Civic Center Cultural Landscape Inventory

The 15 blocks of San Francisco's Civic Center Historic District contain many prominent cultural and governmental buildings and open spaces located in the heart of the city. Nearly destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake, it was rebuilt beginning in 1915 to serve as the site of significant historic events, including the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the formation of the United Nations, the United States Peace Treaty with Japan, and numerous civic protests and social movements, such as those associated with the Vietnam War, the House Un-American Activities Committee, the White Night Riots, and the gay rights movement.

Civic Center has multiple historic designations, including:

• Listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 for state and national levels of significance,
• San Francisco Landmark District designation in December 1994, and
• Listing as a National Historic Landmark in 1987—the highest designation for a historic property in the United States.

Beaux Arts style civic buildings such as City Hall and the Veterans Building, and Beaux Arts and Modern-era designed public spaces such as the War Memorial Courtyard, Civic Center Plaza, and UN Plaza help convey the significance of the district in representing the history of the area.

Over the course of two years, Planning Department, Recreation & Parks Department, and Public Utilities Commission staff, with the assistance of the planning consulting firm MIG, Inc. assessed the significance and historic integrity of the cultural landscape features of Civic Center using archival research and on-site surveys. The survey information was consolidated as a Cultural Landscape Inventory report for the entire district. This project fills in the gaps of the previous surveys and historic designation documentation to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Civic Center and all of its associated features. The Civic Center Cultural Landscape Inventory provides a study of the environments and surroundings that contribute to or enhance the cultural heritage of the Civic Center Historic District. Documented features include courtyards, statues, trees and vegetation, fire boxes and fire hydrants, curbs and pathways, lighting fixtures, utilities, and others.