Financial District, San Francisco: the Ferry Building, Montgomery Street and the downtown plazas

The Ferry Building stands along the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street. It is San Francisco Landmark No. 90, designated in 1977, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as the Union Ferry Depot, reference number 78000760. It opened on 13 July 1898. The marketplace inside the nave opens daily from 6:00am to 10:00pm and closes on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day; hours for individual businesses vary. Outside it, at Embarcadero and Market Streets, Foodwise runs the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturday from 8am to 2pm and on Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 2pm, year round.

Embarcadero Plaza is a civic plaza of 4.14 acres at 10 Market Street; the Vaillancourt Fountain stands in it. Maritime Plaza is a civic plaza of 2.01 acres at 285 Washington Street, and the Alcoa Building at 300 Clay Street adjoins it. Embarcadero Center is four buildings spanning four blocks, with office space, hundreds of shops, restaurants, services and a multiplex cinema; development began in 1968 and concluded in 1983, and construction of each of the four buildings was completed over a ten-year span between 1971 and 1981.

North of the Ferry Building the piers carry federal citations of their own. Pier One, at the Embarcadero and Washington Street, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, reference number 98001551. Piers 1, 1 1/2, 3 and 5 were listed together as the Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District, reference number 02001390, certified 20 November 2002, with a period of significance running from 1918 to 1952.

Montgomery Street is the older spine. The Kohl Building at 400 Montgomery Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 161, designated in 1983; the A. Borel & Company Building at 440 Montgomery Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 109, designated in 1980; the Italian American Bank at 460 Montgomery Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 110, designated in 1980. The Mills Building & Tower at 220-232 Montgomery Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 76, designated in 1975, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, reference number 77000334. One Montgomery Street, which the Article 10 register names for the Crocker National Bank, is San Francisco Landmark No. 297, designated in 2022. The Transamerica Pyramid stands at 600 Montgomery Street, over 850 feet tall, clad in white quartz and carrying over 3,000 windows; William Pereira designed it and it was completed in 1972, and a remastering of the interiors with Foster + Partners was completed in 2024.

On California, Sansome and Pine Streets: the Bank of California at 400 California Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 3, designated in 1968; the Royal Globe Insurance Building at 210 Sansome Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 160, designated in 1983; the Federal Reserve Bank Building at 400 Sansome Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 158, designated in 1983, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, reference number 89000009. The mural in the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange Tower at 155 Sansome Street, The Allegory of California, is San Francisco Landmark No. 298, designated in 2022. The Merchants Exchange at 465 California Street, the Russ Building at 235 Montgomery Street, the Shell Building at 100 Bush Street and the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange Trading Room at 301 Pine Street each carry Category I under Article 11 of the San Francisco Planning Code. On Commercial Street, the U.S. Mint & Subtreasury Building at 608-610 Commercial Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 34, designated in 1970, and PG&E Old Station J at 565-569 Commercial Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 142, designated in 1981, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, reference number 86003514. Storeship sites lie under the street corners: APOLLO at the northwest corner of Sacramento and Battery Streets, reference number 91000561, and NIANTIC at the northwest corner of Clay and Sansome Streets, reference number 91000563, both certified 16 May 1991.

The district's seating is largely privately owned public open space. Redwood Park at 535 Washington Street, established in 1972, is described in the City's survey as redwood trees at the foot of the Transamerica Pyramid, a tall water fountain, sculptures and ample seating. 101 California Street has about 1,000 linear feet of terraced-step seating; 555 California Street has a central pool and 24 small wooden bench seats at the eastern edge of its elevated plaza, with Masayuki Nagare's black granite Transcendence on the west side; 456 Montgomery Street is a sunken plaza with escalator access, 72 feet of linear seating, flowers and small water fountains. Trinity Alley at 333 Bush Street is a pedestrian walkway with about 50 linear seats and a living plant wall. Upstairs there are three more: the sun terrace on the sixth floor at 150 California Street, the view terrace on the fifteenth floor at 343 Sansome Street, and the sun terrace on the third floor of Crocker Galleria at 50 Post Street.

West along Sutter, Post and Bush Streets the buildings and the dining rooms run together. The Hallidie Building at 130-150 Sutter Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 37, designated in 1971, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, reference number 71000185. The Hunter-Dulin Building at 111 Sutter Street, at Montgomery Street, was listed in 1997, reference number 97000348. The Mechanics' Institute at 57-65 Post Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 134, designated in 1981, and holds a Beaux Arts library of over 100,000 books and a chess club. The S.F. Curb Mining Exchange at 350 Bush Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 113, designated in 1980, and the Crown Zellerbach Building at 1 Bush Street is San Francisco Landmark No. 183, designated in 1987, with a sunken plaza of 1959 at its foot. Lotta's Fountain stands where Market, Geary and Kearny Streets meet: San Francisco Landmark No. 73, designated in 1975, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as the Lotta Crabtree Fountain, reference number 75000475.

The Ferry Building is reachable by several ferry lines, all BART lines, many MUNI lines, the F Market streetcar and the California Street cable car line, and the F Market historic streetcars stop at the building. Validated parking is available at the ProPark lot at Embarcadero and Washington.

The addresses that matter: the Ferry Building, on the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street. The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, at Embarcadero and Market Streets. Embarcadero Plaza, 10 Market Street. Maritime Plaza, 285 Washington Street. The Transamerica Pyramid, 600 Montgomery Street, with Redwood Park at 535 Washington Street. The Mechanics' Institute, 57-65 Post Street. Crocker Galleria, 50 Post Street. Tadich Grill, 240 California Street. Sam's Grill & Seafood, 374 Bush Street, and Sam's Tavern at 368 Bush Street. Punch Line Comedy Club, 444 Battery Street.

Much of the ground floor of this district is indoors and keeps office hours. The open spaces at 101 California Street, 345 California Street, 456 Montgomery Street, 555 California Street and 333 Bush Street are open at all times. The terraces are not: 150 California Street opens 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 343 Sansome Street 10AM to 5PM Monday to Friday, 350 Bush Street 7AM to 6PM Monday to Friday, and Crocker Galleria's third-floor terrace 6am to 7pm Monday to Saturday.