San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco City Hall is the centerpiece of the City's Civic Center.

Architecture[edit]

The Rotunda is a spectacular space and the upper levels are public and handicapped accessible. Opposite the grand staircase, on the second floor, is the office of the Mayor. Bronze busts of former Mayor George Moscone and his successor, Dianne Feinstein, stand nearby as tacit reminders of the Moscone assassination, which took place just a few yards from that spot in the smaller rotunda of the mayor's office entrance. A bust of former county supervisor Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in the building was unveiled on May 22, 2008.^[1] While hard to discern these days, the inscription that dominates the grand Rotunda and the entrance to the mayor's small rotunda, right below Father Time, reads:

SAN • FRANCISCO

O • GLORIOVS • CITY • OF • OVR

HEARTS • THAT • HAST • BEEN

TRIED • AND • NOT • FOVND

WANTING • GO • THOV • WITH

LIKE • SPIRIT • TO • MAKE

THE • FVTVRE • THINE

1912 JAMES ROLPH JR. MAYOR 1931^[2]

Directly below the Rotuna is the Grand Staircase. On the south-side base of the staircase, the plaque reads:

The Grand Staircase of San Francisco City Hall is named
in honor of Charlotte Mailliard Shultz in recognition of the
many memorable civic celebrations she hosted in the Rotunda
during her notable service as Chief of Protocol for San Francisco.
A dedication ceremony was held on December 14, 2003 with
Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. , Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Mayor-elect Gavin Newsom.

Notes[edit]