San Francisco Landmarks

The Ferry Building is an iconic structure at the foot of Market Street in downtown San Francisco that was built in 1898 as the transit terminal for a vast network of ferry service connecting San Francisco to Oakland, Marin County and other cities around the Bay. Forty years later, with the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge (to Marin/Napa/Sonoma Counties) and the Bay Bridge (to Oakland, Berkeley and the East Bay communities), ferry service was sharply curtailed. The Ferry Building, which had survived two huge earthquakes in 1906 and 1989, fell into disrepair, even as it still functioned as a terminal for ferries and sightseeing boats. With the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway after the Loma Prieta earthquake, the city's waterfront experienced a renaissance, and the restoration of the Ferry Building was a major part of that project. In 2003, the building was rededicated as the city's ferry terminal, with office space and an upscale gourmet market. Each weekend, the Ferry Building is also the site of a the city's main farmers market.

Paris may be the only other city on earth with a monumental structure as recognizable as the Golden Gate Bridge. A bridge was dreamed of across the Golden Gate for decades, from the turn of the 20th century. It was a daunting site, with hilly terrain, high winds and fast currents, making for a challenging engineering scenario. But, the bridge was completed in 1937 after 4 years of construction, and under its $35 million budget. It had the world's longest main span for a suspension bridge at 4,200 feet. It also had the tallest suspension bridge towers in the world until 1998. And its famous International Orange paint color was originally just an undercoating, until San Franciscans requested that as the permanent color of this beloved landmark.

Coit Tower is one of the more beautiful landmarks in the city. Lilly Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy socialite, bequeathed a portion of her estate to “add to the beauty of the city”. The art deco tower was built in 1933 atop Telegraph Hill. The gleaming white round concrete tower has long been said to look like a fire hose nozzle, in memory of the firefighters who extinquished the blazes after the 1906 earthquake... though this, apparently, is not true. Visitors to Coit Tower enjoy not only the view of the Bay and the City, but also the art deco murals that grace the walls of the tower's interior. Completed as part of the government's art programs during the Depression, these works of art are unique and historically significant.

In the center of the city of San Francisco rise two peaks, almost 1,000 feet in elevation: Twin Peaks is the highest point in the city (along with neighboring Mt Davidson). Accessible by car and bus, traveling up Market Street and then Twin Peaks Blvd. The views in every direction are spectacular - especially at night.

Book a San Francisco hire car today and you can see all the sites at your own pace.