The Embarcadero Freeway was a double-decker structure that ran above the waterfront on San Francisco’s north-eastern side, passing businesses, piers, and the Ferry Building. As as child, I remember distinctly driving on the freeway, how it veered off I-80, curing around, and would drop you off either into the financial district, or into the North Beach and Chinatown sections of the city. It was a convenient and fast way to get to those areas, and the freeway’s existence was a given, just as the 76 Union watch tower, which stood just before the entrance of the Bay Bridge, was a given. At the time, the freeway seemed etched in stone.
The fact that the Embarcadero freeway, like some huge elephant, obstructed what were impeccable and beautiful vistas of the San Francisco bay, with Treasure Island in the distance, and the East Bay further away, were not things I, as a kid, thought about, or even considered. The freeway was utilitarian, plain and simple, and provided a function, a purpose.
Interstate 480 (or better known as the Embarcadero Freeway) opened in 1959, and over the course of its history was intended to connect the Bay Bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge. Imagine! If the project had been successfully completed, the freeway would’ve spanned from the financial district to the Marina district, blotting over a sizable chunk of real estate, which, as we know, is one of the most aesthetic parts of the city. But back then it seemed that efficiency and interstate travel trumped beauty and open panoramas.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake changed everything for the freeway. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Because the freeway was seriously damaged, its actual existence began to be questioned in earnest, and the resulting debates brought out staunch supporters on both sides: those who wanted it to remain (and be re-built), and those who wanted it demolished forever.
Suffice it to say that the demolition supporters won over, and the freeway’s destruction began in 1991. The huge elephant would be no more. Though the freeway has disappeared, that’s a change that I’m actually happy about. It was most certainly an eyesore, and with its removal, the whole embarcadero area has undergone a major revitalization, its beauty and pleasures now front and center, for all to see and experience. It’s a change for the better.
Like the embedded video!
GREAT video!! Thank you. Wow. Memories. It’s more beautiful now that it’s gone, but it’s still nice to have the memory preserved – thanks for posting!
PS. I’m looking for photos or videos from 1980s and *early* 1990s (say, up to 1994?) of Valencia Street….any ideas?
Cara,
Sorry it’s taken me soooooooo long to get back to you. My bad. You can tell I don’t check my blog very often and hence am a terrible “host.” This is actually a class project. Anyway, thanks for your comment. Regarding photos of Valencia Street during the early 90s, I don’t know of any specific site that has such photos. There are a few Flickr accounts that I’ve seen which have photos from the city from back in the day:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindcage2000/with/2738451495/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/sanfrangone/pool/page1/
Check ’em out. You may find the photos you’re looking for (and if not, there’s still some really cool photos to look at). I’d do a search in Flickr too and see what you come up with. There’s also Google image search.
Ramon
[…] high-rises, and other land uses. While some of these projects have since been reversed (think the Embarcadero Freeway in San Francisco) or others never got off the ground (see freeway protests as detailed by historian Eric Avila), […]
I used the Washington St exit hundreds of times in the late 60’s/early 70’s when I had an apartment at Sacramento and Taylor. Very convenient but glad the freeway is gone – the City is much better off without it. I remember my daad taking my sister and I for rides on it when we were young and it was brand new. Saw a great noir film last year – The Lineup – that is a time capsule of SF in the late 50’s. The thrilling ending takes place on the nearly finished Embarcadero Freeway.