as its major industrial center—relegated the Port of San Francisco to a secondary role. For the next few decades, the port steadily but inexorably lost market share to the twins
ports of Los Angeles and
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
, as well as its crossbay rival
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland is a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it was the f ...
. The advent of
containerization
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pro ...
in the 1960s effectively sounded the death knell for the Port of San Francisco as a major marine terminal, as it had no room to expand to build a large new container handling facility like the Seventh Street Terminal at the Port of Oakland. A few piers added container handling equipment, but heavy traffic congestion in the area and poor rail access have long militated against the large-scale development of the container trade at the port. Insufficient clearances of rail tunnels and overpasses have also prevented the development of
roll-on/roll-off
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
capability at the port. With limited ability to expand physically as a result of
environmentalist
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
opposition to further reclamation and the soaring cost of real estate in San Francisco, the Port of San Francisco has instead become a niche player, specializing in
break bulk and dry
bulk cargo
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities.
Description
Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...
, ship repair, and ferry services.
Cargo terminals
With the advent of
containerization
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pro ...
and San Francisco's limited real estate, Oakland became the primary Bay Area port in the 1960s. The finger piers located along the northern waterfront quickly became outdated. San Francisco made an attempt to retain cargo capabilities by building new facilities in the southeast corner of the city. San Francisco's limited cargo facilities are located at
Pier 80 (, leased to the
Pasha Group), 92, 94, and 96.
Ship repair
The
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
located at Pier 70 offers full service ship repair.
BAE Systems Ship Repair
BAE Systems Platforms & Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems Inc. and is a large provider of tracked and wheeled armored combat vehicles, naval guns, naval ship repair and modernization, artillery and missile launching systems, ad ...
manages San Francisco's ship repair facility.
Fisherman's Wharf
San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf gets its name and neighborhood characteristics from the city's early days of the mid to later 1800s when Italian immigrant fishermen came to the city by the bay to take advantage of the influx of population due to the gold rush. One in particular, Achille Paladini found it so lucrative he made a fortune wholesaling the local crustaceans and went on to become California's second most wealthy Italian, second to none other than the founder of the Bank of Italy, later to become the Bank of America. He was also a pioneer in developing the fish industry on the west coast and went on to be known as the "Fish King." Most of the Italian immigrant fishermen settled in the North Beach area close to the wharf and fished for the local delicacies and the now famed Dungeness crab. From then until the present day it remained the home base of San Francisco's fishing fleet. Despite its redevelopment into a tourist attraction during the 1970s and 1980s, the area is still home to many active fishermen and their fleets.
One of the busiest and well known tourist attractions in the western United States, Fisherman's Wharf is best known for being the location of
Pier 39
Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of Cali ...
, the
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, United States. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. The park used to be r ...
and its adjacent museum, the Cannery Shopping Center,
Ghirardelli Square
Ghirardelli Square is a landmark public square with shops and restaurants and a 5-star hotel in the Marina area of San Francisco, California. A portion of the area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as Pioneer Woolen ...
, a
Ripley's Believe it or Not
''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fea ...
museum, the
Musée Mécanique
The Musée Mécanique (, "Mechanical Museum") is a for-profit interactive museum of 20th-century penny arcade games and artifacts, located at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California. With over 300 mechanical machines, it is one of the w ...
, the
Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf
The Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, was an attraction with over 270 wax figures. Originator Thomas Fong opened the museum in 1963 after seeing the wax figures at the Seattle World's Fair and it was run by the Fong Family until i ...
, the floating
Forbes Island
Forbes Island is a floating island near Holland Tract, California, United States. It was formerly a restaurant, located between Pier 39 and Pier 41 in Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. It was the only "floating island" restaurant in the Bay ...
restaurant, and restaurants and stands that serve fresh seafood, most notably
Dungeness crab
The Dungeness crab (''Metacarcinus magister'') is a species of crab inhabiting eelgrass beds and water bottoms along the west coast of North America. It typically grows to across the carapace and is a popular seafood. Its common name comes from ...
and
clam chowder
Clam chowder is any of several chowder soups in American cuisine containing clams. In addition to clams, common ingredients include diced potatoes, salt pork, and onions. Other vegetables are not typically used. It is believed that clams were us ...
served in a
sourdough
Sourdough or sourdough bread is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities.
