Ethos

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco: Pier 39, the sea lions, Aquatic Park and Ghirardelli Square

Fisherman's Wharf, California

Fisherman's Wharf is the strip of working and former working waterfront on San Francisco's northern bay shore, running from Pier 39 west to Aquatic Park. Most of what a visitor comes for is packed into about a mile of it: a colony of California sea lions that has hauled out at Pier 39 since 1989, a Second World War submarine at Pier 45 with a hall of coin-operated arcade machines in the shed beside it, a chocolate factory converted into a block of shops in 1964, and a curved public beach built by the Works Progress Administration. Two cable car lines end here, each on its own turntable. One large caveat applies at the moment: Hyde Street Pier is closed while it is rebuilt, and the five museum ships that used to lie against it have been moved out of the city.

  1. Pier 39

    sight

    Developed by Warren Simmons and opened on 4 October 1978; its shops run 10.00 to 21.00 and its full-service restaurants 11.00 to 22.00.

  2. A colony of California sea lions began hauling out at Pier 39 in September 1989 and has been on the floating docks since.

  3. A Balao-class submarine launched on 12 July 1943, a museum ship at Pier 45 since 21 November 1975, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 86000089.

  4. More than 300 coin-operated machines in Shed A on Pier 45, including an 1884 Praxinoscope and Laffing Sal, a six-foot laughing automaton.

  5. A hoisting tower of 1914, built to lift rail cars on and off ferries for the Belt Railroad, and rehabilitated in 2002 and 2003 after a fire.

  6. The chocolate works Domenico Ghirardelli assembled from 1893, converted by Lawrence Halprin and Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons and opened as a shopping square in 1964. San Francisco Landmark No. 30.

  7. The Streamline Moderne bathhouse built by the Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1939 and dedicated on 22 January 1939 before a crowd of 10,000.

  8. Beach, lagoon, bathhouse, stadia and speaker towers between Van Ness Avenue, Hyde and Polk Streets, listed on the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 84001183.

  9. The grass on Beach Street at Hyde Street where the Powell-Hyde cable car turns around.

  10. The sheltered water the national park's 50 acres have grown around, and where the clubs on its shore swim.

  11. 252 rooms in the Haslett Warehouse of 1907 to 1909, opened as a hotel in August 2003 and sharing the building with the national park's visitor center.

  12. A seafood house at 1965 Al Scoma Way on Pier 47, open from 12.00 daily and with the bar from 11.30.

  13. A bar at 2765 Hyde Street facing the cable car turntable, open from 10.00 on weekdays and from 9.00 at weekends, with the kitchen closing at 21.30.

  14. The pier is closed while it is rebuilt, and the ships of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park are berthed at the Mare Island Coal Sheds in Vallejo.

Getting there

Two of the three cable car lines end at the wharf. SFMTA gives the Powell-Hyde terminus at Hyde and Beach Streets, on the grass of Victorian Park, and the Powell-Mason terminus at Bay and Taylor Streets; both lines start at Powell and Market. Advance purchase through MuniMobile or a Clipper card is required at Powell and Market, at Bay and Taylor, and at Hyde and Beach between 08.00 and 20.00 daily. SFMTA publishes no operating hours for the lines, so none are given here.

Steer by street addresses rather than by the water, because the piers are numbered along the shore rather than in a line you can follow. Pier 39 gives its own address as Beach Street and The Embarcadero, and Aquarium of the Bay is inside it. Pier 45 holds USS Pampanito at its berth and the Musee Mecanique in Shed A. Scoma's is at 1965 Al Scoma Way, on Pier 47. The SkyStar Wheel stands at 2860 Taylor Street and Pompei's Grotto at 340 Jefferson Street. Ghirardelli Square is at 900 North Point Street; the Argonaut Hotel and the national park's visitor center share 680 Beach Street in the old Haslett Warehouse; and the Buena Vista Cafe is at 2765 Hyde Street, on the corner of Beach Street beside the Powell-Hyde turntable.

The museum ships have left the pier

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was established in 1988, and its 50 acres have grown around Aquatic Park Cove. Five of its vessels are square-rigged, paddle-driven and steam-powered survivors of the Pacific coast trades: Balclutha of 1886, the ferryboat Eureka of 1890, the lumber schooner C. A. Thayer of 1895, the scow schooner Alma of 1891 and the tug Hercules of 1907. None of them is currently in San Francisco. The ships of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park are berthed at the Mare Island Coal Sheds in Vallejo while Hyde Street Pier is rebuilt. The National Park Service gives that temporary site as 860 Nimitz Avenue, Vallejo, CA 94592, and states that Hyde Street Pier is closed.

