San Francisco's Ferry Building was erected in 1898, a sturdy steel-framed structure that functioned as the city's main transit center until the transbay bridges were built in the 1930s. It weathered the 1906 quake with some damage but served throughout the emergency. Most of San Francisco's precious wharves and piers were saved from fire by the determined leadership of Lieutenant Frederick Freeman, who with his small detachment from Mare Island Navy Yard took charge in the absence of other authority and brought water to the flames for 70 hours straight.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake also damaged the Ferry Building slightly, most notably in knocking the flagpole askew on the tower, which was modeled after the medieval belltower of the Seville cathedral. The shock also damaged the massive Embarcadero Freeway that had been built in the 1950s, separating the Ferry Building from the rest of the city. The freeway was torn down and the entire waterfront revived with a splendid allee of palms and other public amenities. The Ferry Building today is home to prime office space upstairs and pricy but exquisite small markets downstairs, a jewel of this gem-studded city. See it in more detail in this photo gallery by San Francico Guide Ingrid Taylar.
