Misplaced Pages

#230769

52-557: Embarcadero Center sits on a 9.8-acre (4.0 ha) site largely bounded by Clay Street (to the north), Sacramento Street (to the south), Battery Street (to the west), and the Embarcadero (to the east), in the financial district of San Francisco . The 4.8-million-square-foot (450,000 m) complex accommodates offices for 14,000 people along with mixed-use areas accommodating retail, dining, entertainment, and cinema functions. In 1971, construction began with Tower One . The project

104-459: A ballot measure to issue $ 425 million in bonds to finance part of the project in November 2016. Seawall A seawall (or sea wall ) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea , and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast . The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation, and leisure activities from

156-491: A false sense of security to property owners and local residents as evident in this situation. Seawalls along the Japanese coast have also been criticized for cutting settlements off from the sea, making beaches unusable, presenting an eyesore, disturbing wildlife, and being unnecessary. After 2012's Hurricane Sandy , New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio invested $ 3,000,000,000 in a hurricane restoration fund, with part of

208-472: A grand palm-lined boulevard was created, squares and plazas were created and/or restored, and Muni 's N Judah and T Third Street and F Market & Wharves lines were extended to run along it, with the N and T lines going south from Market Street to Fourth and King Streets (at Oracle Park and the Caltrain station ) and the F line going north from Market to Fisherman's Wharf . The Muni also relaunched

260-415: A natural barrier against future disasters like the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake . Studies have found that an offshore tsunami wall could reduce tsunami wave heights by up to 83%. The appropriate seawall design relies on location-specific aspects, including surrounding erosion processes. There are three main types of seawalls: vertical, curved, stepped, and mounds (see table below). A report published by

312-541: A problem as it is not easy for people to predict or imagine the strength of hurricane or storm-induced waves compared to normal, expected wave patterns. An extreme event can dissipate hundreds of times more energy than everyday waves, and calculating structures that will stand the force of coastal storms is difficult and, often the outcome can become unaffordable. For example, the Omaha Beach seawall in New Zealand

364-402: A rise of between +16-19.3 cm throughout 1900–1988. Superstorm Sandy of 2012 is an example of the devastating effects rising sea levels can cause when mixed with a perfect storm. Superstorm Sandy sent a storm surge of 4–5 m onto New Jersey's and New York's barrier island and urban shorelines, estimated at $ 70 billion in damage. This problem could be overcome by further modeling and determining

416-443: A seawall can be from the area's natural water-table , rain percolating into the ground behind the wall and waves overtopping the wall. The water table can also rise during periods of high water ( high tide ). Lack of adequate drainage can cause the seawall to buckle, move, bow, crack, or collapse. Sinkholes may also develop as the escaping water pressure erodes soil through or around the drainage system. Extreme events also pose

468-595: A three mile long engineered seawall , from which piers extend into the bay. It derives its name from the Spanish verb embarcar , meaning "to embark"; embarcadero itself means "the place to embark." The Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 2002. The Embarcadero right-of-way begins at the intersection of Second and King Streets near Oracle Park , and travels north, passing under

520-481: A ton, are weathered black and brown. The seawall is inspected every year and whenever gaps appear or the stones sink into the sand, the government adds more boulders to keep it strong. The Union Territory of Pondicherry recorded around 600 deaths from the huge tsunami waves that struck India's coast after the mammoth underwater earthquake (which measured 9.0 on the moment magnitude scale ) off Indonesia, but most of those killed were fishermen who lived in villages beyond

572-481: Is a static feature which can conflict with the dynamic nature of the coast and impede the exchange of sediment between land and sea. The table below summarizes some positive and negative effects of seawalls which can be used when comparing their effectiveness with other coastal management options, such as beach nourishment . Generally, seawalls can be a successful way to control coastal erosion, but only if they are constructed well and out of materials that can withstand

