From earthquake's destruction, a new San Francisco rises 3 decades later
SAN FRANCISCO - On the ground once marked by devastation, a new city is rising.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake battered the gritty South of Market district, damaging the Embarcadero Freeway that walled off downtown San Francisco from the bay and left city leaders with a choice: Do they repair and retrofit it, or envision something bolder?
They chose to go in a new direction. And nearly three decades after the temblor, this civic bet is beginning to take shape. The most obvious example is San Francisco's new skyline, clustered in the South of Market area by design and now fueled by tech money.
The new $1 billion Salesforce Tower, which dwarfs any other skyscraper in the city, is getting the most attention. But it's only part of the story. There is also a grand bus station and rooftop park set to open this summer.
Planners hope the transit center will eventually connect to Caltrain service to Silicon Valley, making this new boomtown an essential hub for Bay Area commuters. Then there are a host of other commercial developments powered by Silicon Valley
