Ferry Building

Since 2017, the Port has connected with tens of thousands of San Francisco residents through the Waterfront Resilience Program.

Public feedback collected about the Ferry Building underscores the importance of getting people where they need to go through reliable  transportation systems and networks, protecting historic buildings, reducing disruption to small and large businesses, protecting key utilities, and being prepared for emergencies by maintaining staging areas. 

Further feedback highlights additional community priorities, including opportunities to:

• Improve walkability and bike paths.
• Enhance and expand green space.
• Preserve and enhance the Embarcadero Promenade.
• Preserve the Ferry Building.
• Preserve and enhance access to the Bay and Bay ecology.

Community feedback also helped identify places in the Ferry Building subarea that people love, from the Ferry Building itself and its farmer’s market, to Rincon Park and other surrounding outdoor public spaces, to BART and Muni access that connect this subarea with the city and the larger Bay Area, to the neighborhoods and small and large businesses located here. 

Click on the blue dots to learn more about each place.

The Port, in collaboration with City partners and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is taking steps to better understand the different seismic and flood risk along its 7.5-mile bayside jurisdiction. Recent efforts include:

• Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment 
• Flood Resiliency Study (with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
• Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Consequences Assessment (City of San Francisco)
• Islais Creek Adaptation Strategy (with SF Planning, SFMTA, and SFPUC)

Scroll down to learn more about the seismic and flood risks for Ferry Building based on these findings.

Improving the seismic safety of the waterfront is a top priority of the Waterfront Resilience Program. See the  Seismic and Flood Risk 101  page to learn more about the history of earthquakes in the Bay Area and San Francisco’s commitment to improving seismic safety. 

As detailed in the Seawall Earthquake Safety General Obligation Bond Report prepared when Proposition A was considered for the November 2018 ballot, the Port has spent the past two years assessing what is at risk on the Embarcadero waterfront when considering an earthquake or flood event to establish a basis for the development of Proposition A projects. This study is called the Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment, or MHRA. 

We knew the Port’s aging Embarcadero Seawall was at grave risk from earthquakes. MHRA findings tell us there are areas more at risk of earthquake damage due to different soil conditions - and some less so.

Here are some specific key findings that relate to this subarea:

• The Ferry Building Subarea is one of the highest seismic risk areas on the waterfront. A large earthquake will cause significant settlement and lateral spreading in this area, threatening life safety and disaster response efforts as well as many of the day-to-day functions along the waterfront.
• The Ferry Building itself requires further seismic analysis to understand its likely earthquake performance.
• The Agriculture Building is one of the buildings with the highest seismic and flood risks within the program area due to its location and construction type.
• The Port’s public outreach confirmed that stakeholders love the Ferry Building area and recognize the importance of the concentration of transportation modes, visitor-serving assets and services and the area’s historic significance. 
• There is significant flood risk to the waterfront in this subarea, which includes the Financial District, inland residential neighborhoods, a large concentration of large and small businesses and jobs and other critical transportation and utility services. The flood risk is limited to localized flooding now and increases to significant and widespread flooding as sea levels rise. This subarea is the lowest point along the Embarcadero, making it the first section to be impacted by coastal flooding, with king tides already causing some flooding that results in temporary and partial closures of the Embarcadero Roadway.
• The Embarcadero Roadway has significant seismic risk which could impact disaster response and local and regional transportation. Due to the presence of weak soils, the Embarcadero transportation and utility corridor is at significant seismic risk. In a 1906 size earthquake, damage to the Seawall and Embarcadero may be severe enough to significantly hamper disaster response efforts along the waterfront. A more likely earthquake like the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake – but centered closer to San Francisco – is expected to lead to loss of the Embarcadero as a transportation route for up to a year. The Embarcadero Roadway is also one of the lowest elevations along the shoreline in many locations and creates a pathway for flooding to adjacent areas.

Liquefaction is an unique phenomenon that happens when water-saturated sediment (like sand) temporarily loses strength and acts as a fluid. Imagine jumping on wet sand near the water at the beach until it turns soft and your feet sink in.

Liquefaction is caused by strong ground shaking during an earthquake and is greater in areas with sandy soils. As a result of liquefaction, buildings, roads and utility lines may lose their foundational support and the likelihood of significant damage increases. Liquefaction of the soil behind the Seawall will also increase the risk of lateral spreading along the shoreline.

The map shows the Ferry Building subarea’s liquefaction risk rated as: Very High (dark red), Moderate (orange), and Very Low (yellow). The areas rated as Very High are built entirely on bay fill.

Liquefaction can also increase the risk of lateral spreading, which is when gently sloping ground starts to move downhill, causing cracks to open up. Lateral spreading is a seismic hazard that causes large areas of land to move, typically toward a body of water. This results in potentially large cracks and settlement at the ground surface, resembling a landslide but on relatively flat ground. 

