Ghirardelli Square
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ghirardelli Square is a tourist attraction with shops and restaurants in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco, California.
In 1893, Domingo Ghirardelli purchased the entire city block in order to make it into the headquarters of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. In the early 1960s, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was bought by the Golden Grain Macaroni Company, moved the headquarters off-site, and put the square up for sale.
San Franciscan William Roth and his mother bought the land in 1962 to prevent the square from being replaced with an apartment building. The Roths hired landscape architect Lawrence Halprin to convert the square and its historic brick structures to an integrated restaurant and retail complex, the first major adaptive re-use project in the United States. It opened in 1964. In order to preserve Ghirardelli Square for future generations, it was granted National Historic Landmark status in 1982. Today, Ghirardelli Square features over 40 specialty shops and restaurants in addition to the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop, known for its world famous ice cream sundaes.
External links
- Ghiraradelli Square - Official site and soure of info
- Street map from Mapquest
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