Portal

Conceived in the Gilded Age, the Ferry Building opened in 1898 as San Franciscos portal to the worldthe terminus of the transcontinental railway and a showcase of civic ambition. In silent films and Worlds Fair postcards, nothing said San Francisco more than its soaring clocktower. But as acclaimed architectural critic John King recounts, the rise of cars and double-deck roads severed the city from its beloved structure. Kings narrative spans the rise and fall and rebirth of the Ferry Building, introducing colourful figures who fought to preserve its character (and the citys soul)from architect Arthur Page Brown and legendary columnist Herb Caen to poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Senator Dianne Feinstein. A microcosm of the changing American waterfront, the saga of the Ferry Building explores the tensions of tourism and developmentand the threat that sea level rise poses to a landmark that in the twenty-first century remains as vital as ever.