San Francisco is known and loved around the world for its iconic man-made structures, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, and Transamerica Pyramid. Yet its Civic Center, with the grandest collection of monumental municipal buildings in the United States, is often overlooked, drawing less global and local interest, despite its being an urban planning marvel featuring thirteen government office and cultural buildings. In The San Francisco Civic Center, James Haas tells the complete story of San Francisco’s Civic Center and how it became one of the most complete developments envisioned by any American city. Originally planned and designed by John Galen Howard in 1912, the San Francisco Civic Center is considered in both design and materials one of the finest achievements of the American reformist City Beautiful movement, an urban design movement that began more than a century ago. Haas meticulously unravels the Civic Center’s story of perseverance and dysfunction, providing an understanding and appreciation of this local and national treasure. He discusses why the Civic Center was built, how it became central to the urban planning initiatives of San Francisco in the early twentieth century, and how the site held onto its founders’ vision despite heated public debates about its function and achievement. He also delves into the vision for the future and related national trends in city planning and the architectural and art movements that influenced those trends. Riddled with inspiration and leadership as well as controversy, The San Francisco Civic Center, much like the complex itself, is a stunning manifestation of the confident spirit of one of America’s most dynamic and creative cities.

The twenty field trip guides in this volume represent the work of earthquake professionals from the earth science, engineering, and emergency management communities. The guides were developed to cross the boundaries between these professions, and thus reflect this diversity: trips focus on the built environment, the effects of the 1906 earthquake, the San Andreas fault, and other active faults in northern California.

Fodor’s. For Choice Travel Experiences. Fodor’s helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. While you’re at the helm, Fodor’s offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It’s like having a friend in San Francisco! •Updated annually,Fodor’s San Franciscoprovides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guide book. •Fodor’s San Franciscofeatures options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, soyoumake the choices to planyourtrip of a lifetime. •If it’s not worth your time, it’s not in this book. Fodor’s discriminating ratings, including our top tier Fodor’s Choice designations, ensure that you’ll know about the most interesting and enjoyable places in San Francisco. •Experience San Francisco like a local!Fodor’s San Franciscoincludes unique photo-features that impart the city’s culture, covering Chinatown history, Cable Car rides, Alcatraz lore, Golden Gate Park activities, and much more! •Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include “Top Reasons to Go,” “Word of Mouth” advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common travel pitfalls. •Full-color pullout map Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers.

Eighteen self-guided walking tours down city streets that will take you back in time, with colorful stories about the buildings along the way and the people associated with them. Brimming with insight and the odd fact, laced with humor and drama, this unique guidebook sheds new light on the history of one of America's renowned cities. Easy-to-follow maps, and dozens of historic photographs.