Moscone Center
Encyclopedia
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It comprises three main halls: Two underground halls underneath Yerba Buena Gardens
Yerba Buena Gardens
Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in downtown San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and Howard Streets was opened in 1993. The second block, between Howard and Folsom Streets was...
, known as Moscone North and Moscone South, and a three-level Moscone West exhibition hall across 4th Street. It was initially built in 1981 by architects Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum as one single hall, Moscone South, and named after San Francisco former mayor George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
, who was assassinated in November 1978.
Background
Although named after the slain former mayor, Moscone opposed the development of the area because he felt it would displace middle-class residents. The expansion of Moscone North and Moscone West in 1992 and 2003 added an additional 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) to its original 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) of exhibit space.It is known for hosting several large professional gatherings, such as the Oracle OpenWorld
Oracle OpenWorld
Oracle OpenWorld is an annual Oracle event for business decision-makers, IT management, and line-of-business end users. It is held in San Francisco, California; São Paulo, Brazil; and Shanghai, China. The world's largest conference for Oracle customers and technologists, Oracle OpenWorld San...
, Macworld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
Expo, RSA
RSA
RSA is an algorithm for public-key cryptography that is based on the presumed difficulty of factoring large integers, the factoring problem. RSA stands for Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman, who first publicly described it in 1978. A user of RSA creates and then publishes the product of...
Conference, American Geophysical Union
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
's fall meeting, American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
's annual meeting, the Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, JavaOne
JavaOne
JavaOne is an annual conference inaugurated in 1996 by Sun Microsystems to discuss Java technologies, primarily among Java developers. JavaOne is held in San Francisco, California typically running from Monday to Thursday. Technical sessions on a variety of topics are held during the day. In the...
and public gated events such as WonderCon
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...
and the 1984 Democratic National Convention
1984 Democratic National Convention
The 1984 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select a candidate for the 1984 United States presidential election. At the convention Walter Mondale was nominated for President and Geraldine...
.
PowerLight Corporation installed a large solar electricity system on the roof of the center in March 2004. The installation of this system marked San Francisco's first major step towards obtaining all municipal energy from pollution-free sources. With the 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) solar array (675 kW capacity) in place, San Francisco boasts one of the largest city-owned solar installations in the country. The electricity generated by the solar system, combined with savings from energy efficiency measures, delivers the equivalent energy to power approximately 8,500 homes.
The location of the complex in the South of Market area
South of Market, San Francisco, California
South of Market is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States.-Name and location:Its boundaries are Market Street to the northwest, San Francisco Bay to the northeast, Mission Creek to the southeast, and Division Street, 13th Street and U.S. Route 101 to the southwest...
provides easy access to downtown San Francisco's many hotels and restaurants, as well as major transportation systems such as BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
and Muni Metro
Muni Metro
Muni Metro is a light rail system serving San Francisco, California, operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway , a division of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency...
. The Amtrak bus stop at Moscone Center (station code SFM) also transports riders to the Emeryville Amtrak station
Emeryville (Amtrak station)
The Emeryville Amtrak station is an Amtrak station in Emeryville, California that replaced the older Amtrak 16th Street Station in Oakland. The original Beaux-Arts Oakland 16th Street Station was declared unsafe due to unreinforced masonry after sustaining damage in the Loma Prieta Earthquake of...
.
Moscone North and South are undergoing a two-year renovation project to be completed in 2012. The renewal project was designed by HOK, the center's original architect.
History
The South of Market Area where Moscone Center was built was claimed by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, and a protracted battle was fought by the displaced low-income residents during the 1960s and 1970s.In 1984, the Democratic Convention was held at the Convention Center.
See also
- 49-Mile Scenic Drive49-Mile Scenic DriveThe 49-Mile Scenic Drive in San Francisco highlights many of the city's major attractions and historic structures.Opened on September 14, 1938 as a promotion for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, it...
- MetreonMetreonThe Metreon is a shopping center located in downtown San Francisco at the corner of 4th Street and Mission Street. It is a four-story 350,000 square foot building built over the corner of the underground Moscone Center convention center...
entertainment center, built over the corner of the North Hall - Yerba Buena GardensYerba Buena GardensYerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in downtown San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and Howard Streets was opened in 1993. The second block, between Howard and Folsom Streets was...
- Roger BoasRoger BoasJohn Roger Boas is a San Francisco businessman and politician, long prominent in the Democratic Party in northern California.Boas was born August 21, 1921, in San Francisco, California, the son of Benjamin Boas, a finance company executive of German descent, and Larie Kline Boas...
External links
- Moscone Center official website
- Moscone Convention Center Interactive Map
- Moscone Center Solar Power data analysis
- Information about the solar installation on the roof of Moscone Center
- Things to do in and near Moscone Center
- Moscone Center Visitors Guide
- Museum Parc Garage - nearby parking for visitors for Moscone