Why would Bay Crossings open a store in the Ferry building? Because until the WTA is up and running – and that could be years off – there exists no ferry ticket or information service for anyone but the Golden Gate Ferry riders who have their own terminal. Left out in the cold are riders from and to Vallejo, Alameda, Oakland and Tiburon, as well as thousands of tourists wanting to get on the Bay.
Published: October, 2003
Call it your home-based business that makes good. What started out of the house of entrepreneur Bobby Winston — and then moved aboard the good sailboat Belle Chere — has now morphed into Bay Crossings’ Ferry Tickets Shop.
Now one of the many new businesses at San Francisco’s Ferry Building, the store was a natural progression for Bay Crossings, which started four years ago as an advocacy effort related to the founding of the Water Transit Authority (WTA), a state agency formed to plan, build, and operate a comprehensive regional ferry system. Since then, Bay Crossings has provided a needed service by listing ferry schedules, advocating for comprehensive ferry service, and celebrating the new urban waterfront lifestyle.
The print edition and internet version of Bay Crossings will continue unaffected by the retail operation.
Why would Bay Crossings open a store in the Ferry building? Because until the WTA is up and running – and that could be years off – there exists no ferry ticket or information service for anyone but the Golden Gate Ferry riders who have their own terminal. Left out in the cold are riders from and to Vallejo, Alameda, Oakland and Tiburon, as well as thousands of tourists wanting to get on the Bay.
The budget crisis prevented any government entity from providing the service, so Bay Crossings, in cooperation with the Inland Boatmen’s Union, the Port of San Francisco and Wilson Meany (the Ferry Building developer), stepped into the breach.
Tickets for all lines excepting Golden Gate (meaning Larkspur and Sausalito) are on sale at the Bay Crossings store, located smack dab on the center corridor of the famous landmark. In addition there are nowhere-else-to-be found post and greeting cards featuring the Ferry Building, helpful maps and guides, special edition books and our own self-branded "Ferry Water" (look for the pink ferryboat on the label).
It’s also true that the Ferry building is proving to be the "it" location for the financial district lunch crowd, tourists, and those in the know. The Ferry Building is San Francisco’s most famous landmark and its dramatic clock tower has been the icon of the waterfront for more than 100 years. Today, the Ferry Building still marks the beginning of of San Francisco’s financial district and represents one of the most scenically beautiful features of San Francisco.
Opening in 1898 on the site of the 1875 wooden Ferry House, the Ferry Building became the transportation focal point for anyone arriving by train from the East, as well as from all the Eastshore and Redwood Empire residents who worked in the city. From the Gold Rush until the 1930s, arrival by ferryboat became the only way travelers and commuters—except those coming from the Peninsula—could reach the city. "Adventures began and ended there," wrote Carl Nolte of the San Francisco Chronicle
In 1892, a bond issue to build a new Ferry Building was passed by the voters of California. A young architect named A. Page Brown drew up plans for a large, steel-framed building. His original proposal was for an 840-foot-long building. However, when the construction estimates came in for the foundation (of pilings and concrete arches) the actual length had to be reduced to 660 feet by removing planned twin entrances at either end. As it was, Brown’s foundation—which has supported the entire steel-framed structure in such a remarkably dependable manner through two earthquakes (1906 and 1989)—became the largest such foundation for a building over water anywhere in the world.
Brown included a 240-foot-tall clock tower modeled after the 12th century bell tower in the Seville Cathedral in Spain to serve as a welcoming beacon on the Bay. Construction was started in 1896, and the Union Depot and Ferry House—quickly shortened by public use to the Ferry Building—received its first scheduled arrival in July 1898. Passengers off the boats passed through an elegant two-story public area with repeating interior arches and overhead skylights. At its peak, as many as 50,000 people a day commuted by ferry.
The adventurous spirit is still housed in every layer of this magnificent building, which now represents a coming together of top local sustainable farmers and food purveyors. The Ferry Building Marketplace has become an authentic food community. Bryan Velverde, a general contractor for building tenants believes, "In time, this is not just going to be a destination for locals, but people from all over the world will see it as a world class market."
The Marketplace has as its center a vision of itself as a vibrant gathering place for local farmers, artisan producers, and independently owned and operated food businesses and the customers they serve. As you walk the halls, it is evident that this vision is ever expanding with the new businesses that are appearing on a monthly basis, and the happy and excited atmosphere that greets every person entering the building.
Michele Meany, a member of the building’s management team, feels that "the building has brought people back to the waterfront. There is life around the waterfront again."
