Mayor
Willie L. Brown, Jr., Port of San Francisco, and Ferry Building
Investors Get Things Ticking, Celebrate Clock Re-Starting
![](July_Ferry_Building_Doug_and_Brandon.jpg) |
A
new plaque was also unveiled on the front wall of the Ferry
Building commemorating the refurbishment. Port Director Doug
Wong and Port Commission President Emeritus Kim Brandon
flank Mayor Brown. |
The Mayor of San Francisco, the
Port of San Francisco, and Ferry Building Investors, LLC re-started
the Ferry Building’s 245-foot tall historic timepiece during the
"Ferry Building Clock Starting Ceremony" on Tuesday, June
17th. At noon, the Honorable Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. officially
"re-started" the clock as the carillon signaled the clock’s
return to service and the beginning of summer in San Francisco.
"The rehabilitation of the
Ferry Building is a lasting legacy for San Franciscans," said
Mayor Brown. "The re-starting of the clock signals the Ferry
Building’s return to public service as an icon on the vibrant
waterfront. The restoration would not have come to fruition without
the tremendous public support and backing by the Port and the Ferry
Building Investors stakeholders."
Ferry Building Investors, LLC is a
joint venture partnership among four firms including Equity Office,
Wilson Meany Sullivan (WMS), Primus Infrastructure, LLC, and Banc of
America Historic Capital Assets, LLC. In 1998, San Francisco-based
developer WMS was selected by the city to transform the site back to
its original status with additional functionality that would enhance
the value and community impact of the property. Equity Office joined
the effort and provided investment capital, extensive commercial
office experience, and financial solidarity to the project.
![](July_Ferry_Building_Mayor_and_Ferry_Bldg_Man.jpg) |
That
takes the cake. Mayor Brown cuts the first slice of a cake
baked into the shape of the Ferry Building. |
"This is one of the city’s
most important projects and certainly a landmark achievement for
Equity Office as well," said Mark Geisreiter, senior vice
president of Equity Office’s San Francisco region. "As
stewards of bringing the vision of the fully
restored Ferry Building to life, we believe that starting the clock
is another step toward restoring one of San Francisco’s most
cherished landmarks to even greater grandeur."
The public reintroduction to this
world-renowned and cherished civic icon was initiated earlier this
spring when ferry commuters reentered the building and the Ferry
Plaza Farmers’ Market returned, and will continue
throughout the summer culminating with a Marketplace Grand Opening
Celebration planned for the fall.
![](July_Ferry_Building_Ferry_Bldg_Man_and_Ferry_Bldg.jpg) |
From
the ridiculous to the sublime: "Ferry Building
Man," aka John Hearney, a contractor living in Oakland,
lines up with the real thing. |
"With the clock starting, we’re
celebrating an unprecedented collaboration between public and
private interests," said Chris Meany, principal of WMS.
"While there is still more to come at the project, the clock
starting is an opportunity to publicly thank the numerous partners
that came together on this monumental development. Credit should
also be shared with our trio of well-respected
San Francisco-based architectural firms, SMWM, BCV Architects, and
Page & Turnbull, as well as our contractor, Plant Construction
Company of San Francisco."
![](July_Ferry_Building_Crazy_guy_and_Ferry_Bldg_reduced.jpg) |
Local
color. He may seem crazy, but he was savvy enough to get his
sign smack-dab in the center of every camera angle. |
The monumental clock tower,
modeled after the clock tower of the Giralda Cathedral in Seville,
Spain, has been a landmark at the foot of Market Street in San
Francisco for more than 100 years. The clock has stood still for
more than two years while the building was under construction. Each
of the four 22-foot diameter clock faces has been carefully
refurbished. New steel bracing has strengthened its core, while the
historic clock mechanism has been rehabilitated. A new lighting
system ensures that the clock tower, with its elegant architectural
details, will be a visible beacon both night and day.
![](July_Ferry_Building_Chris_at_podium_forceful.jpg) |
Chris
Meany played a key role in making the Ferry Building
renovation happen and he has the ship marks to show for it.
Here, his moment in the sun. |
For more than a century, the Ferry
Building has been one of the most beloved buildings in San
Francisco. Designed by A. Page Brown and originally completed in
1898, the monumental Beaux Arts Ferry Building was the primary point
of arrival and departure for San Francisco until the construction of
the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges in the late 1930s. In 1957, the
building was hidden behind the Embarcadero Freeway. With the removal
of the Embarcadero Freeway, the Ferry Building is once again the
focal point on San Francisco’s magnificent waterfront. Now, after
the city’s 10-year effort to transform this once industrial area,
the Ferry Building claims its place as a gem on the waterfront
midway between the new PacBell Ballpark and Fisherman’s Wharf. The
venerable waterfront icon is a beacon of civic pride, having earned
a spot on the National Register’s list of Historic Places and
distinction as the City of San Francisco’s Registered Landmark No.
90. The unique mixed-use project includes 175,000 square feet of
Class A office space, 65,000 square feet of retail marketplace
space, open-air cafes and restaurants, and is home to the popular
Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market.
For more information about the
Ferry Building, please visit
www.equityoffice.com or
www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com.