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Justin Herman Plaza
Rating Details »
Category: Landmarks & Historical Buildings [Edit]
1 Market StreetEmbarcadero Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94101
26 reviews for Justin Herman Plaza
I like this place. Monday through Friday it's full of (mostly) business people meeting up, having lunch, taking a break from work. Great people watching. And unlike being in a restaurant -proper you can tell your lunch-mate secrets and not fear the table two inches from you is also hearing them.
I brought the kids through here today on the way to the Farmer's Market, I wanted them to see the fountain. But, it had no water in it. Make Lemonade: "Hey kids, look at that huge play structure!" I was their hero.
This is a pretty nice plaza where you can hang for lunch when it's sunny.
I wish the city would change the name, though. Not only did Justin Herman do terrible things for our city and for the African American community during his "redevelopment" of the Fillmore district in the 1960s, but he named this plaza after himself (who does that?). He truly epitomizes the racism and lack of community involvement that our city has tried to move so far beyond, and I see no reason to celebrate his memory. We managed to rename Army street, can we call this something else?
"There....was...a..pillowfight!!!!" (from the movie pillowdock saints)
This plaza is littered every year with inches of down-feather pillow snow and blood from prepubescent awkward teens swatting whoever they can with their pillowcases filled with not only pillows, but rocks, etc, and all the hormones and testosterone gone-mad you can assume would be present at such an otherwise lovely, stress-reducing event full of happiness and joy and thwapping. Other than that, this place is okay to sit down at and stare at the water, or lazily walk through, but I don't see what's so bad (I mean, good) about it. Architecturally it's not so cool..........
Perfect place for lunch in the sun and people watching!
One beautiful day back when we lived in the Sacramento Valley, my sweetie, bad influence that he was (ok, and still is), inflicted a sudden change of plans which caused one of us to ditch school while the other skipped out on work. It had been announced that U2 was giving a free concert at Justin Herman Plaza at lunch time.
Having grown up in the City, my luv then proceeded to engage in a frightening demonstration of driving skill known only to SF locals which not only got us there in short order, but parked and positioned to rock. This was a rather unique crowd in my then-limited experience, which I recall included many FIDI peeps in suits on their lunch hour who didn't hesitate to jump up and down and bail on work for a very long time. And just our luck, as in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', this public event was being filmed ('Rattle and Hum'), but we managed to be mere specks in the crowd. Bonus.
But here is what I remember most: Bono 'complimented' the artist who created the infamous Water Sculpture by spray-painting 'rock n roll stops the traffic' on it, thus creating a little post-concert controversy in the press. Now I love art. And I kinda luv Bono (because he, along with Robin Williams and my hubby, sorta look like brothers), but wtf?! I think he eventually had to pay for that bit of graffiti removal. Overall, a memorable way to kill a day we didn't need or want to spend elsewhere.
Cut to years later and my working just shy of FIDI: I've enjoyed checking out a bit of local arts/crafts on lunch hours, watching some ice-skating around the Holidays, and that chick who plays accordion just before the Embarcadero crossing to the Ferry Building on some Friday afternoons--that cover of 'I Wanna Be Sedated' ALWAYS makes me smile! Thanks!!
Oh, and Sweetness, if you're reading this, you're still WAY hawter than Bono. For realz. ; )
A clean place to sit outside and eat your lunch.
JONASAPPROVED!
Another beautiful day in the city!! Get outside and listen to the fountain. Have your lunch in the warm sun in the plaza. What a day!!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/16/2009
The sun felt so nice today when I sat in the plaza across from the Ferry Building along Embarcadero.… Read more »
I spent my lunch today at Justin Herman Plaza because my friend told me Conan O'Brien was going to be there. I didn't see Conan - was he there? I saw a bunch of dorky NBC11 people and corporate sponsors and marketing douches. God, if they want to highlight the best of San Francisco, why the hell are they at Justin Herman Plaza smackdab at lunch hour in the middle of the Financial District? Seriously, the FiDi has to be like the most boring and unimaginative part of town. Also, I hate marketing and marketers and blah blah blah. This is why Yelp works - because in its best form, it becomes a way for people you trust to tell you how a place works. Marketers appeal to the lowest common denominator - Yelp appeals to me because I get to choose who and what I want to listen to. Anyways, I'm sorry, back to the review.
