We are happy to announce that the Pier 43 promenade, a place that will become a prime viewing spot for the 4th of July Fireworks, America's Cup races and Fleet Week, is now open!

Once a dilapidated parking lot located near the historic Ferry Arch, now is an 8,000 square-foot plaza adjacent to Pier 45 resting upon an upgraded section of the seawall. This new public promenade will serve millions of visitors each year – allowing them to pause and enjoy the view, with new lighting, picnic tables, and overall enhance the quality of the pedestrian experience at Fisherman’s Wharf.

For the past several decades, Pier 43 was used for parking to serve the Franciscan Restaurant and other Fisherman’s Wharf destinations. The pier has been repaired several times since 1990 and, in 2008, was closed permanently due to deteriorating structural conditions. A timber seawall separates the pier from the land and is located approximately five feet north of the northern curb of the adjacent Embarcadero Roadway. This seawall, which was built in the early 1900s, had deteriorated and was in dire need of repair.

The vision for the Pier 43 Promenade was set in motion when in 2003, a joint committee of the Port Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission developed a set of planning recommendations that featured a reconstruction of the waterfront edge from Powell to Taylor Streets. Their recommendations set forth a bold plan that gives Fisherman’s Wharf a long deserved, urban waterfront.

Construction Details:

• The new Pier 43 Promenade protects the shoreline by replacing the seawall between Pier 43 and the property underneath the Franciscan Restaurant and creates a new concrete promenade along the waterfront for public enjoyment.
• Port staff designed this project with environmental priorities at the forefront. The deck is engineered for a 75-year design life, the lower edge of the railing is built up to add protection from rising sea level, and many of the materials are sustainably sourced including energy efficient LED lights.
• Pier 43 Promenade Project has created or maintained approximately 76 jobs in San Francisco, including marine and structural engineering, civil engineering, architectural design, general construction and labor jobs.
• Demolished 70,000 square-feet of condemned timber wharf
• Constructed 22,000 square-feet of new pile supported concrete wharf
• Replaced 550 linear feet of seawall
• Reconstructed 1,000 feet of Embarcadero Roadway
• Created an 8,000 square-foot plaza adjacent to Pier 45
• Improved ADA accessibility and public safety between Powell and Taylor Streets

The Port of San Francisco, an enterprise agency of the City and County of San Francisco, oversees a broad range of commercial, maritime and public access facilities along the City’s waterfront that are held in public trust for the people of California.