One of the most famous buildings in a famous city is the San Francisco Ferry Building. Once when ferries were the only way to get across the bay from Oakland, Richmond or Marin County, this was one of the busiest places in San Francisco.

Today, the ferry building has undergone a renovation and has been reborn as the Ferry Building Marketplace, a sort of farmer’s market meets the food court! The Ferry Building Marketplace website says this about the history of the building:

Opening in 1898 on the site of the 1875 wooden Ferry House, the Ferry Building became the transportation focal point for anyone arriving by train from the East, as well as from all the East Bay and Marin residents who worked in the city.  From the Gold Rush until the 1930s, arrival by ferryboat became the only way travelers and commuters—except those coming from the Peninsula—could reach the city.

Today…the Ferry Building and its 240-foot tall clock tower is the iconic landmark of the San Francisco waterfront. The dramatic heart of the building is a three-story tall, sky lit hall, known as the Nave. It runs the entire 660-foot length of the building. The ground floor of the Ferry Building is devoted to a 65,000 square foot public food market showcasing the very best of the Bay Area’s world-renowned food community. The second and third floors of the building house 175,000 square feet of office space and the ceremonial hearing room of the San Francisco Port Commission.

Mick Orton