Events

Twenty years ago, when Menlo Park resident Stan Garvey began writing what would become his award winning book, "King & Queen of the River,” about the legendary paddle-wheel steamboats that once traveled between San Francisco’s Pier 1 and Sacramento, he couldn’t have imagined that he would one day see the then decrepit 1918 steamboat offices just north of the Ferry Building become the centerpiece and anchor of a major historic restoration project.

But on Sept. 14, Garvey joined a happy crowd at the California Preservation Foundation’s "Party at the Piers,” a celebration of the rehabilitation of Piers 1, 3 and 5 and the beginning of a new life for the Beaux Arts style buildings. Garvey, his book tucked under his arm, was greeted by California Preservation Foundation President Paige Swartley and given a site tour by Simon Snellgrove, president of San Francisco Waterfront Partners, developer of the project.

From the edge of ruin, the piers have returned to life and now comprise 60,000 square feet of office space, 17,000 square feet of restaurant, cafe and retail space, a boat dock and nearly an acre of public access stretching along the entire waterside perimeter of the project.

The former steamboat passenger waiting room will soon be the site of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, an internationally acclaimed seafood restaurant. The piers are part of the Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District.

The new Bayside History Walk connects the buildings with photos and plaques describing the piers’ history and promoting public access to the Bay. In recognition of the scope of this accomplishment, the California Preservation Foundation has awarded a preservation design award for Piers 1, 3 and 5 to the public and private entities who successfully completed the complex rehabilitation, including San Francisco Waterfront Partners, the Port of San Francisco, Page & Turnbull, Tom Elliot Fisch, Holmes Culley and Hannum Associates.