SECTION 10

#1732765280231

624-545: Is also a major issue with seawalls. In 2013, more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of seawall was found to be crumbling in Punta Gorda, Florida . Residents of the area pay hundreds of dollars each year for a seawall repair program. The problem is that most of the seawalls are over a half-century old and are being destroyed by only heavy downpours. If not kept in check, seawalls lose effectiveness and become expensive to repair. Seawall construction has existed since ancient times. In

676-613: Is believed to be a 100-meter row of boulders in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. Boulders were positioned in an attempt to protect the coastal settlement of Tel Hreiz from sea rise following the last glacial maximum . Tel Hreiz was discovered in 1960 by divers searching for shipwrecks, but the row of boulders was not found until storms cleared a sand cover in 2012. More recently, seawalls were constructed in 1623 in Canvey Island , UK, when great floods of

728-563: Is in need of upgrades in order to ensure its integrity in the event of a major earthquake. As of February 2018 the Port of San Francisco , the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency , and several other departments are partnering to deliver a project to upgrade the seawall and adjoining public spaces. The project is expected to cost at least $ 2 billion, and the city successfully passed

780-491: The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake tsunami crashed against India's south-eastern coastline killing thousands. However, the former French colonial enclave of Pondicherry escaped unscathed. This was primarily due to French engineers who had constructed (and maintained) a massive stone seawall during the time when the city was a French colony. This 300-year-old seawall effectively kept Pondicherry's historic center dry even though tsunami waves drove water 24 ft (7.3 m) above

832-582: The Central Embarcadero Piers Historic District . The Delta Queen docked at Pier 1½, ferrying people between San Francisco and Sacramento . There was once a pedestrian footbridge that connected Market Street directly with the Ferry building and a subterranean roadway to move cars below the plaza. During World War II , San Francisco's waterfront became a military logistics center; troops, equipment and supplies left

884-591: The Embarcadero Freeway being built in the 1950s. This improved automobile access to the Bay Bridge , but detracted aesthetically from the city. For 30 years, the freeway divided the waterfront and the Ferry Building from downtown. It was torn down in 1991, after being severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake . After the freeway had been cleared, massive redevelopment began as

936-791: The Hyatt Regency San Francisco , located between the Ferry Building and the foot of Market Street. Until 2001, there was a viewing deck on top of the Embarcadero Center. During the winter holidays, the edges of all four buildings are illuminated, the effect resembling the outlines of four giant books on a shelf. At the eastern end of Market Street is Embarcadero Plaza, opened in 1972 and originally named Justin Herman Plaza, for M. Justin Herman , head of

988-628: The National Trust for Historic Preservation , "contributed to a remarkable urban waterfront renaissance", with the Embarcadero Historic District serving as a "major economic engine for the Bay Area". San Francisco's shoreline historically ran south and inland from Clark's Point below Telegraph Hill to present-day Montgomery Street and eastward toward Rincon Point, enclosing an inlet named Yerba Buena Cove . As

1040-590: The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency from 1959 to 1971. Right along the Embarcadero Center is the Embarcadero YMCA, the city's flagship branch of a group of a dozen locales. The center features the unique Youth Chance High School , an alternative high school that is a magnet for troubled students from throughout the Bay Area. The Embarcadero seawall is over a century old, originally constructed between 1878 and 1916, and

1092-541: The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge . The Embarcadero continues north past the Ferry Building at Market Street , Pier 39 , and Fisherman's Wharf , before ending at Pier 45 . A section of The Embarcadero which ran between Folsom Street and Drumm Street was formerly known as East Street. For three decades, until it was torn down in 1991, the Embarcadero Freeway dominated the area. The subsequent redevelopment and restoration efforts have, according to

SECTION 20

#1732765280231

1144-500: The UK , seawall also refers to an earthen bank used to create a polder , or a dike construction . The type of material used for construction is hypothesized to affect the settlement of coastal organisms, although the precise mechanism has yet to be identified. A seawall works by reflecting incident wave energy back into the sea, thus reducing the energy available to cause erosion. Seawalls have two specific weaknesses. Wave reflection from

