Embarcadero Freeway
Built in 1958, the elevated 1.2-mile
Embarcadero Freeway was originally designed as part of a larger network of proposed highways crisscrossing the city, most of which were never built thanks to San Francisco's famous freeway revolt. There were calls for its demolition in 1986, but voters eventually decided against taking it down over concerns about increased traffic. The
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake solved this argument, causing so much structural damage that the roadway was considered beyond repair. The freeway was torn down in 1991, opening up the city to the Ferry Building and spurring a renaissance of businesses along the water.
Emporium Building
The Emporium opened at Market and Fifth streets in 1896. It was originally constructed to hold one tenant, but eventually got
rented to several individual merchants. Soon it became the location of the already successful Golden Rule Bazaar. All but the front of the building was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire, and the rest was reconstructed two years later. The store closed permanently in 1996 to be redeveloped as part of the adjacent San Francisco Shopping Center (a.k.a. Westfield), but a
historic preservation battle royale ensued. The original construction plans called for preserving the building's facade and historic glass dome, but they
failed to retain the front 65 feet of the original structure (the entrances and lobby, mostly) as required. A lawsuit followed, leading to a
$2.5 million settlement that is used for preservation grants.
Playland at the Beach
In 1923, George and Leo Whitney opened a photofinishing concession booth along the beach, and slowly began buying out the other concessionaires under the name
Playland at the Beach. Whitney tore down the Big Dipper roller coaster in the late 1950s, and stopped operating Playland in 1968. Many of the old Playland concessions are now housed at the Musée Mécanique on Fisherman's Wharf. It was eventually sold to developers in 1971 and torn down on September 4, 1972, to make room for condos.
Letterman Hospital
Letterman Hospital in the Presidio was originally built in 1898, and served as a West Coast hospital for every US foreign conflict in the 20th century. The original building was demolished in the 1960s for a new modern hospital, but that (supposedly
haunted) one was abandoned in 1994 when the Army base was transferred to the National Park Service. It was
demolished in 2002 to make room for Lucasfilm to build the Letterman Digital Arts Center in its place.
Sutro Baths
Adolph Sutro's baths opened in 1896 as the world's largest indoor swimming pool. In 1937 Sutro's grandson converted part of the baths into an ice-skating rink, which was expanded in the early 1950s. But popularity waned and the ice-skating profits couldn't sustain the enormous building. A
major fire ripped through the baths in June 1966, under circumstances some people found suspicious. In 1964 developers bought the site and drafted plans to replace the baths with high-rise apartments, but after the fire in 1966, nothing was ever built.
Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Back in 1915, San Francisco hosted the
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a celebration of the completion of the Panama Canal and a showcase of the rebuilding of the city after the 1906 earthquake. As with many other world's fairs, the
physical structures were built to be temporary and most were torn down shortly after the fair closed. The Palace of Fine Arts was the only building spared from demolition at the end of the fair. After years of deterioration, it was restored and rebuilt in the 1960s.
UPDATE (2/5/15): This story has been updated to clarify that although the Palace of Fine Arts initially survived demolition in 1915, it was rebuilt in the 1960s.
Fall of the Arch of the Rising Sun, via SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY
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