F I R S TP R E V648NEXTLAST

Civic Center, San Francisco
San Francisco's current Civic Center was designed after the destruction of existing City Hall during the 1906 earthquake and fire. At that time San Francisco was the largest city west of St. Louis and wanted a plan to reflect that distinction. The Beaux-Arts style plaza was designed by architect Daniel Burnham who saw the Civic Center as the axis point for an entirely new San Francisco, based on the long avenue, city plans of European cities like Paris. But due to the speed in which the city was rebuilt Burnham's plan was not realized beyond the Civic Center. Today the Civic Center includes City Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, the War Memorial Opera House, the Main Public Library, the State of California Building, Bill Graham Auditorium, and the Asian Art Museum, among other buildings.
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