Embarcadero Skyway and Art Tour
Neighborhood: Embarcadero Center
Description
How do you move a shoreline? That was the challenge city planners faced when transforming Yerba Buena Cove from tidal flats into a bustling port and growing immigrant city. The answer: a whole lot of work and a smorgasbord of odd materials, including sand and abandoned ships that were repurposed as buildings to meet a growing city’s desperate need.
By the 1950s, however, the Embarcadero had fallen into decline. The Redevelopment Agency assessed the once-busy waterfront blighted but the site was too valuable to leave as it was. In response, transformation was put into motion via demolition and urban renewal. What followed was a visionary revitalization that has turned the area into a modern urban oasis, a stunning example of San Francisco’s ability to reinvent itself.
Today, the Embarcadero is no longer just a relic of San Francisco’s maritime past, but a symbol of transformation that blends modern commerce, art, and history. At its heart lies the Embarcadero Center, a prominent business district adorned by the world-class art collection curated by the Rockefeller family. Many of the sculptures in the collection reflect themes of transformation, change, rebirth, and new beginnings—powerfully echoing the waterfront’s own journey from a quiet cove to a bustling port, and now, into a modern urban skyway.
Join us to explore this revitalized space, where modern art and architecture reinforce the story of the city’s evolution!
Next Tours
Schedule
Check Calendar for schedule
Notes
Lots of stairs; wheelchairs/walkers not advised.
Tour Length: Approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours
Location
Meet in front of 400 Sansome Street (at Sacramento). Lots of stairs; wheelchairs/walkers not advised.
Tour ends at 5 Embarcadero Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Please note: Private group tours required for groups of 8 or more.