1196-612: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) suggests that the tsunami of 26 December 2004 caused less damage in the areas where natural barriers were present, such as mangroves , coral reefs or coastal vegetation. A Japanese study of this tsunami in Sri Lanka used satellite imagery modelling to establish the parameters of coastal resistance as a function of different types of trees. Natural barriers, such as coral reefs and mangrove forests, prevent

1248-518: The 1920s. During the early-20th century when the seaport was at its busiest and before the construction of the Bay Bridge , Pier 1 , Pier 1½ , Pier 3 and Pier 5 were dedicated chiefly to inland trade and transport. These connections facilitated the growth of communities in the Sacramento- and San Joaquin Valleys and fostered California's agricultural business. Today, these piers comprise

1300-506: The Global Positioning System, GPS) indicate a mean rate of sea level rise of 1.6–1.8 mm/yr over the twentieth century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (1997) suggested that sea level rise over the next 50 – 100 years will accelerate with a projected increase in global mean sea level of +18 cm by 2050 AD. This data is reinforced by Hannah (1990) who calculated similar statistics including

1352-754: The Living Seawalls project was announced as a finalist for the international environment award the Earthshot Prize . Since 2022 it has become part of Project Restore, under the auspices of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science . Some further issues include a lack of long-term trend data of seawall effects due to a relatively short duration of data records; modeling limitations and comparisons of different projects and their effects being invalid or unequal due to different beach types; materials; currents; and environments. Lack of maintenance

1404-684: The Port in support of the Pacific theater. Almost every pier and wharf was involved in military activities, with troop ships and naval vessels tied up all along the Embarcadero. However, after the completion of the Bay Bridge and the rapid decline of ferries and the Ferry Building, the neighborhood fell into decline. The transition to container shipping , which moved most shipping to Oakland , led to further decline. Automobile transit efforts led to

1456-576: The Thames estuary occurred, prompting the construction of protection for further events in this flood-prone area. Since then, seawall design has become more complex and intricate in response to an improvement in materials, technology, and an understanding of how coastal processes operate. This section will outline some key case studies of seawalls in chronological order and describe how they have performed in response to tsunamis or ongoing natural processes and how effective they were in these situations. Analyzing

1508-510: The Vancouver Seawall is a prime example of how seawalls can simultaneously provide shoreline protection and a source of recreation which enhances human enjoyment of the coastal environment. It also illustrates that although shoreline erosion is a natural process, human activities, interactions with the coast, and poorly planned shoreline development projects can accelerate natural erosion rates. On December 26, 2004, towering waves of

1560-444: The action of tides , waves , or tsunamis . As a seawall is a static feature, it will conflict with the dynamic nature of the coast and impede the exchange of sediment between land and sea. Seawall designs factor in local climate, coastal position, wave regime (determined by wave characteristics and effectors), and value (morphological characteristics) of landform. Seawalls are hard engineering shore-based structures that protect

1612-427: The artificial barrier which reinforces the effectiveness of seawalls. At least 43 percent of Japan's 29,751 km (18,486 mi) coastline is lined with concrete seawalls or other structures designed to protect the country against high waves, typhoons, or even tsunamis. During the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami , the seawalls in most areas were overwhelmed. In Kamaishi , 4-metre (13 ft) waves surmounted

Embarcadero Center - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-476: The cinema’s operator closed its doors permanently. 37°47′41″N 122°23′52″W  /  37.794722°N 122.397778°W  / 37.794722; -122.397778 Embarcadero (San Francisco) The Embarcadero ( Spanish for "Embarkment") is the eastern waterfront of Port of San Francisco and a major roadway in San Francisco , California . It was constructed on reclaimed land along