History
In the ''Encyclopedia of Food Microbio ...
bread bowl.
Pier 39
Pier 39 was first developed by entrepreneur Warren Simmons and opened October 4, 1978.
Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. There are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, an interpretive center for the
Marine Mammal Center
The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC) is a private, non-profit U.S. organization that was established in 1975 for the purpose of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing marine mammals who are injured, ill or abandoned. It was founded in Sausalito, Califo ...
, the
Aquarium of the Bay
Aquarium of the Bay is a public aquarium located at The Embarcadero and Beach Street, at the edge of Pier 39 in San Francisco, California. The aquarium is focused on local aquatic animals from the San Francisco Bay and neighboring rivers and w ...
, virtual 3D rides, and views of
California sea lions
The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of Califo ...
hauled out on docks on Pier 39's marina. The marina is also home to the floating Forbes Island restaurant. A two-story carousel is one of the pier's more dominant features, although it is not directly visible from the street and sits towards the end of the pier.
Ferry Building
The
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 ...
was built by the Harbor Commission for less than one million dollars and quickly became one of the most profitable investments in state history. It survived the 1906 earthquake with little damage. In the 1920s, 50 million passengers a year and a great number of automobiles used the ferries. On either side of the ferry slips, bay and river steamers arrived and departed with passengers and produce to and from the
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
s. Beyond were wharves for regular coastal steamers bound for Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, British Columbia, Alaska, and ships bound for Hawaii, Central and South America and the Pacific Rim.
In 2003, the building reopened after the restoration of major public spaces, as well as renovations for new uses: it has a re-dedicated ferry terminal, an upscale gourmet marketplace in the former baggage area featuring local goods, and upper floors adapted for office use.
San Francisco Bay Ferry
San Francisco Bay Ferry is a public transit passenger ferry service in the San Francisco Bay, administered by the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday a ...
operates from the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Oakland, Alameda, Bay Farm Island, South San Francisco, and north to Vallejo in Solano County.
Golden Gate Ferry
Golden Gate Ferry is a commuter ferry service operated by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District in San Francisco Bay, part of the Bay Area of Northern California, United States. Regular service is run to the Ferry Building ...
is the other ferry operator with service between San Francisco and Marin County.
Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District
The Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District is a
Registered Historic District
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from ce ...
, consisting of Piers 1, 1½, 3 and 5, and is one of the largest surviving pier complexes along San Francisco's Embarcadero. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on November 20, 2002.
Historic streetcars
The F Market & Wharves line is operated as a heritage streetcar service, using exclusively historic equipment both from San Francisco's retired fleet as well as from cities around the world. In March 2000, service on the F line began along the new extension to Fisherman's Wharf.
The E Embarcadero became San Francisco's second heritage streetcar line in 2016. The line runs along the entire length of the Embarcadero, along existing track used by the F Market & Wharves historic streetcar and the N Judah and T Third Street Muni Metro lines. Initial service will run from Jones Street and Jefferson Street in Fisherman's Wharf to the Caltrain station. The line will be extended west past Aquatic Park and through an unused railroad tunnel to
Fort Mason
Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...
.
Exploratorium
The Exploratorium is a museum in San Francisco that has created over 1,000 participatory exhibits that mix science and art, all of which are made onsite. It is considered by some to be the prototype for participatory museums around the world. On January 2, 2013, the Exploratorium closed its doors to the public at the
Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...
and began its move to a new location on Piers 15 and 17 along
The Embarcadero. The museum opened to the public at Pier 15 on April 17, 2013.
Cruise Terminal
The new
James R. Herman Cruise Terminal
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
at Pier 27 opened in August 2014 as a replacement to
Pier 35. The modern terminal has electric shore power, larger holding areas, and secure customs screening. Pier 35 had neither the sufficient capacity to allow for the increasing length and passenger capacity of new cruise ships nor the amenities needed for an international cruise terminal.
