Lawrence Halprin

Justin Herman Plaza
1962-71 • SAN FRANCISCO, CA
In response to a 1962 city report entitled “What to do about Market Street?” Halprin developed
a plan to redesign the transit-heavy San Francisco corridor as a pedestrian-oriented series of
linked civic spaces. One result of that plan was the four-acre Justin Herman Plaza, located
at the street’s eastern terminus adjacent to San Francisco’s Embarcadero and ferry building.
Originally named Embarcadero Plaza, the landscape features an irregularly shaped expanse of
red brick pavers, just off-axis from Market Street.
The focal point of the plaza is a 40-foot-tall concrete fountain designed by sculptor Armand
Vaillancourt. Halprin and Vaillancourt designed the fountain to respond to an elevated freeway
that hugged the plaza during the time in which it was built. In a 1966 notebook entry, Halprin
described the plaza as a “total environment in which all the elements working together create a
place for participation.”
Christina Dikas
2016
C-print
24 x 16 inches
DESIGN TEAM
Don Carter (principal-in-charge)
Mario Ciampi (architect)
John Bolles & Associates (architects)
40 The Cultural Landscape Foundation
www.tclf.org 41