Throwback Thursday: Remembering the Embarcadero Freeway
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The Embarcadero Freeway looking toward the Ferry Building is pictured in 1965. Photo: Bob Campbell/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Long gone are the days where residents are advocating for freeway expansions — or giant concrete structures blocking prime waterfront views for that matter.
Yes, but: Back in the postwar era, such developments were all the rage thanks to urban planners like Robert Moses who championed the car as a symbol of modernity and progress.
Flashback: Construction for what was then called California State Route 480 began in 1953, with the first leg of the project connecting drivers to North Beach and Chinatown opening in 1959.
- The goal was to connect the Bay and Golden Gate bridges and ultimately create a network of crisscrossing freeways across the city.
Friction point: The movement to stop its completion gained momentum with "The Freeway Revolt" in the early 1960s, led by local environmental and civic activists like Sue Bierman who galvanized throngs of angry San Franciscans to protest new freeway construction.
The other side: Business and community leaders in North Beach and Chinatown like activist Rose Pak, fiercely advocated for keeping the highway because it was seen as crucial to maintaining their local economies.
- Her efforts proved victorious when voters rejected demolition proposals in 1986.
The intrigue: It wasn't until 1989 when the Loma Prieta Earthquake caused significant damage to the freeway that calls to tear it down would yield success.
- The freeway was officially demolished in 1991 before being replaced with a boulevard in 2002.
Today, the thoroughfare along the Embarcadero boasts beautiful views of the Bay with access to the historic Ferry Building, a farmer's market and the F-Market & Wharves street car. Yet even six decades later, voters still remain split over "the war on cars."