1716-420: The city grew, the cove was filled. Over fifty years a large offshore seawall was built and the mudflats filled, creating what today is San Francisco's Financial District . The San Francisco Belt Railroad , a short line railroad for freight, ran along The Embarcadero; its former enginehouse has been preserved. The roadway follows the seawall , a boundary first established in the 1860s and not completed until

1768-596: The coast from erosion. Various environmental issues may arise from the construction of a seawall, including the disruption of sediment movement and transport patterns. Combined with a high construction cost, this has led to increasing use of other soft engineering coastal management options such as beach replenishment . Seawalls are constructed from various materials, most commonly reinforced concrete , boulders, steel, or gabions . Other possible construction materials include vinyl, wood, aluminum, fiberglass composite, and biodegradable sandbags made of jute and coir . In

1820-454: The earthquake zone, as the tsunami washed over walls that were supposed to protect the plants. Arguably, the additional defense provided by the seawalls presented an extra margin of time for citizens to evacuate and also stopped some of the full force of energy which would have caused the wave to climb higher in the backs of coastal valleys. In contrast, the seawalls also acted in a negative way to trap water and delay its retreat. The failure of

1872-404: The extension of height and reinforcement of current seawalls which needs to occur for safety to be ensured in both situations. Sea level rise also will cause a higher risk of flooding and taller tsunamis. Seawalls, like all retaining walls , must relieve the buildup of water pressure . Water pressure buildup is caused when groundwater is not drained from behind the seawall. Groundwater against

1924-450: The first century BCE, Romans built a seawall or breakwater at Caesarea Maritima creating an artificial harbor (Sebastos Harbor). The construction used Pozzolana concrete which hardens in contact with seawater. Barges were constructed and filled with the concrete. They were floated into position and sunk. The resulting harbor/breakwater/seawall is still in existence today – more than 2000 years later. The oldest known coastal defense

1976-402: The force of ongoing wave energy. Some understanding is needed of the coastal processes and morphodynamics specific to the seawall location. Seawalls can be very helpful; they can offer a more long-term solution than soft engineering options, additionally providing recreation opportunities and protection from extreme events as well as everyday erosion. Extreme natural events expose weaknesses in

2028-454: The normal high-tide mark. The barrier was initially completed in 1735 and over the years, the French continued to fortify the wall, piling huge boulders along its 1.25 mi (2 km) coastline to stop erosion from the waves pounding the harbor. At its highest, the barrier running along the water's edge reaches about 27 ft (8.2 m) above sea level. The boulders, some weighing up to

2080-462: The performance of seawalls, and analyses of these can lead to future improvements and reassessment. Sea level rise creates an issue for seawalls worldwide as it raises both the mean normal water level and the height of waves during extreme weather events, which the current seawall heights may be unable to cope with. The most recent analyses of long, good-quality tide gauge records (corrected for GIA and when possible for other vertical land motions by

2132-566: The seafloor. The Living Seawalls project, which was launched in Sydney , Australia, in 2018, aims to help many of the marine species in Sydney Harbour to flourish, thus enhancing its biodiversity , by modifying the design of its seawalls. It entails covering parts of the seawalls with specially-designed tiles that mimic natural microhabitats - with crevices and other features that more closely resemble natural rocks. In September 2021,

Embarcadero Center - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-481: The seawall began in 1917, and since then this pathway has become one of the most used features of the park by both locals and tourists and now extends 22 km in total. The construction of the seawall also provided employment for relief workers during the Great Depression and seamen from HMCS  Discovery on Deadman's Island who were facing punishment detail in the 1950s (Steele, 1985). Overall,

2236-474: The seawall – the world's largest, erected a few years ago in the city's harbor at a depth of 63 m (207 ft), a length of 2 km (1.2 mi) and a cost of $ 1.5 billion – and eventually submerged the city center. The risks of dependence on seawalls were most evident in the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi and Fukushima Dai-ni nuclear power plants , both located along the coast close to