Justin Herman Plaza is filled with pigeons, which is why I cannot give it more than 3 stars. I fucking HATE PIGEONS. Seriously. It's like a really huge fear of mine. The sight of them flying sends shivers down my spine. I get anxiety attacks. I scream. I jump away and cry. I can explain to you why, but let's just say that the image of a pigeon bomb flying into my torso, exploding, and me slowly crumbling to the ground has been the subject of many a nightmare and many a sleepless night. I'm not kidding. Scary ass flying rats.
So I think I might be on the Conan show. Some guy comes up to me and goes - hey, wanna be filmed? So I say sure.
Sweaty Camera Guy: Where do you live, man?
Me: I live in San Francisco.
SCG: Cool, you ever heard of Conan?
Me: Yeah, I've heard.
SCG: What's your favorite part of Conan?
Me: I don't have a TV.
SCG: What?! You don't have a TV?
Me: No.
SCG: Have you heard of Charmed School?
Me: No.
SCG: Have you heard of Lost?
Me: This guy I know, he's way into it. But no.
SCG: Damn, are you some weird hippie?
Me: No.
SCG: What do you do when you get home?
Me: This interview isn't going very well, is it?
SCG: ...
Me: [sigh] I drink. A lot. It kills the pain.
SCG: You drink? Like, you make yourself a cocktail when you go home?
Me: No, as in I go to a bar and I drown my sorrows away and wake up in an alcohol induced haze in the morning and begin the monotonous pattern of life once again.
SCG: ...
I know, I'm a bitter grumpy bitch. And before he can respond, I feel it on my ear. A burst of wind. And I see it out of the corner of my slanted eye. A PIGEON JUST FLEW INTO MY EAR. And I FUCKING SCREAM. Like, not a small yelp, BUT A GUTTURAL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY STOMACH GROWLING SCREAM. The camera guy literally almost drops the camera to cover his ears, I'm nearly in tears, and people are crowded around me (they already kinda were, since there was a camera on me). I throw the mic down, and walk away to go sob in the Embarcadero Center and catch my breath.
Anyways, you think I'll be on Conan? I don't watch TV. Can someone tell me?
A nice open space at the foot of the Embarcadero Center. The large brick plaza makes it warmer than the surrounding territory, and the stairs flanking it become benches for the crowds that meet for lunch on sunny days. Even in midwinter it exudes an air of warmth and calm.
The best view of the park is from the top of the stairs of Embarcadero Four. The fountain on the left reminds me of an industrial sewage outfall, especially when it's running, but this is just one of the things you get when the public supports art. It's a mixed bag. Below you is the colony of lunch restaurants and the outdoor tables and chairs. Before you lies the brick plaza, the grass median and streetcar lines, and then the Ferry Building. Although you are right on the Embarcadero, a major thoroughfare, the air is remarkably quiet.
Summer or winter, noontime or evening, weekdays or weekends, it's a nice place to relax.
heck yeah! the t-mobile skydivers landed here! how exciting :)
Stuff:
1) Best lunch ever spent here with some yelpers watching a free concert. Jefferson Starship!!! They didn't even play "We built this city", but it rocked none the less...all we did was laugh...more like point and laugh
2) The start of every critical mass...I've only done one, but it was Halloween, so all the freaks lined the plaza in costume and raised hell...
3) other free shows....I saw Tea Leaf Green and i boogied.
4) its a great place to sit in the sun....during a hectic day, and just mellow.
5) there is a fountain...and weird art and people....tons of people to watch!
6) The pillow-fight I have yes to participate in cuz I'm always working on that evening, but know that i would love it soooo much. Next year i guess...stupid valentines day.
:end of stuff.
On a gorgeous San Francisco day I really enjoy spending my only free moments in the sun during the work hours.
A great spot to meet other FiDi friends for lunch! There are so many restaurants around that everyone can pick and choose what their little hearts desire and reconvene in the Plaza. LOVE IT! Almost makes me forget that I'm in the middle of a work day. :o)
A veritable dead zone in terms of landscape architecture and feng shui. I've seen eastern block housing developments with more life and design savvy. You could always seek refuge by jumping into the Bay or escaping to the darkness of the Embarcadero Theater.
It's time to go back to the drawing board with Justin Herman Plaza.
I spent about an hour trying to figure my way through a huge crowd of screaming hippies to find my friend Sara. Big antiwar/antiBush rally. Sigh. Maybe it's just cuz I'm totally politically apathetic that I could never live in San Francisco (also I don't recycle...oooohh!! Badass!!). Actually, crazed hippies kind of frighten me. But not as much as pigeons.
There weren't any of Ed's pigeons, maybe they are scared of hippies too, but I would have hated it even more if they had been there. I, too, am terrified of pigeons. You are not alone, Ed. Except hippies scare me too.
