Port Of San
Francisco Honored With Prestigious Awards For Public Beautification
Projects
Ferry Building- Bayview Gateway- Mid
Embarcadero - South Beach Improvements Among Projects Recognized
The Port of San Francisco is the
recipient of several prestigious awards that recognize the public
benefits and beautification of Port revitalization projects.
"These awards reflect the
Port’s commitment to preservation and restoration of its unique
historic resources and to the enhancement of the waterfront through
community partnerships," said Byron Rhett, Director of Planning
& Development for the Port of San Francisco.
San Francisco Beautiful Awards
San Francisco Beautiful, a 55-year
old non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining and enhancing
the City’s physical well being, awarded the Port of San Francisco,
in partnership with citizen organizations and Port tenants, two
awards in the category of "Civic Engagement: Meeting the
Challenge." These awards recognize individuals, organizations,
businesses and agencies that work to improve the quality of life in
San Francisco, with an emphasis on citizens partnering with city
departments to enhance San Francisco’s livability.
The two following awards, which
were received by the Port at SF Beautiful’s annual dinner on
October 30, 2003, recognize the Port’s role in these community
partnerships, as well as the physical improvements the projects have
brought to the San Francisco waterfront:
Bayview Gateway Beautification
Projects
This award recognizes three
different City and community efforts which together have cleaned up
and beautified Third Street at Cargo Way, regarded as the gateway to
the Bayview Hunters Point community:
1) the removal of two billboards
at Islais Creek;
2) the improvements and expansion
of the Islais Creek Pump Station by the San Francisco Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) and;
3) the Bayview Gateway landscaping
by Hanson Aggregates and the Port.
Hanson Aggregates imports bulk
cargo through the Pier 94 terminal and has been active in sponsoring
community efforts to promote safety and improvements in the area. In
partnership with the Port and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell’s office,
Hanson hired a landscape architect and provided funding to plant
trees, grass and flowers at this gateway location. Coupled with the
PUC’s pump station and community efforts to remove the billboards,
the entire area has been revitalized.
Robert C. Friese Award for
Neighborhood Conservation
Mid-Embarcadero/South Beach
Improvements
The Port, the City and County of
San Francisco, Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC)
and the Redevelopment Agency, in partnership with community groups,
Ferry Building Investors, The Gap, and ROMA Design, all have been
recognized for the collective efforts that have revitalized The
Embarcadero from Market Street to China Basin:
1) the Ferry Building historic
restoration;
2) the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market;
3) Rincon Park and;
4) the South Beach Children’s
Play Area.
Each of these projects has
supplemented the pedestrian and transportation enhancements of The
Embarcadero by creating public vistas and recreational, maritime and
unique commercial activities for people to enjoy the waterfront.
National Trust for Historic
Preservation Award
On October 2, 2003, the Port and
Ferry Building Investors received another highly prestigious award
from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National
Trust is a private, non-profit organization chartered by Congress in
1949, dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable historic buildings
and resources.
The Ferry Building was one of
fifteen National Preservation Honor Awards to receive such
recognition. The award specifically recognizes the work of Ferry
Building Investors, Page and Turnbull historic architects, SMWM
Architects, BCV Architects, as well as the Port.
California Heritage Council
As a counterpart to the national
recognition it has received, the Ferry Building historic restoration
also received an award from the California Heritage Council this
past June. The California Heritage Council is a statewide non-profit
educational organization whose purpose is to ensure the saving of
places and buildings that have given quality and distinction to the
cultural life of California.