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Podcast: Commonwealth Club of California Podcast
Episode: John King: San Francisco’s Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities
Description: Conceived in the Gilded Age, the Ferry Building opened in 1898 as San Francisco’s portal to the world―the terminus of the transcontinental railway and a showcase of civic ambition. In silent films and World’s Fair postcards, nothing said “San Francisco” more than its soaring clocktower. But as architectural critic John King reminds us, the rise of the automobile and double-deck freeways severed the city from its beloved structure.King recounts the rise and fall and rebirth of the Ferry Building, introducing the colorful figures who fought to preserve its character, and the city’s soul, from archite...