The Embarcadero today is one of the jewels of San Francisco. The recently rehabilitated Ferry Building – now full of 4-star restaurants, a premium food court, high-end law offices and the snazziest farmers market in the Bay Area – is the cornerstone of the rejuvenated waterfront. To the south, the Giants ballpark launched the rebirth of South Beach, and even further south Mission Bay is well into a long ascent into becoming a vibrant neighborhood. Just across from the Ferry Building, Justin Herman Plaza and the east end of Market Street throb with pedestrians – commuters, day-trippers, locals, and international tourists who bask in the sun and shadows of Financial District highrises, as they enjoy amazing views of the Bay Bridge. And to the north, the Embarcadero curves gently toward Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco’s most theme-park-like tourist center, with the appropriately novel F-line toting people in vintage streetcars from downtown to the waterfront.

But it wasn’t always such a wonderful place. Back in the 50s and 60s, the piers that line the Embarcadero and today house fancy eateries, avant-garde offices, and pristine wherehouses, were actual working docks. Ships would dock there. Dock workers and vagrants populated the area. Chic condos and hip diners did not exist. But a giant freeway did: The Embarcadero freeway – 70 feet tall and 50 feet wide – dominated the district, a massive physical barrier banding from the Bay Bridge to Broadway, blocking the light and burdening the neighborhood with backwater status.

The freeway was ultimately torn down. Badly damaged by the epic 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, it’s fate was actually determined by the San Francisco board of supervisors. At the time, many people wanted the freeway to be repaired, and felt it should remain standing. But there was strong support for removing it and the earthquake damage was just the kick needed to accelerate that effort.

Let’s face it, most San Franciscans rarely venture to this far eastern edge of the city. But whenever you do, the open sightlines and easy access to the waterfront are priceless treats that, in a slightly different world, we would never have known.

A bird’s-eye view of the freeway, from it’s origin at the Bay Bridge to it’s conclusion just beyond Jackson Park.

The double-decker skyway as it meets the Embarcadero at the waterfront, and the bus terminal lanes at the transit center.

A clear shot of the skyway racing past the Embarcadero tower to the left, towards Broadway where it turns west.

This 1965 photo shows the first ramp, feeding into Washington Street, I believe. It is odd to see all the open space.

In this 1981 view, take from just below Coit Tower, shows the double-decker section as it extened up Broadway towards North Beach. 

Here’s a neat little drive through the freeway. (The footage is from Koyaanisqatsi)

And the first few moments of this BART construction film show the freeway’s scale very well.