Embarcadero Plaza would be renamed Art Agnos Plaza under a plan to honor the former San Francisco mayor who championed the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway after it was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, removing a barrier that had long divided the park space from the Ferry Building.
Under the plan to be introduced next week, the red-brick area originally known as Justin Herman Plaza would be named for Agnos, while the adjacent green space of Sue Bierman Park would be renamed Sue Bierman Commons. Together, the two parcels will constitute Embarcadero Park, a 5-acre destination set for a $40 million redesign.
“When the Loma Prieta earthquake struck San Francisco, it was Art Agnos who helped guide our city through one of the most challenging moments in its history – and who seized that moment to transform our iconic waterfront for generations to come,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie in a statement released to the Chronicle prior to a citywide announcement on Friday. “As we once again reimagine a vital part of our waterfront, it is only fitting that we honor former Mayor Agnos’s legacy.”
The park naming resolution will go before the Recreation and Park Commission’s Capital Committee on Sept. 2. If passed, it will advance to the full Rec and Park Commission for final action, likely Sept. 17.
An aerial rendering of the proposed redesign of Embarcadero Plaza, which would be renamed Art Agnos Plaza under a city plan. (Courtesy San Francisco Recreation and Park Department)
Also under consideration Sept. 2 is a donor recognition program to identify and honor significant contributors to the new park, which is being developed through a public-private partnership.
Half of the total $40 million cost will be covered by the city through bond funds and other public sources. The other half will come from private fundraising spearheaded by the Downtown Development Corporation. A $10 million commitment has already been secured from the San Francisco foundation Crankstart to recognize Agnos, who served as mayor from 1988 to 1992. His lasting legacy was his stand to remove the Embarcadero Freeway rather than repair it in the wake of the Loma Prieta quake.
The Embarcadero Freeway under construction in January 1958, with the Ferry Building in the background. (Ken McLaughlin/S.F. Chronicle)
The massive double-decker freeway partially opened in 1959 and was controversial from the start, blocking views of the Ferry Building from Market Street. Never completed, it was later marked as State Route 480 and connected the Bay Bridge to the Chinatown and North Beach business districts, with offramps on both Broadway and Washington/Clay streets.
The post-quake decision to replace it with a surface roadway was very unpopular in the Chinatown and North Beach business communities, and Agnos recently told the Chronicle that his stand probably cost him re-election. He was defeated by former police chief Frank Jordan in 1992.
“Like any natural disaster, the Loma Prieta earthquake was both a tragedy and an opportunity,” said Agnos, 86, by phone from his home on Thursday. “In the aftermath we used the opportunity to demolish the Embarcadero Freeway and leave our waterfront more beautiful than ever. It is the honor of a lifetime to now be recognized as someone who helped to make all of this happen.”
Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos laughs while holding an archival photo during an interview at the San Francisco Chronicle on July 29. (Lea Suzuki/S.F. Chronicle)
The other honoree, Sue Bierman, died in 2006 after a long run as a neighborhood activist, planning commissioner and member of the Board of Supervisors who was involved in the great San Francisco Freeway Revolt, which prevented a major artery from running through Golden Gate Park to connect to the Golden Gate Bridge.
“Art Agnos and Sue Bierman made bold choices that opened up San Francisco and created new possibilities for public space,” said Sarah Madland, general manager of Rec and Park. “That spirit is alive in this project.”
One major step has already been completed: the removal of Vaillancourt Fountain, the controversial Brutalist concrete sculpture that sat in the middle of what could become Agnos Plaza. It has been put in storage while the city determines what to do with it permanently.
Embarcadero Park is a joint project of Rec and Park, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Downtown Development Corp., the Downtown SF Partnership and BXP, which owns the Embarcadero Center and has already put $2.5 million into design and coordination services.
Construction is on schedule to break ground late this year and be completed in early 2028.
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This article originally published at S.F.’s Embarcadero Plaza would be renamed for Art Agnos under city plan.