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33-457: Plans for the building began in 1910 with the hiring of architects Wright & Rushforth and an agreement to lease the building for three years to the City of San Francisco as a temporary city hall (the old San Francisco City Hall was destroyed by fire spawned by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake ). From the outset, the intention was to convert the building into a hotel once the new, permanent city hall

66-412: A neo-classical design as part of the city beautiful movement, as well as a desire to rebuild the city in time for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition . A bond was authorized for $ 8.8 million on March 28, 1912, of which the new City Hall was budgeted for $ 3.5 million to $ 4 million. After Arthur Brown Junior's design was selected from the competition, construction started in 1913 and

99-580: A major overhaul," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Streetcar service started on Van Ness in 1915 for the opening of the Panama–Pacific International Exposition . The rail lines were removed in the 1950s and replaced with a tree-lined median . Planning for a new rail line on the corridor began in 1989 with the passage of a ballot measure. By 1995, it was to be the last of four major rail corridors constructed in

132-466: A style that discouraged loitering. The plaza was then extensively excavated for underground parking. At this time a central rectangular pond, with an extensive array of water vents (strangely, all in several strict rows and all pointing east, with identical arcs of water, and completely without sculptural embellishment), was added, with extensive groves of trees (again, in 60s modernist style, planted with absolute military precision on rectangular grids). In

165-564: Is 19 ft (5.8 m) higher than the United States Capitol , and has a diameter of 112 ft (34 m), resting upon 4 x 50 ton (44.5 metric ton) and 4 x 20 ton (17.8 metric ton) girders, each 9 ft (2.7 m) deep and 60 ft (18 m) long. The building as a whole contains 7,900 tons (7,035 metric tons) of structural steel from the American Bridge Company of Ambridge, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh . It

198-579: Is faced with Madera County granite on the exterior, and Indiana sandstone within, together with finish marbles from Alabama , Colorado , Vermont , and Italy . Much of the statuary is by Henri Crenier . The upper levels of the Rotunda are public and handicapped accessible. Opposite the grand staircase, on the second floor, is the office of the Mayor. Bronze busts of former Mayor George Moscone and his successor, Dianne Feinstein , stand nearby as tacit reminders of

231-600: Is more than 500,000 square feet (46,000 m ) and occupies two full city blocks. It is 390 ft (120 m) between Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street , and 273 ft (83 m) between Grove and McAllister Streets. Its dome , which owes much to Mansart 's Baroque domes of the Val-de-Grâce (church) and Les Invalides in Paris, rises 307.5 ft (93.7 m) above the Civic Center Historic District . It

264-549: Is the seat of government for the City and County of San Francisco, California . Re-opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center , it is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917. The structure's dome is taller than that of the United States Capitol by 42 feet (13 m). The present building replaced an earlier City Hall that

297-638: The Central Freeway at the convergence of South Van Ness, Howard Street, and 13th Street, north to Lombard Street . Landmarks along the route include the San Francisco City Hall , the War Memorial Opera House , and Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall . Before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , Van Ness Avenue was known as "the city’s grandest boulevard, lined with Victorian mansions and impressive churches" (San Francisco Chronicle). After

330-528: The Civic Center north to Bay Street at Fort Mason . South Van Ness Avenue is the portion of Van Ness south of Market Street, continuing through the city's South of Market and Mission districts to end at Cesar Chavez Street . This southern segment was formerly a continuation of Howard Street, having been renamed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors on August 22, 1932. The route is designated US 101 from

363-679: The Moscone assassination , which took place just a few yards from that spot in the smaller rotunda of the mayor's office entrance. A bust of former county supervisor Harvey Milk , who was assassinated in the building was unveiled on May 22, 2008. The inscription that dominates the grand Rotunda and the entrance to the mayor's small rotunda, right below Father Time, reads: SAN • FRANCISCO O • GLORIOVS • CITY • OF • OVR HEARTS • THAT • HAST • BEEN TRIED • AND • NOT • FOVND WANTING • GO • THOV • WITH LIKE • SPIRIT • TO • MAKE THE • FVTVRE • THINE 1912 JAMES ROLPH JR. MAYOR 1931 The words were written by