2288-477: The seawall. Embarcadero Station , a BART and Muni Metro subway station, is located at the foot of Market Street, one block from The Embarcadero. While not in the original transit system plans, it has become the most highly trafficked BART station. As it is an infill station , the design is unique among the Market Street subway . Embarcadero Center consists of four 30 to 45 story buildings and

2340-411: The spread of tsunamis and the flow of coastal waters and mitigated the flood and surge of water. A cost-benefit approach is an effective way to determine whether a seawall is appropriate and whether the benefits are worth the expense. Besides controlling erosion, consideration must be given to the effects of hardening a shoreline on natural coastal ecosystems and human property or activities. A seawall

2392-583: The successes and shortcomings of seawalls during severe natural events allows their weaknesses to be exposed, and areas become visible for future improvement. The Vancouver Seawall is a stone seawall constructed around the perimeter of Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia . The seawall was constructed initially as waves created by ships passing through the First Narrows eroding the area between Prospect Point and Brockton Point. Construction of

2444-549: The wall may result in hydrodynamic scour and subsequent lowering of the sand level of the fronting beach. Seawalls may also accelerate the erosion of adjacent, unprotected coastal areas by affecting the littoral drift process. Different designs of man-made tsunami barriers include building reefs and forests to above-ground and submerged seawalls. Starting just weeks after the disaster, in January 2005, India began planting Casuarina and coconut saplings on its coast as

2496-605: The world's largest seawall, which cost $ 1.5 billion to construct, shows that building stronger seawalls to protect larger areas would have been even less cost-effective. In the case of the ongoing crisis at the nuclear power plants, higher and stronger seawalls should have been built if power plants were to be built at that site. Fundamentally, the devastation in coastal areas and a final death toll predicted to exceed 10,000 could push Japan to redesign its seawalls or consider more effective alternative methods of coastal protection for extreme events. Such hardened coastlines can also provide

2548-769: The ‘E’ line which was historically a seasonal service connecting Fishermans' Wharf to the Caltrain Depot, the line now operates weekends between Jefferson and Jones adjacent Fisherman's Wharf and Fourth and King streets near the Caltrain terminus. The sidewalk along the waterfront between China Basin and Fisherman's Wharf was named "Herb Caen Way..." after the death of celebrated local columnist Herb Caen in 1997. The three dots, or ellipsis , deliberately are included in honor of columnist Herb Caen's Pulitzer Prize winning writing style. A large public sculpture, Cupid's Span , by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen ,

2600-763: Was designed to prevent erosion from everyday waves only, and when a storm in 1976 carved out ten meters behind the existing seawall, the whole structure was destroyed. The addition of seawalls near marine ecosystems can lead to increased shadowing effects in the waters surrounding the seawall. Shadowing reduces the light and visibility within the water, which may disrupt the distribution as well as foraging capabilities of certain species. The sediment surrounding seawalls tends to have less favorable physical properties (Higher calcification levels, less structural organization of crystalline structure, low silicon content, and less macroscale roughness) when compared to natural shorelines, which can present issues for species that reside on

2652-498: Was developed by Trammell Crow , David Rockefeller , and John Portman . In 1989, the last off-complex extension, Embarcadero West , was completed. The two extension buildings are west of Battery. In December 2005, Boston Properties sold the Embarcadero West building to Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA-CREF) for more than US$ 205 million (equivalent to $ 320 million in 2023). In February 2022,

SECTION 50

#1732765280231

2704-620: Was installed in 2002 along the Rincon Park area. Resembling Cupid 's bow and arrow with the arrow implanted in the ground, the artists stated that the statue was inspired by San Francisco's reputation as the home port of Eros, hence the stereotypical bow and arrow of Cupid. In 2016, the Embarcadero was named on the list of "11 Most Endangered Historic Places" in the US by the National Trust for Historic Preservation , citing "the dual natural threats of sea-level rise and seismic vulnerability" to

#230769