The port currently handles sixty to eighty cruise ship calls and 200,000 passengers and expects an increase to 300,000 in 2015. Itineraries from San Francisco include round trip cruises to Alaska and Hawaii.
So far, the ''
Queen Mary 2
RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (also referred to as the ''QM2'') is a British transatlantic ocean liner. She has served as the flagship of Cunard Line since succeeding '' Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 2004. As of 2022, ''Queen Mary 2'' is the only ocean liner ...
'' is the largest cruise ship that docked in San Francisco.
On March 16, 2013,
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California, Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the List of cruise lines# ...
''
Grand Princess
''Grand Princess'' is a cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises. It was built in 1998 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani in Monfalcone, Italy, with yard number 5956, at a cost of approximately US$450 million. She was the largest and mos ...
'' became the first ship to home port in San Francisco year round. The ship offered cruises to Alaska, California Coasts, Hawaii, and Mexico.
In 2018, the Port of San Francisco was expected to meet three cruise ships for the first time: the ''
Silver Explorer
''Silver Explorer'' is an expedition ship operated by Silversea Cruises. The ship typically hosts cruises to Norway, the South Pacific, and Antarctica. It is the first ship of Silversea involved in expedition cruising.
Design and construction
...
'', Ponant's ''
Le Soléal
''Le Soléal'' is a cruise ship operated by Compagnie du Ponant.
History
The ship was built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy, and was launched on the 6 December 2012, being christened by Kiki Tauck Mahar.
The vessel started its m ...
'', and the new ''Norwegian Bliss'' that will become the largest ship to visit the city.
Oracle Park
Oracle Park is a ballpark used for
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
located in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, California, at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets along the shore of San Francisco Bay. It has served as the home of the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
of Major League Baseball since 2000. The Giants rent the land from the Port of San Francisco.
Embarcadero Seawall Program
The City, acting through the Port of San Francisco, launched the Embarcadero Seawall Program to improve seismic performance, provide near-term flood protection improvements, and plan for long-term resilience and sea level rise adaptation along the Embarcadero.
The rebuild of the Embarcadero Seawall is estimated to cost up to $5 billion and take several decades to complete. The Port is planning an initial phase of improvements to address the highest priority life safety projects. This phase will cost $500 million. Phase I funding will require local, state, and federal funding. Local funding will be provided in part by a voter-approved General Obligation Bond of $425 million, which passed with 82% of the vote in the November 2018 election.
Future developments
Pier 70
The port of San Francisco owns extensive filled land at the
Pier 70, San Francisco, California,
Potrero Point
Potrero Point is an area in San Francisco, California, east of San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood. Potrero Point was an early San Francisco industrial area. The Point started as small natural land feature that extends into Mission Bay ...
district on the southeast bayfront at 20th Street east of Illinois that holds the greatest example of a 19th-century industrial village remaining in the western US, site of the first industrial iron and steel mills, shipbuilding and manufacturing center in California. The
Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. ...
and
Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ...
as well as the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
have all had shipworks at the site. The current site is now occupied by
BAE Systems Ship Repair and
Sims Group
Sims Limited (formerly Sims Metal Management Limited) is a global environmental services conglomerate, operating through a number of divisions, with a focus on: (a) Ferrous and Non-ferrous metal recycling, (b) enterprise data destruction and cl ...
. In June 2020, a woman owned business operated by a San Francisco native with extensive business and maritime experience, including 25 years of contracting with the City of San Francisco, filed a claim alleging the company SUSTAP responded to The Port of San Francisco’s RFP for Lease Operation of the Pier 70 Shipyard. SUSTAP alleges its response was feasible and The Port’s inaction in the handling of the restart of the Ship Repair facility suggests there was never a true intent to include Ship repair as part of the redevelopment of Pier 70 and that SUSTAP was unfairly used by the Port along the way.
Cancelled developments
Warriors Arena
The
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
in 2012 announced the construction of a new arena to be built on Piers 30-32. The 19,000 seat arena would be built near the foot of the Bay Bridge and open by the 2017-18 season.
