At the stroke of noon on Thursday, I arrived at San Francisco’s Ferry Building, located along the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street. The historical Ferry Building is now a public marketplace which houses gourmet shops and restaurants. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, a farmers’ market also sets up in temporary booths outside.
Walking the length of the 660 feet (220 metres) building, I soon concluded that it wasn’t meant for the penniless: organic donuts, a bakery selling nothing but gluten-free items, an expensive chocolate brand I had never heard of called Recchiuti (where an assortment of 16 truffles costs $45), an Asian fast food counter with $11 noodle bowls, thin crust pizzas for $20. You get the picture.
When it opened in 1898, the Ferry Building was the focal point for anyone arriving by train from the East. Until the 1930’s, ferries were the only way travellers could reach the city (unless they came from the south). The building survived both the earthquakes of 1906 and 1989. However the growth of automobile traffic and the construction of both the Bay Bridge (1936) and the Golden Gate Bridge (1937) rendered the ferries obsolete (at least for a while). The Ferry Building was converted to office space with some retail and public use. The construction of the double-deck Embarcadero Freeway across the face of the building in 1957 finished casting the once prominent building into obscurity.
Walking through an expensive food market when you’re hungry can be dangerous for the wallet, so I decided to buy lunch at a Japanese/Californian take-out place called Delica. For $8.50 I got a generous serving of Japanese beef curry on rice which I was barely able to finish (and this was the “regular” not the “large” size). Because the restaurant had no sitting area, I sat on a wooden chair outside, balancing the plastic bowl on my knees while I ate.
A lot of other people were eating outside, as the weather was just gorgeous. The back of the Ferry Building skirts the water and affords a great view of the Bay Bridge. I chased the rice and meat with a cappuccino from Blue Bottle Coffee. I remembered reading an article ranking it as the best coffee in town, but with slow service and often long line-ups. The tiny shop did have a line-up, but I think I was lucky to squeeze in between the 12:00 and 1:00 pm lunch crowds, so I only had to wait about 10 minutes for my cappuccino. It was indeed very good: creamy and rich, with a deep flavour.
Feeling satiated I headed outside to see the farmer stalls before they closed at 2 PM. I spotted some very appealing strawberries, organic of course, for only $3.50 a small basket. The vendor let me taste one and I was sold on the flavour and juiciness. Back inside the Ferry Building, I continued my shopping in a small grocery store selling only organic products sourced from local farmers. Sweet peppers went for $4.99 a pound and zucchinis for $2.99 a pound. Not cheap. I bought one of the latter along with a $3.99 bag of corn chips (vith visions of guacamole dancing in my head).
As mentioned before, the Ferry Building did survive the 1989 earthquake (thanks to its foundation of pilings and concrete arches) but the freeway did not. It was demolished in 1991, opening the way for the restoration of the Ferry Building to its original grandeur. The restoration was completed in 2003, and one of San Francisco’s most cherished landmarks returned to the city.
