San Francisco City Hall: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

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San Francisco City Hall

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	Topics San Francisco City Hall Topic Home The City Hall of San Francisco, California, opened in 1915, in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, is a Beaux-ArtsBeaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture denotes the academic classical architectural style that was taught at the cole des Beaux Arts in P... monument to the brief "City Beautiful" movement that epitomized the high-minded American RenaissanceAmerican Renaissance Overview In the history of architecture, the American Renaissance was the period ca 1880 - 1914, characterized by renewed nationa... of the period 1880–1917. The present building is actually a replacement for an earlier City Hall that was completely destroyed during the 1906 Earthquake.1906 San Francisco earthquake The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco and the coast of northern California a... The architect was Arthur Brown JrArthur Brown Jr Arthur Brown, Jr. was an American architect, based in San Francisco.... , whose attention to the finishing details extended to the doorknobs and the typeface to be used in signageSignage Signage is any kind of graphics created to display information to a particular audience, typically wayfinding information on... . Brown also designed San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House, Veterans Building, Temple Emanuel, Coit TowerCoit Tower Coit Tower is a notable landmark built atop Telegraph Hill at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the City of S... and the Federal office building at 50 United Nations Plaza. History President Warren G. HardingWarren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding was an American politician and the 29th President of the United States, serving from 1921 to 1923, ... lay in state at City Hall after dying of a heart attack at the Palace Hotel in 1923. Joe DiMaggioJoe DiMaggio Overview Joseph Paul DiMaggio, born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr. , nicknamed Joltin' Joe and The Yankee Clipper, was a ... and Marilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe was an iconic American actress, singer and model.... were married at City Hall in 1954. Mayor George MosconeGeorge Moscone George Richard Moscone was the mayor of San Francisco, California from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978... and Supervisor Harvey MilkHarvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk an American politician and gay rights activist, was the first openly gay city supervisor of San Francisc... were assassinatedMoscone-Milk assassinations The Moscone-Milk assassinations were the killings of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and openly gay San Francisco Supervi... there in 1978, by former Supervisor Dan WhiteDan White Daniel James White was the former San Francisco Supervisor who assassinated Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone ... . The Loma Prieta earthquakeLoma Prieta earthquake The Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on October 17, 1989, in the greater San Francisco Bay Area in California at 5:04 p.m.... of 1989 damaged the structure, and twisted the dome four inches (102 mm) on its base. Afterwards work was undertaken to render City Hall earthquake resistant through a base isolationBase isolation Summary Base Isolation is believed to be the most powerful tool of the earthquake engineering pertaining to the passive structural v... system. In an earthquake, the mass of the dome acts as a pendulum, rocking the building's structure and tearing it apart. The base isolation system of hundreds of rubber and stainless-steel insulators inserted into City Hall's underpinnings has the effect of disrupting seismic waveSeismic wave A seismic wave is a wave that travels through the Earth, most often as the result of a tectonic earthquake, sometimes from a... s before they can affect the structure. San Francisco's City Hall is currently the world's largest base-isolated structure—a triumph of seismic retrofitSeismic retrofit Overview Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground moti... ting. The city has attempted to recruit peregrine falconPeregrine Falcon Summary The Peregrine Falcon, sometimes formerly known in North America as Duck Hawk, is a medium-sized falcon about the size ... s to nest in aeries outside the dome. Pigeon droppings have to be periodically cleaned from the pair of glass-covered light wells (formerly covered with concrete at the height of modernismModernism Modernism is a trend of thought which affirms the power of human beings to make, improve and reshape their environment, with... ). In a curious coincidence, the new city hall in nearby San JoseSan Jose, California Palo Alto is a city in Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, USA, named for a tree called El Pal... has already drawn at least one pair of falcons, discovered by Mayor Ron GonzalesRon Gonzales Ronald R. Gonzales is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, currently serving as the 63rd Mayor of San ... himself as he saw pigeon feathers descend past a window during a meeting. In May of 1960, the main Rotunda was a site of a student protest against the House Un-American Activities CommitteeHouse Un-American Activities Committee House Committee on Un-American Activities was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives.... and a countering police action whereby students from UC Berkeley, Stanford, and other local colleges were fire hosed down the steps beneath the rotunda. This event was memorialized by students during the Free Speech MovementFree Speech Movement The Free Speech Movement was a student protest that began on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley in 1964 u... at UC Berkeley four years later. The grand plaza, partially seen in the image above, has undergone several extensive renovations, with radical changes in its appearance and utility. Prior to the 1960s there were extensive brick plazas, few trees, and a few large, simple, raised, and circular ponds with central fountains, all in a style that discouraged loitering. The plaza was then extensively excavated for sorely needed underground parking. At this time a central rectangular pond, with an extensive array of water vents (strangely, all in several strict rows and all pointing east, with identical arcs of water, and completely without sculptural embellishment), was added, with extensive groves of trees (again, in 60s modernist style, planted with absolute military precision on rectangular grids). In the 1990s, with the rise of the problem of homelessnessHomelessness Homelessness or transience is a situation in which a person does not have a long term residence, a stable residence, o... , the plaza was once again remodeled to make it somewhat less habitable – although the most significant change, the replacement of the pond and pumps with a lawn, could be reasonably justified on the basis of energyEnergy conservation Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used while achieving a similar outcome of end use.... and water conservationWater conservation Water conservation refers to reducing use of fresh water, through technological or social methods.... . San Francisco City Hall in Film The beauty of City Hall has not been lost on filmmakers working in San Francisco; a good many films have shot scenes in and around the building. Ironically, that which may be City Hall's best-known scene does not take place in San Francisco but in Washington, DC. A scene in Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark *Raiders of the Lost Ark, also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, is a 1981 adventure film... was filmed in the rotunda as a late addition to the production when it was decided that a coda was needed for Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood's relationship. The City Hall was prominently featured throughout and famously at the end of Invasion of the Body SnatchersInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film) Summary Invasion of the Body Snatchers* is a 1978 science fiction film based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney.... . Dirty HarryDirty Harry *Dirty Harry* is a 1971 film directed by Don Siegel, the first of the series.... filmed a key scene in the Mayor's office itself. Other films that feature City Hall include: BedazzledBedazzled (2000 film) *Bedazzled* is a 2000 motion picture, and is a remake of the original Bedazzled, originally written by Peter Cook.... (2000) The RockThe Rock (film) Summary *The Rock* is an action movie released on Friday, June 7, 1996 that primarily takes place on Alcatraz Island, and in the S... (1996) A View to a KillA View to a Kill *A View to a Kill, released in 1985, is the fourteenth entry in the James Bond series of films made by EON Productions, a... (1985) See also Earthquake engineeringEarthquake engineering Earthquake engineering* is a subset of both structural and civil engineering.... List of tallest buildings in San FranciscoList of tallest buildings in San Francisco This list of tallest buildings in San Francisco ranks skyscrapers in San Francisco, California by height.... External links - official site City hall restoration project Note: slow link. Feature (Google sketchup/earth)