USS Pampanito is a separate case and is not affected. The submarine is operated by the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association rather than by the National Park Service, its address of record on the National Register is Fisherman's Wharf-Pier 45, and the park's closure notice does not cover it.

Three parts of the park remain open. The visitor center is in the Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street; the Maritime Museum occupies the Aquatic Park Bathhouse at the foot of Polk Street; and Aquatic Park Cove, the protected water the swimming clubs use, is open. The Municipal Pier that curves out from the same shore is not: it has been closed to the public since 2022.

Opening hours along the waterfront

Pier 39 publishes its hours by category rather than as one line: retail 10.00 to 21.00, full-service restaurants 11.00 to 22.00, fast food 10.00 to 21.00, attractions 10.00 to 21.00, and outdoor vendor carts and kiosks 11.00 to 20.00. Aquarium of the Bay, inside it, opens Monday to Sunday from 10.00 to 17.00. The SkyStar Wheel on Taylor Street opens daily from 10.00 to 22.00.

For food, Scoma's opens Monday to Thursday and Sunday from 12.00 to 21.30 and Friday and Saturday from 12.00 to 22.00, with the bar from 11.30 daily, and closes on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Buena Vista Cafe opens Monday to Thursday 10.00 to 23.00, Friday and Saturday 9.00 to 24.00 and Sunday 9.00 to 23.00, with the kitchen closing at 21.30. Pompei's Grotto opens daily at 11.00 and serves lunch and dinner 363 days a year, closing on Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day; lunch runs until 16.00 and dinner is served all day. At Boudin, breakfast is served at Bakers Hall from 8.00 to 11.00, and no full opening hours are published, so none are given here.

Two things a visitor expects to find scheduled are not. The Musee Mecanique publishes neither hours nor an admission price, and no source states either, so none are given here; the same is true of the two cable car turntables. The Dolphin Club at Aquatic Park is a members' club open to its own members seven days a week from 5.00 to 22.00, with public day use on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only: 9.00 to 17.00 from 1 November to 30 April, and 8.00 to 17.00 from 1 May to 31 October.

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the historic ships at Hyde Street Pier?
Not at the moment. The ships of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park are berthed at the Mare Island Coal Sheds in Vallejo while Hyde Street Pier is rebuilt. The National Park Service gives that address as 860 Nimitz Avenue, Vallejo, CA 94592, and states that the pier itself is closed. USS Pampanito is the exception: it lies at Pier 45, it is run by the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association rather than by the National Park Service, and the park's closure notice does not cover it. The park's visitor center in the Haslett Warehouse, the Maritime Museum in the Aquatic Park Bathhouse and Aquatic Park Cove are all open.
Where are the sea lions, and when did they arrive?
A colony of California sea lions began hauling out at Pier 39 in September 1989 and the animals are still there. No source states which of the pier's docks they use, so none is given here. Pier 39 gives its own address as Beach Street and The Embarcadero, and its attractions open from 10.00 to 21.00.
Which cable cars come to the wharf, and where do they turn around?
The Powell-Hyde line ends at a turntable at Hyde and Beach Streets, standing in Victorian Park, and the Powell-Mason line ends at a turntable at Bay and Taylor Streets. SFMTA states that both lines start at Powell and Market, and that advance purchase through MuniMobile or a Clipper card is required at Powell and Market, at Bay and Taylor, and at Hyde and Beach between 08.00 and 20.00 daily. SFMTA publishes no operating hours for the lines, so none are given here.
What is Aquatic Park?
A curved public beach and lagoon with a Streamline Moderne bathhouse behind it, built by the Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1939. The bathhouse now holds the Maritime Museum. The Aquatic Park Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 26 January 1984, reference number 84001183, and was designated a National Historic Landmark district on 28 May 1987; California Historical Landmark No. 236, designated in 1936, marks the entrance of the San Carlos into San Francisco Bay at this place. The register describes the district as bounded by Van Ness Avenue, Hyde and Polk Streets, and its contributing elements are the beach, the bathhouse, the horseshoe-shaped Municipal Pier, restrooms, a concessions stand, the stadia and two speaker towers.
Which buildings at the wharf carry designations?
Ghirardelli Square, at 900 North Point Street, is San Francisco Landmark No. 30, designated in 1970, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 29 April 1982 as Pioneer Woolen Mills and D. Ghirardelli Company, reference number 82002249. The Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street, which now holds the Argonaut Hotel and the national park's visitor center, is San Francisco Landmark No. 59, designated in 1974, and was listed on the National Register on 28 March 1975, reference number 75000172. Neither Pier 39 nor Pier 43, Pier 45 or the Musee Mecanique appears on the Article 10 list.

Some booking links on this page earn Ethos a commission at no extra cost to you.

Connected pages

Nearby

Same region