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396-483: The 1990s, with the rise of the problem of homelessness , the plaza was once again remodeled to make it somewhat less habitable—although the most significant change, the replacement of the pond and pumps with a lawn, could be reasonably justified on the basis of energy and water conservation . The building features color changeable LED lighting at the outside of the Rotunda, and between the exterior columns. The colors change to coincide with different events happening in

429-567: The South Light Court display, Progress . From 1849 to 1850, San Francisco's municipal government was on the west side of Portsmouth Square at the Office of the Alcalde , who was the municipal magistrate , with both judicial and administrative functions, and the ayuntamiento , the town council, or cabildo . In May 1850, after the first City Charter was adopted, the first San Francisco City Hall

462-459: The building was converted into a 400-room hotel that opened in 1917. The hotel was named for Adolphus Carter Whitcomb whose estate owned the property. When it opened, the hotel was proclaimed "the last word in modern hoteldom" with "the most modern fireproof construction", Pavenazetta marble, and a palm-filled, glass-enclosed observation deck and sun parlor on the roof. The owners also imported 300,000 feet of Central American Jenezerro hardwood which

495-581: The city and elsewhere. During the COVID-19 pandemic , City Hall was closed from March 2020 until reopening on June 7, 2021. Informational notes Citations Van Ness Avenue (San Francisco) Van Ness Avenue is a north–south thoroughfare in San Francisco , California . Originally named Marlette Street , the street was renamed in honor of the city's sixth mayor , James Van Ness . The main part of Van Ness Avenue runs from Market Street near

528-629: The city. The planned mode was replaced with bus rapid transit in 2003, with studies and environmental analysis lasting the next decade. Construction began in June 2016; the planned completion in 2019 was delayed several times along with cost increases. Service on the Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit corridor began on April 1, 2022. The bus corridor was half the cost of the $ 346 million Van Ness Improvement Project, which also included utility replacement and pedestrian safety features. The entire route

561-526: The earthquake, the street was used as a firebreak by the US Army , dynamiting almost all buildings on its eastern side in an ultimately successful attempt to prevent the firestorm from spreading west to the entire city. During the 1920s, Van Ness Avenue became known as San Francisco's "Auto Row" as many car dealerships and showrooms opened on the street north of Civic Center. By 2021, Van Ness Avenue had become "an important street without much character, due for

594-563: The leadership of the San Francisco Bureau of Architecture in collaboration with Carey & Co. preservation architects, and Forell/Elsesser Engineers, work was completed to render the building earthquake resistant through a base isolation system, which would likely prevent total collapse of the building. City Hall reopened after its seismic upgrade in January 1999, and was the world's largest base-isolated structure at that time. Prior to

627-604: The old City Hall were sold shortly thereafter in August 1916 for US$ 2,300 (equivalent to $ 64,000 in 2023), with removal to be completed within 40 days. The main rotunda served as the site where many prominent politicians and public servants were laid in state. General Fredrick Funston , hero of the Spanish–American War , Philippine–American War , and the 1906 earthquake laid there in 1917. President Warren G. Harding laid here in 1923. Former mayor and governor James Rolph

660-467: The plans were shelved in the wake of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , which destroyed the 1899 City Hall. Ever since the fire the ample ruins of the old city hall have been displayed to visitors. There is hardly a citizen that has not been embarrassed at some time or other by pertinent questions about our city hall. Reconstruction plans following the earthquake for the Civic Center complex called for

693-505: The previous Mayor Edward Robeson Taylor , and dedicated by Mayor James Rolph . While plaques at the Mall entrance memorialize President George Washington 's farewell address and President Abraham Lincoln 's Gettysburg Address , the primary themes of the statuary are to the past mayors, with the dates of their terms in office. The medallions in the vaults of the Rotunda are of Equality , Liberty , Strength , Learning and, as memorialized in

