Considered an “American phoenix,” modern San Francisco rose out of the ashes of the 1906 earthquake.  This disaster, the worst in American history, destroyed the majority of the city and left only 303 of its 28,000 buildings standing.   One of these lucky few is Mission Dolores; built in 1776, it is the oldest structure in the city and provides a wonderful example of Spanish-colonial architecture with Native-American influences.

Another area with a wealth and span of architectural interest that’s very easy to take is the Presidio dating from "Yerba Buena’s" earliest days (the old Officers’ Club at the top of the parade grounds is the other "oldest" San Francisco edifice) to 1960s "modern", which preceded the installation’s turnover from the Sixth Army to The City.  At its furthest northwest tip, and San Francisco’s, standing guard under the is Fort Point, dating to the early and mid-1800s.

Finally, the turn of the 20th century brought the City Beautifying Movement to improve urban environments and suburbs with classical and renaissance design.  The best examples of the beaux arts style are the City Hall (famous backdrop of many Dirty Harry movies) in the Civic Center and the Palace of Fine Arts – originally built for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915 - located in the Marina District.  Yet, if modern design is of interest, check out the SoMa (South of Market District), the controversial Public Library in the Civic Center and, of course, the Transamerica Pyramid.

Then, there are those two bridges...  Actually, they are three, considering the Bay Bridge’s two spans in distinctively different styles.  And now - architectural history in the making - the new east span is the subject of great debate as to whether it will be completed in the grand manner of its companions, or if it will take the more simple utilitarian form of a flat span.  This, even as it is being built to replace the current span that "collapsed" (well, a section of it) during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.