You know that scene in the Planet of the Apes sequel where Charlton Heston is walking on the beach and he finds the statue of liberty in rubble, washed over by years of erosion, and he realizes what's actually happened to humanity and he starts screaming and it's pretty brutal screaming and then I think the movie ends?
Well, if I'm ever on some ape planet, and I'm walking along a beach, and I realize it's Justin Herman Plaza 4,000 years in the future, looking all fucked and cracked and destroyed, I wouldn't anticipate that I'd be very happy, either.
Ohhhh, good ol' JHP.
Great food choice nearby and great place to munch on lunch and read your book. Or just people watch.
Plus... I love it when crazy people climb into the ugly fountain. It can make for great entertainment.
I grew up here.... straight UP 5 stars. Justin Herman Plaza was one of the best places for skateboarding in the United States at the time... I watch all the big names rip around on that damn brick. And the fountain is sick!
In the end, I must say this: I saw a free 1995 concert from KITS (I worked for them at the time) with Trash Can Sinatras opening for an acoustic Radiohead, followed by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
What sort of crazy lineup is that? It was so fun... middle of the day, people looking from their offices, sunny day...
life is so good in this city I cannot help but gush a bit!
i spent many years of my childhood here in the bay area. this was one of my favorite places to sit and watch the skaters do their thing on asphalt back in the good ol' days.
nostalgia alone for the plaza is worth 4 stars. one star less for the ban on street skating. skateboarding is NOT a crime.
This is where I come to people watch and eat lunch. It's a great place to meet up with your other Fidi friends, get your grub on, and talk. Also a great place to take in a free concert, like Jefferson starship. Too bad I didn't know any of the songs they played. Where was "We built this city"?!?
Good place for people watching & of course.... eating. There is plenty of seating & wandering room as well as photo ops. You can walk underneath the wells or walk behind the entire structure to overlook the stinky water.
Sunny day, not a cloud in sight, lunch on the steps. It doesn't get much better and yesterday happened to be one of those amazing SF days! A small escape from the work day, if only for an hour, but checking out the people in that peaceful setting and admiring the Ferry Building from across the street make the experience relaxing and refreshing.
Yet another great place to relax and people watch during a nice sunny weekend afternoon. The ferry building is always buzzing and it's a open refuge from the large close buildings of the Financial District. The Vaillancourt Fountain looks pretty ugly when it's not on but when the water is flowing it does hold some sort interesting fascination for me.
This is pretty much my favorite place to take my grab-n-go work lunches and soak up some sun when its nice out. Its great for people watching and bird dodging. Sometimes you are even treated to a (mostly) amateur skate show across the road. I always come back to work with a smile on my face when I chill out here at lunch. Thank you Mr. Herman.
The fountain in Justin Herman Plaza is really ugly. The view of the Ferry Building is awesome though. I work a couple blocks away and sometimes I meet up with my (yelper) friend to eat lunch out here so we can enjoy the sun. They could definitely make the place look better because right now, it doesn't.
What better way to spend a lunch hour basking in the sun (whenever we are allowed) and to people watch? With a plethora of food choices, Birley's, Crepes, Japanese, Burritos, anything in the Ferry Building, and a great wide common space, there's no place I like best than to just relax. There's something for everyone everytime of the year, ice skating, art booth's, concerts, rallies...you name it, Justin Herman has it.
Pretty plaza, controversial fountain/public art, great open space in the city but holds special memories for me cause of one fateful day.
It's November 1987 and I am seriously contemplating cutting my philosophy class at SF City College (yes, I'm that old and did not go to an ivy league school thank-you-very-much). As I sit outside of the trailer that passes for our classroom, I'm telling my friend about the dream I had the night before. U2 was playing a concert in my backyard and it felt oh so real. At that point we decide to take a ride out to the beach for a little recreational something or other. We get in my 70's muscle car, turn on the radio and hear "U2 is playing a free concert at Justin Herman Plaza." She hesitates, I make her get out of the car and drive like a demon to nearest payphone (did I mention it was 1987) where I call my still-BFF. Several hours later, I have that content post-U2 show glow. Several months later, I'm at the opening night of Rattle and Hum, enjoying the scene shot during the JH Plaza free concert when my friend and I squeal in delight: There we are on screen - for a split second mind you - but we're there nonetheless. *sigh*
It's much prettier now that the Embarcadero freeway is not mucking up the sight line to the Ferry Building and The Bay. Thanks for that Loma Prieta!
