Embarcadero in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Pier 1, Working Waterfront: Ferry Service

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, September 28, 2020

1. Pier 1, Working Waterfront: Ferry Service Marker

Inscription. "...take a transbay ferry and, in the early morning, gaze back at the receding city, where water, hills and building are combined into a picture that has composition, feeling and life." 1930

The 1930s saw the highest recorded number of people using transbay ferry service in the City's history. To accommodate this overflow ferry traffic, a small ferry slip lacated on the northern side of the Ferry Building was sometimes used. However, this extra slip had to be removed during the construction of Pier 1. In its place, designers added a curved southern shed wall by following the distinctive shape of feryboats, making Pier 1 unique among San Francisco's normally rectangular piers. An existing passenger gallery on the north side of the shed suggests that ferries probably berthed on both sides of the building.

Erected by The AMB.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1930.

Location. 37° 47.839′ N, 122° 23.638′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Embarcadero. It can be reached from The Embarcadero. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: San Francisco CA 94105, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on California’s Coast Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, on the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Pier 1, Working Waterfront: The 1934 Strike (within shouting distance of this marker);

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Pier 1, Working Waterfront: Design and Construction (within shouting distance of this marker); Pier 1, Working Waterfront: Geography & Rail (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Herb Caen Way (about 400 feet away); Piers 1½, 3 & 5 (about 400 feet away); The River Lines (about 500 feet away); The Embarcadero Freeway (about 600 feet away); Captain Leidesdorff (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.

More about this marker. The marker is located on the south side of Pier 1, about halfway between where the street meets the pier and the end of the pier.

Pier 1 Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 16, 2022

2. Pier 1 Marker

Pier 1
Listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
By the United States Department of the Interior
1999
Constructed in 1931 and Rehabilitated in 2000

Pier 1, Working Waterfront: Ferry Service Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, September 28, 2020

3. Pier 1, Working Waterfront: Ferry Service Marker - wide view

Marker is on the left, against the building, and the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge and Yerba Buena Island are visible on the right.

Pier 1 Marker at the front of the building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 16, 2022

4. Pier 1 Marker at the front of the building

<i>Ferry Building and Bay, San Francisco, Cal.</i> image. Click for full size.

Postcard by C.T. Art, circa 1925

5. Ferry Building and Bay, San Francisco, Cal.

Pier 1 is visible on the far left in this postcard view, with the marker site located at the bow of the ferry, roughly.

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 16, 2022

6. Pier 1

Ferry Building and downtown San Francisco as viewed from marker site image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, September 28, 2020

7. Ferry Building and downtown San Francisco as viewed from marker site

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 30, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 801 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 30, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 2. submitted on July 26, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 3. submitted on September 30, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 4. submitted on July 26, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 5. submitted on September 30, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 6. submitted on July 26, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 7. submitted on September 30, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.