The Civic Center in San Francisco, California, United States is an area located a few blocks north of the intersection of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue that contains many of the city's largest government and cultural institutions. It has two large plazas (Civic Center Plaza and United Nations Plaza) and a number of buildings in classical architectural style. The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (formerly the Exposition Auditorium), his plans were never carried out. Burnham's plan called for a large semi-circular plaza at the intersection of Market and Van Ness as a hub linking official buildings along spoked streets.

thumb|left|upright=1.6|Plan presented for Civic Center in April 1912 with portraits of Mayor Rolph and architectural team. Note the positions of City Hall (east of the central plaza, not west as constructed), and Art Gallery instead of State Building (north of the plaza).

Following the earthquake, a temporary city hall was established on Market Street, but planning for a permanent structure and civic center did not take place for several years. The current Civic Center was planned by a group of local architects, chaired by John Galen Howard. The new Civic Center would consist of five main buildings facing a central rectangular plaza: City Hall, Auditorium, Main Library, Opera House, and State Office Building.

thumb|right|Finalized plan for Civic Center, 1916.

The current City Hall was completed in 1915, in time for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. The second building to be started was Exposition Auditorium; at the time, plans included a new Main Library (to be built on the site of the old City Hall) but left the former Marshall Square (bounded by Larkin, Fulton, Hyde, and Grove) undeveloped. East of the main Civic Center complex on nearby Mission Street, is the head courthouse of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which sits across 7th from the San Francisco Federal Building complex.

Monuments

The Pioneer Monument, funded by the estate of James Lick and dedicated to Manifest Destiny, is located in the middle of Fulton Street between the Library and the Asian Art Museum. The section of Fulton Street between Hyde and Leavenworth streets was pedestrianized and re-developed into United Nations Plaza in 1975 as a monument for the United Nations and the signing of the UN Charter, when the Bay Area Rapid Transit subway was constructed under Market Street. The pedestrian mall was designed by Lawrence Halprin. It was rededicated in June 1995 by visiting members of the UN General Assembly as part of its 50th anniversary, and renovated and rededicated again in 2005 during the World Environment Day event. Currently, it is the site of a small farmers' market as well as a replica of a large equestrian statue of Simon Bolivar.

Culture

West of City Hall on Van Ness Avenue is the War Memorial Opera House, where the U.N. Charter was signed in 1945 and the Treaty of San Francisco was signed in 1951. Davies Symphony Hall is south of the Opera House; to its north is the War Memorial Veterans Building, which contains the Herbst Theatre. The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and SHN Orpheum Theatre are also located in Civic Center.

Parks and open spaces

The main open space just east of City Hall is Civic Center Plaza. Despite the area's seedy reputation due to its proximity to the Tenderloin, its central location also makes it the center of many of the city's festivals and parades. Many street parades and parties are held in Civic Center Plaza, including San Francisco's Gay Pride Parade, the city's Earth Day celebration (which attracts 15,000+ people), the St. Patrick's Day parade, San Francisco's version of the Love Parade, and the San Francisco LovEvolution party.

Renovated and re-opened on February 15, 2018, the Helen Diller Civic Center Playgrounds reside on the northeast and southeast corners of the Civic Center Plaza. The San Francisco Parks and Recreation program partnered with The Trust for Public Land to renovate the 20 year old playgrounds. The playgrounds were funded by a generous $10 million donation from the Helen Diller Family Foundation. The playgrounds serve many surrounding neighborhoods with limited open space such as the Tenderloin, Western Addition, Hayes Valley, and South of Market neighborhoods.

Other points of interest

The Fox Plaza complex with apartments, offices, and retail, is also located nearby. The large art installation Firefly by Ned Kahn can be seen on the side of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission building on Golden Gate Avenue.

In December 2010, a set of innovative wind and solar hybrid streetlamps provided by Urban Green Energy were installed as part of the center's vision for sustainability.

Selected photos

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File:San Francisco City Hall 2.JPG|City Hall

File:Earl Warren Building (San Francisco).JPG|Ronald M. George State Office Complex: Earl Warren Building with the Hiram W. Johnson State Office Building behind

File:Terracotta Warriors Exhibition San Francisco 2013.jpg|Asian Art Museum

File:The Main Library, San Francisco, California LCCN2013630229.tif|San Francisco Public Library

File:Grahamauditorium.jpg|Graham Auditorium and Fox Plaza

File:War Memorial Veterans Building (San Francisco).JPG|War Memorial Opera House

File:Civic Center, SF, CA, jjron 26.03.2012.jpg|United Nations Plaza

File:James Lick Memorial (San Francisco).JPG|Pioneer Monument

File:Department of Public Health (San Francisco).JPG|Department of Public Health

</gallery>

See also

  • 49-Mile Scenic Drive
  • Bernard J.S. Cahill

References

  • Photo tour of Civic Center A photo tour of Civic Center complete with narrative text.
  • The architects
  • Earth Day SF San Francisco's very well attended Earth Day celebration.