Ferry Building, San Francisco: history, what to see, how to get there and hours

The Ferry Building in San Francisco is the old ferry terminal on the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street, address One Ferry Building. Ferries still leave from it, and the building now houses the Ferry Building Marketplace, home to nearly 50 local food merchants, restaurants and small eateries. The building is open daily from 6 am to 10 pm, and a farmers market sets up outside three days a week. People come to eat, buy California produce, catch a ferry across the bay, or look at the 1898 terminal itself.

Ferry Building history: from a terminal for 50 million riders to a market

The building was designed by the San Francisco architect A. Page Brown. According to its National Register of Historic Places nomination, Brown died shortly after the construction contracts were let on December 26, 1895. From February 1896 Edward R. Swain served as supervising architect, assisted by the Port's chief engineer H. C. Holmes. The terminal, then called the Union Ferry Depot, officially opened on July 13, 1898 and was completed in 1903.

The clock tower was modeled on the Giralda, the 12th-century tower in Seville. The nomination says the 23-foot clock faces on its four sides were the largest in the United States when they were installed. The city-side front is faced with sandstone from quarries near Colusa, California. The steel-frame building was hardly touched by the 1906 earthquake, partly thanks to its reinforced-concrete foundation, still a new technique at the time. In November 1975 the American Society of Civil Engineers named it a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Until the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges opened in the late 1930s, the terminal served 50 million commuters a year, more than 100,000 a day. The nomination says only London's Charing Cross Station handled more passengers. A crossing cost 10 cents. Departing passengers boarded from the upper floor while arriving passengers left at street level.

Bridges and cars took the riders away. By the 1950s the building was little used, and its historic interior was turned into offices. The building's site gives the year as 1955; the National Register nomination says the upper floor was remodeled into offices in 1956. For 35 years the double-deck Embarcadero Freeway stood in front of it. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the freeway, it was torn down, and the street-level Embarcadero took its place. The Port and the City backed the building's redevelopment as the center of the new waterfront. After a four-year restoration it reopened in 2003, and its 660-foot skylit nave became the Marketplace. A second four-year project finished in 2024, repairing parts of the facade and repainting the exterior in "Ferry Building Gray", matched to the original sandstone. On July 13, 2023 the building turned 125, and the City proclaimed July 13 Ferry Building Day.

The Port of San Francisco, a city department, lists the Ferry Building among its historic resources and points to it as an example of an old port building adapted to new uses.

What to see at the Ferry Building

• The Marketplace. The terminal's old main hall, the "nave", runs the full length of the building under skylights. Today it holds mostly local, independently owned shops, restaurants and small producers. The shop list and building map are on the Marketplace site.
• The clock tower and front. Best seen from Market Street and the plaza in front. Look for the paired Corinthian columns at the central arches.
• Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Running since 1993 and operated by the nonprofit Foodwise, it is a California Certified Farmers Market. On Saturdays more than 100 vendors fill both the front along the Embarcadero and the rear plaza on the bay. Tuesdays bring about 20 vendors and Thursdays 10 to 15, out front only.
• The rear plaza. The plaza behind the building faces the water, and the north and south pass-throughs lead to the ferry docks.

How to get there

Four BART lines serve Embarcadero station, including trains to SFO airport; details on bart.gov. The historic F line streetcars run from the Castro along Market Street and the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf, daily from 7 am to midnight (route on sfmta.com). San Francisco Bay Ferry boats leave from its Downtown San Francisco terminal (Embarcadero at Mission Street) next to the building, Golden Gate Ferry boats from Gates B and C. Treasure Island has its own ferry, also from Gate B. Ferry schedules change, so check the Golden Gate Ferry and San Francisco Bay Ferry sites.

Drivers are pointed to the Washington & Embarcadero lot, run by ProPark. Validation comes with a purchase at most Ferry Building shops or at the farmers market info booth. Other lots and metered street parking are nearby. Bike racks stand in front of and behind the building; the site recommends a sturdy U-lock because cable locks have been clipped here.

Hours and prices

Hours and prices checked November 5, 2026 on ferrybuildingmarketplace.com.

The building's site says nothing about an entry fee and sells no tickets. Shop hours vary, and the site asks visitors to check each merchant's page.

Tips before you go

Dogs are not allowed in the building. Service animals are welcome; pets and comfort animals are not. There are no lockers or storage on site, so travel light.

Restrooms are in the north and south ferry terminal pass-throughs, all ADA accessible. Bank of America ATMs are inside the building. Accessible parking is in the lots that serve the building, plus two spaces on the northbound Embarcadero just north and south of it. Passengers can be dropped off at two curb cuts right in front.

For the farmers market at full size, come on a Saturday morning, when it fills both sides of the building. More of the city is on the San Francisco city page and in what to see in San Francisco.

Questions people ask

When is the Ferry Building farmers market open?

The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market runs year round three days a week: Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm and Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm. The nonprofit Foodwise operates it. Saturday is the biggest market, with more than 100 vendors in front of the building and on the rear plaza by the bay.

How do I get to the Ferry Building on BART?

Take BART to Embarcadero station at 298 Market Street, about a block from the Ferry Building. Four BART lines stop there. The historic F Market & Wharves streetcars also stop right in front of the building on their way along Market Street and the Embarcadero.

Where can I take a ferry from the Ferry Building?

According to San Francisco Bay Ferry, boats from its terminal at the Ferry Building go to Oakland and Alameda, Alameda Seaplane and Harbor Bay (both in Alameda), Richmond and Vallejo, and Golden Gate Ferry goes to Larkspur, Sausalito, Tiburon and Angel Island. Treasure Island has its own ferry. Schedules change, so check the operators' own sites before you travel.

Can I bring my dog to the Ferry Building?

No. Ferry Building Marketplace rules do not allow dogs inside the building. Service animals are welcome, but pets and comfort animals are not. The rule is listed on the building's visitor page next to its hours and parking information.