A private collection goes public
The piers along the Embarcadero have a long, often moody history. Before the opening of the Bay Bridge in 1936, the wharves served the ferries that linked the city to the East Bay and parts of the Central Valley. Then, during World War II, they were the departure point for soldiers on their way to the Pacific. In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake shook down the elevated highway that funneled traffic off Highway 101 to North Beach. The calamity aside, it was a godsend for developers, who for years had been deterred by the way the highway cut the city off from the bay. One venture that abruptly changed the Embarcadero’s prospects was the development project known as Mission Rock, organized by the owners of the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Since then, the whole area has had an infusion of investment and renewal.
For 20 years, Pier 24, which has a set of old decaying train tracks that run straight out onto the pier, offered no commercial possibilities. Then a local investment manager named Andrew Pilara appeared on the scene looking for a place to display his impressive photography collection. He instructed his real-estate agent to find him something cheap: “Just a warehouse, nothing fancy.” He went on to spend $12 million to transform Pier 24 into the largest exhibition space in the world dedicated solely to photography.
Info
Address Pier 24, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA, 94105, www.pier24.org, +1 415.776.1380 | Public Transport Light rail: T-Third, N-Judah (Embarcadero & Folsom St stop) | Hours By appointment only, +1 415.512.7424| Tip Walk the liveliest part of the San Francisco Bay Trail, which follows the historic State Belt Railroad along the Embarcadero promenade (between Pier 39 and AT&T Park).
Pier 24 Photography opened in 2010. Separated into a series of exhibition galleries, it shelters the Pilara Foundation Collection, which includes the works of Lee Friedlander, Alfred Stieglitz, Imogen Cunningham, Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Dorothea Lange and Robert Mapplethorpe, among many others. It has become one of the city’s most important artistic offerings.
There is no entry charge, but you must make an appointment to visit. Only 20 people are admitted per time slot for a quiet and contemplative viewing.
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