Liquefaction can also increase the risk of lateral spreading, which is when gently sloping ground starts to move downhill, causing cracks to open up. Lateral spreading is a seismic hazard that causes large areas of land to move, typically toward a body of water. This results in potentially large cracks and settlement at the ground surface, resembling a landslide but on relatively flat ground. 

Scroll down to see how liquefaction and lateral spreading could impact the Ferry Building subarea in response to two possible large earthquake scenarios. These projections are part of the  Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment  (MHRA) completed for the three-mile Embarcadero Seawall Program.

Similar to the 1906 earthquake, a 225-year-earthquake has less than a 0.5 percent chance of occurring in any given year. In such an extreme event:

• The Ferry Building subarea is expected to experience some of the largest lateral spreading along the Embarcadero Seawall area. This is due to a thick layer of slippery Young Bay Mud located 250 feet below the Embarcadero Seawall and roadway. 
• Lateral spreading could be as high as 24 inches, meaning that the land could slide up to two feet towards the bay. 
• The greatest lateral spreading would be near the Ferry Building itself. The Ferry Building is built on a particularly complex foundation, and the Port plans to examine it further to better understand its unique condition. 
• Significant infrastructure and building damage could occur along some parts of the waterfront due to intense ground shaking, lateral spreading, and liquefaction.

A very rare 975-year earthquake would be larger than the 1906 earthquake and has a 0.1 percent chance of occurring in a given year. In this extraordinary event:

• Lateral spreading could reach 12 to 24 inches, with a high of 66 inches right near the Ferry Building itself. 
• This means land could slide up to 5.5 feet towards the bay. This is considered a very high lateral spread hazard.

Interested in learning more about what the Port is considering to improve seismic safety along the waterfront? Visit the  Measures Explorer  page to read about specific strategies for adapting San Francisco's waterfront in the event of earthquakes.

The Port and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have partnered to study flood risk along San Francisco’s bayside shoreline. The Flood Resiliency Study is one of several federal, state, and local collaborations to help the Port increase resilience along the San Francisco shoreline.

Launched in Fall 2018, the approximately three- to five-year Flood Resiliency Study will identify vulnerabilities and identify recommended strategies to reduce current and future flood risks for consideration by the Assistant Secretary of the Army and the U.S. Congress for federal investment and implementation.

Scroll down to see the different risks and impacts for Ferry Building when considering various scenarios for flooding and sea level rise.The flood maps presented here are from the  Adapting to Rising Tides flood explorer .

Overtopping is when water, usually in the form of storm surge or a wave, reaches over the shoreline and causes inland flooding. In general, overtopping of natural shorelines, such as wetlands and beaches occurs at a lower flood elevation than overtopping of engineered shorelines, such as seawalls, bulkheads, and wharves.

Red lines shown on the map indicate where overtopping begins to occur with 36 inches of sea level rise, or current sea level combined with a 50-year coastal flood event. Under this scenario, the Embarcadero Promenade, as well as the roadway itself, are likely to experience intermittent closures due to flooding near Pier 14 and at the Ferry Building. 

Today, a few locations along this part of the waterfront experience minor flooding from high tides, in addition to waves, causing limited disruption. 

Learn more below about how flooding or future sea level rise is likely to impact the Ferry Building subarea.

A tipping point is reached when the impacts of a flood go beyond a certain area, creating cascading consequences that can have citywide or regional ramifications. Damage is more than can be immediately addressed and affects critical assets and the community. The Port and the City use the concept of a tipping point to understand when planning for large-scale shoreline adaptation projects is necessary and which site-specific approaches to flood risk reduction may be overwhelmed. Understanding tipping points and how they vary along the waterfront can also help compare and prioritize projects along the waterfront. 

The Ferry Building subarea reaches a critical tipping point with 48 inches of sea level rise, or 7 inches of sea level rise combined with a 100-year coastal flood event. In this situation, overtopping would:

• Occur at several locations along the Embarcadero roadway.
• Turn the Embarcadero into a pathway for floodwaters leading into the  Northeast Waterfront  subarea.
• Inundate the westbound lanes of the Embarcadero roadway, impacting vehicle traffic, bike routes, truck traffic, bus routes, pedestrian access to the shoreline, light rail (the T-Third Muni Metro line) and historic streetcar service (Muni E-Line and F-Line).
• Impact the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal and regional ferry transit to and from San Francisco.
• Flood the area from the Agriculture Building to the intersection of Mission and Steuart Streets, and along Steuart Street toward Market Street.
• Impact several critical disaster response assets in addition to the ferry terminals and water taxi dock, including the Port’s Headquarters and Department Operations Center at Pier 1, and assembly and staging areas.
• Impact the small boat launch and water taxi dock at Pier 1 ½, along with exposing several other piers and buildings to floodwaters.
• Flood a portion of Ferry Plaza, impacting the Ferry Building and terminal access.
• Inundate Rincon Park and a portion of the Bay Trail.
• Potentially allow floodwaters to enter the underground Embarcadero Muni / BART Station through manholes, vents, and access hatches.

