Civic Center Plaza
While the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, California Academy of Sciences, Fisherman’s Wharf and others are at the top of everyone’s list of places to visit in San Francisco there is another area of the city that warrants a look. The area around City Hall is known as Civic Center Plaza and U.N. Plaza, and is an area that does not get a lot of attention until it is time for a protest or citywide celebration such as the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series, Gay Pride, or the Black and White Ball.
The San Francisco Civic Center was built in the early 20th century as the home to City Hall and the Hall of Records; both were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. The current City Hall and the Exposition Auditorium were completed in 1915, in time for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Although it is located on the the fringes of some of the seedier neighborhoods of San Francisco, which has prevented it from attracting large numbers of tourists, there are a number of attractions that make this an interesting expedition.
Accessible easily by public transportation (BART/Muni stop: Civic Center/U.N. Plaza), Civic Center Plaza is surrounded on all sides by City Hall, War Memorial Opera House, Davies Symphony Hall and the Asian Art Museum- all are beautiful, and the area is definitely worth a visit. San Francisco City Hall offers tours of the building regularly.
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