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726-508: The property was known simply as The Whitcomb . In subsequent years, the property became a hotel again and underwent multiple name changes, including "Biltmore Hotel", "San Franciscan Hotel", "Ramada Plaza", before the "Hotel Whitcomb" name was restored in 2007. In 2020 the hotel became a shelter for homeless due to the pandemic. 37°46′41″N 122°24′54″W  /  37.7781°N 122.4150°W  / 37.7781; -122.4150 San Francisco City Hall San Francisco City Hall

759-606: The retrofitting, the San Francisco County Superior Court ’s civil courtrooms were located in City Hall but have been located across the street at the 400 McAllister courthouse since it opened in 1997. The original grand plaza has undergone several extensive renovations, with radical changes in its appearance and utility. Prior to the 1960s there were extensive brick plazas, few trees, and a few large, simple, raised, and circular ponds with central fountains, all in

792-463: The rotunda. This event was memorialized by students during the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley four years later. On November 27, 1978, former Supervisor Dan White assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk inside of City Hall. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 damaged the structure, and twisted the dome four inches (102 mm) on its base. Afterward, under

825-537: The structure and another $ 100,000 for the furnishings and equipment. The Whitcomb included a large ballroom from which concerts were broadcast during the property's heyday. During World War II , the Whitcomb provided office space for the Office for Emergency Management, the organization responsible for organizing and administering the internment of Japanese Americans . In 1963, the hotel was converted into residential rentals, with no transient occupancy. During this period,

858-468: Was bounded by Larkin Street, McAllister Street, and City Hall Avenue (a street, now built over, which ran from the corner of Grove and Larkin to the corner of McAllister and Leavenworth), largely where the current public library and U.N. Plaza stand today. Noted city planner and architect Daniel Burnham published a plan in 1905 to redesign the city, including a new Civic Center complex around City Hall, but

891-456: Was completed by 1915, in time for the Exposition. Ground was broken for the 1916 City Hall at Van Ness and Fulton on April 5, 1913, and the cornerstone was laid on October 25 of that year. Mayor Rolph moved into City Hall on December 28, 1915, the final stone was laid on March 31, 1916, and scaffolding was finally removed on July 28, officially marking the end of construction. The ruins of

924-451: Was completed. The staggered uses required the architects to prepare "two sets of drawings, one superimposing the plans for the municipal building upon the plans for the hotel." The eight-story, steel-and-concrete building opened as the temporary city hall in March 1912. The basement of the building served as a city jail during this time. With the completion of San Francisco City Hall in 1916,

957-615: Was destroyed during the 1906 earthquake , which was two blocks from the present one. The principal architect was Arthur Brown, Jr. , of Bakewell & Brown, whose attention to the finishing details extended to the doorknobs and the typeface to be used in signage . Brown also designed the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House , Veterans Building , Temple Emanuel , Coit Tower and the Federal office building at 50 United Nations Plaza . The building's vast open space

990-497: Was established at the former luxury hotel Graham House on the corner of Kearny and Pacific streets, which was later consumed by the great fire of June 1851. In 1852, San Francisco City Hall was at 750 Kearny Street between Washington and Merchant Streets, at the converted Jenny Lind Theatre building and Parker House, located then between the El Dorado Hotel and The Union , opposite the east side of Portsmouth Square. Later, this

1023-479: Was laid in state in City Hall following his death in 1934. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe were married at City Hall in January 1954. In May 1960, the main Rotunda was a site of a student protest against the House Un-American Activities Committee and a countering police action whereby students from UC Berkeley, Stanford, and other local colleges were fire hosed down the steps beneath

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1056-468: Was the site of a Hall of Justice , as seen on the TV series, Ironside . The 1916 City Hall building is a replacement for the 1899 building, begun in 1871, which was designed by Augustus Laver and Thomas Stent and completed in 1899 after 27 years of planning and construction. The 1899 city hall was a much larger building which also contained a smaller extension which contained the city's Hall of Records. It

1089-415: Was used to manufacture furniture, doors, and other interior work for the hotel. The total cost of the project was placed at more than $ 2.25 million, including $ 700,000 for original construction of the temporary city hall, $ 400,000 for structural changes to convert the building into a hotel, and $ 150,000 for furnishings. In 1922, a new wing with an additional 102 guest rooms was added at a cost of $ 250,000 for

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