This map shows the flood impacts for the Ferry Building subarea when considering the City’s Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Zone.

The City’s Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Zone covers areas that will likely face future flooding and inundation in a 100-year coastal flood combined with 66 inches of sea level rise. This is a high-end  scenario projected by the end of the century. Projects within the Zone must include sea level rise adaptation strategies to support the increased resilience of San Francisco’s communities, but they are not usually required to build that level of flood risk reduction now. Rather, they must demonstrate approaches to adapt to that flood level at a later time.

Under this scenario, significant areas of the Ferry Building subarea could be flooded. The entire subarea’s shoreline would be overtopped if flood protection or adaptation actions are not implemented. In addition to severe flooding throughout the Port’s waterfront, a sizable portion of the Financial District would also be inundated. 

The Port and the City are also considering the H++ Scenario in the  State of California’s most recent Sea Level Rise Guidance (2018) . The H++ Scenario (shown in magenta) represents the area that could be inundated by 2100 if global ice sheets melt much faster than currently anticipated.

Interested in learning more about what the Port is considering to mitigate flooding and sea level rise? Visit the  Measures Explorer  page to read about specific strategies for adapting San Francisco's waterfront.

Given the potential impacts of earthquakes, flooding, and future sea level rise, what is at stake in the Ferry Building subarea?

The following maps detail important emergency response resources, transportation services, maritime industries, public utilities, parks, and historic and cultural resources located in the Ferry Building subarea.

Community indicators, such as income level, mobility access, race, age, education level, and language access, all play a part in how communities are impacted and able to prepare and respond to hazards like earthquakes and sea level rise. In the Ferry Building subarea, elderly residents and residents without homes close to the Ferry Building would be disproportionately impacted by a seismic or flood event. 

It is clear that this subarea plays an important role as a place for people to call home, to visit as a destination, and to work and play along the waterfront. Loss of jobs and long-term economic impacts due to earthquakes and sea level rise or the current global COVID-19 pandemic would impact this subarea's vitality and likely have cascading effects in the region and beyond.

Keep scrolling to learn more about how particular places and services in the Ferry Building subarea could be impacted by these risks.

In the event of a natural disaster, ferry terminals at the Ferry Building can facilitate the evacuation of thousands of people per hour. 

For this evacuation to be efficient, the Embarcadero Promenade in front of the Ferry Building and passenger queuing within the assembly areas (designated places where people can go for support or evacuation) need to be accessible. Additional assembly areas include Sue Bierman Park, Rincon Park, Embarcadero Plaza, and the Bocce Ball Courts. 

Further services and facilities that are important for the city in the event of a natural disaster include:

• Potential evacuation efforts at the water taxi dock at Pier 1 ½ and the Hornblower Excursion Terminal. 
• Fireboat Headquarters and Fire Station 35 are located at Pier 22 ½. The new Fireboat Station at this location is currently under construction. This new structure will be built on a steel float that can rise and fall with the tides, and the city’s three fireboats will be docked at this facility. 
• Four fire engine suction connections and two fireboat connections that are part of San Francisco’s Emergency Firefighting Water System. 
• Four cisterns that firefighters on land can use to pump a limited amount of water for fire suppression. 
• Staging areas for supplies, resources, equipment, and emergency crews.

The Port’s primary Department Operations Center, which is responsible for organizing emergency response and recovery efforts, is located at Pier 1 within the Port’s headquarters. 

Fire Station 35, located at Pier 22 ½, and Fire Station 13, located further inland, could be affected by flooding that would impact emergency and fire response times throughout the Financial District. 

Click on the yellow dots on the map to learn more about disaster response services in the Ferry Building subarea.

Major roadways that run through the Ferry Building subarea include the Embarcadero roadway and Market Street, connecting the subarea to the rest of the city and the Bay Area. The Embarcadero Promenade and San Francisco Bay Trail also run through the subarea as key routes.

Several local and regional public transit routes serve the Ferry Building subarea, including:

• San Francisco Bay Ferry and Golden Gate Ferry through the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal.
• BART, with access through Embarcadero and Montgomery BART Stations
• Muni’s historic streetcars (E-line and F-Line)
• Muni Metro light rail (T-line and N-line) at the Muni portal near Rincon Park
• California Street Cable Car

The San Francisco Bay Trail is a major pedestrian pathway and regional bike route that follows the Embarcadero Promenade along the waterfront. Additional bike paths connect to the Financial District through Market Street, Mission Street, and Folsom Street. 

Click the blue dots of the map to explore the transportation network options that help get people to, from, and around the Ferry Building subarea. 

The Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal is the center of the Bay Area’s ferry system, serving more than 5 million passengers annually with approximately 130 ferry arrivals and departures daily operated through six ferry routes. 

Additional maritime service and operations include:

• The Port of San Francisco Headquarters at Pier 1
• Hornblower Excursion Terminal at Pier 3
• Water taxi and small boat launch for water recreation at Pier 1 ½ 
• The 850-foot long Public Pier 7 with access for fishing and crabbing
• The historic Fireboat House and new Fire Department Headquarters, and planned new floating fire station at Pier 22 ½
• The Pier 24 Annex Photography Museum

Click the blue dots to learn more about maritime facilities and services in the Ferry Building.

Draft guiding principles of the Waterfront Resilience Program include creating opportunities to enhance and expand open space, increasing free public access to the waterfront, restoring habitats, and offering education.

Most of the piers within this subarea have publicly accessible outdoor walkways and scenic views. Piers 7 and 14 also offer public access for fishing, and Piers 1 and 3 include indoor public space. 

Popular parks and public access points along this part of the waterfront include:

• Rincon Park
• Ferry Plaza
• Ferry Park
• Embarcadero Plaza
• Harry Bridges Plaza
• Maritime Plaza
• Sue Bierman Park

The San Francisco Bay Trail, a waterfront walking and cycling path around the entire bay that runs through all nine counties, also runs through this subarea along, or next to, the Embarcadero Promenade. 

Click the green dots on the map to learn more about these public sites and open parks and consider how earthquakes and sea level rise will impact waterfront public spaces.

San Francisco’s neighborhoods and businesses rely on buried and above ground infrastructure, such as wastewater and stormwater pipelines, power lines, and water distribution pipelines. 

Key utilities located within Ferry Building that affect the city include:

• The PG&E Embarcadero Substation, which provides electric power to much of the Port’s northern waterfront as well as large portions of the Financial District and South of Market. 
• Two transport / storage boxes operated by SFPUC that provide storage for 48 million gallons of rainwater to help reduce the risk of rainfall-driven flooding and prevent the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant (in the  Islais Creek  subarea) and North Point Wet Weather Treatment Facility (in the  Fisherman’s Wharf  subarea) from exceeding their maximum treatment capacities. 
• The Transbay Tube underwater cable. 
• A backup diesel generator at Pier 1 that is intended to serve the Port’s Department Operations Center in the event of a disaster. 
• The Public Radio Station, which can provide radio communications for emergency purposes.

Click the gray dots on the map to learn more about the city’s major utility infrastructure.

San Francisco defines critical facilities as those facilities or programs that are essential to recovery after a natural disaster, such as hospitals, medical centers, schools, and police stations. 

Critical facilities within the Ferry Building subarea include the Chinese Education Center Elementary School, which can act as an emergency shelter.

Click on the red dots to learn more about critical facilities located in and near the Ferry Building subarea. 

This subarea is part of the Port’s Embarcadero Historic District. The Ferry Building itself, Agricultural Building, and Pier 1 are also individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Piers 1 thru 5 are listed as a group as the Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District. 

Opened in 1898, the current Ferry Building replaced a wooden predecessor constructed on the same site in 1875. The 245-foot tall clock tower was modeled after the 12th-century Giralda bell tower in Seville, Spain. The well-built reinforced building survived both the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes with little damage. Additional historic resources in this subarea include the:

• Folger Coffee Company, built in 1905 as the office space, processing plant, and warehouse for Folger’s, the oldest family-owned coffee importer in the city when San Francisco was a major importer and processor of coffee beans. Although the building is on landfill, it suffered only minor damage during the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes. The steel frame is supported by forty-foot wooden pilings driven deep into the mud.
• Rincon Annex to the United States Post Office, designed by Gilbert S. Underwood and sponsored by the New Deal Work Projects Administration. The National Register listing resulted largely from the significance of the 27 murals decorating the lobby by painter Anton Refregier. 

Click on the orange dots to learn more about the historical and cultural sites found in and near the Ferry Building subarea.

After assessing community priorities and specific seismic and flood risk in this subarea, the Port and its partners, including the City, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other key stakeholders, are currently reviewing potential strategies for addressing these challenges and adapting the waterfront to reduce risks and meet the needs, priorities, and visions of the community over time. The Port has begun to identify measures, or specific strategies for adapting San Francisco's waterfront in the face of earthquakes, flooding, and future sea level rise. Visit the  Measures Explorer  to learn more. 

Thank you for reviewing the Ferry Building Waterfront Resilience Story Map. To view more detailed information about this subarea, click on the technical documents below.

•  Subarea Profile 
•  Flood Risk Profiles 
•  Problems, Opportunities, Objectives, Constraints, and Considerations (POOCC) Fact Sheet