Journeys›Photograph

A Week Watching the San Francisco Waterfront

·The Embarcadero·#winter#california#waterfront#san-francisco#cityscape
A container ship with APL branding sails on water with silhouetted hills under a golden sky.

Settled in high above the Embarcadero for a week of watching the waterfront, and the first full day made the case for never leaving the window. An APL container ship slid across the bay toward Oakland right around dusk, low and loaded, gone in a few minutes.

Straight below is Pier 1 and the working edge of the port — the San Francisco Belle tied up on one side, a sternwheeler the size of an apartment block, and the California Hornblower across the way. Hard to believe a double-deck freeway used to wall all of this off; since it came down the whole stretch is a ground-level boulevard, and from up here you can trace it running along the seawall toward the Ferry Building.

On the plaza side, crews had the holiday ice rink set up next to the Vaillancourt Fountain, white tents and a green apron of turf around it, nobody skating yet. Down in the Four Embarcadero courtyard the potted trees already had their strings of lights going, on before the streetlamps were.

Two large ships, San Francisco Belle and California Royal, are docked at piers, with waterfront buildings including Pier 1.San Francisco Belle paddlewheel boat and California Hornblower ferry docked at Pier 1, with water and distant land.Black and white view of a bay with the ships San Francisco Belle and California Star, and waterfront buildings.An aerial view of a city waterfront with a tall building, ferry terminal, bay, and an outdoor ice rink.Outdoor ice rink surrounded by green turf, an abstract concrete sculpture, two white tents, trees, and a street with cars.An elevated view of a paved outdoor patio featuring trees with lights, blue umbrellas, and a building with a structured facade.An overhead view shows a street with a car and person, a building with window art, and a plaza with illuminated arched decorations.Golden sunlight bathes a multi-story building with balconies, framed by two tall structures and trees below.

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