On April 22, 2014 the Warriors announced they abandoned the Pier 30-32 location and have purchased land in the Mission Bay neighborhood for their new arena.
USS ''Iowa''
In 2006 the US Navy approached the city of San Francisco about permanently docking the retired
USS ''Iowa'' as a floating museum and tourist attraction in Fisherman's Wharf. The Board of Supervisors voted against the idea out of protest of
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...
. In 2012 the battleship opened as a museum at the
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", t ...
.
Chelsea Piers
In 2001 the Port planned on converting Piers 27, 29, and 31 into a recreation and athletic facility to be managed by the
Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers in Chelsea, on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located to the west of the West Side Highway ( Eleventh Avenue) and Hudson River Park and to the east of the Hudson River, they were originally a pa ...
Sports and Entertainment Complex.
The plan was shelved and Piers 27 and 29 are now used as the Cruise Terminal.
Gallery
File:San Francisco Ferry Building (2010).jpg, 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 ...
File:SF Ferry Building interior 1.JPG, Ferry Building interior
File:Port of San Francisco, Ferry Building Clock Tower and Waterfront, 5 December, 2011.JPG, Ferry Building clock tower
File:Baylink ferry Intintoli docked.JPG, Baylink Ferry
File:Ferryboat mv santa rosa.jpg, Ferryboat MV Santa Rosa
File:Ferry Building -- Port of San Francisco.jpg, Ferry Building
File:Pier 1, SF.JPG, Pier 1
File:Pier 26 San Francisco Embarcadro October 2010.jpg, Pier 26
File:RMS Queen Mary 2 in san francisco bay.jpg, ''RMS Queen Mary 2
RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (also referred to as the ''QM2'') is a British transatlantic ocean liner. She has served as the flagship of Cunard Line since succeeding ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 2004. As of 2022, ''Queen Mary 2'' is the only ocean liner ...
''
File:Fishermans Wharf aerial view.jpg, Wharf area
File:Fishermans Wharf Sign, SF, CA, jjron 25.03.2012.jpg, Wharf sign
File:Sfusa43.jpg, Sea Lion
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...
s at Pier 39
Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of Cali ...
File:Pier 39 San Francisco CA.JPG, Pier 39
File:Pier 39 Carousel, San Francisco.JPG, Carousel at Pier 39
File:Musee Mechanique entrance - Fisherman's Wharf.JPG, Musee Mechanique at Fisherman's Wharf
File:OldBethelemSteelHeadquartersInSanFranciscoAt20thAndIllinois.jpg, Old Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...
headquarters at 20th and Illinois
File:Pier 1 San Francisco Flag-9456.jpg, Pier 1
File:Port of San Francisco-9381.jpg, Port of San Francisco
See also
*
List of ports in the United States
This is a list of ports of the United States, ranked by tonnage. See the articles on individual ports for more information, including geography, ownership, and link to official website.
List by 2022 figures
Not ranked
* Alpena, Michigan
* Ar ...
*
United States container ports
The United States has more than 20 container ports around its coastline.
Global supply chain disruption
The supply chains that were disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic faced huge challenges and struggled to recover. Industries around the ...
*
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland is a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it was the f ...
*
1934 West Coast waterfront strike
The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike (also known as the 1934 West Coast Longshoremen's Strike, as well as a number of variations on these names) lasted 83 days, and began on May 9, 1934 when longshoremen in every US West Coast port walked out ...
*
Pier 26, San Francisco, California
The existing historic Pier 26 in San Francisco is located on the Embarcadero (San Francisco), Embarcadero with its entrance directly under the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, several blocks southeast of the San Francisco Ferry Building, Ferry ...
*
34th America's Cup
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Port Commission websitePort historySan Francisco Maritime Historical Park NPS*
ttp://www.oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb396nb0z5/?brand=oac4/ The entrance of San Francisco harbourat
The Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...
{{Authority control
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
Port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
History of San Francisco
Maritime history of California
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
San Francisco Bay
History of California
Maritime history of the United States
1863 establishments in California