02/20/09

Photo Gallery: The New Octavia Boulevard

During the freeway revolution, San Francisco was about to be bisected by Highway 101. Some of this freeway was built (basically a spur to the civic center) but the rest was halted due to the freeway revolt in the 1950s. Ramps from the finished freeway led to Fell and Oak Streets instead of a freeway that would cut through Golden Gate Park. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 damaged the freeway and all that remained was the portion leading to the Fell and Oak ramps. Eventually voters had the rest of the freeway removed north of Market Street, and Octavia Boulevard opened up in 2005.

Shown below are several of the still-remaining off-ramp sites beyond Octavia Boulevard, now turned into parking lots. The block between Oak, Fell, Laguna, and Octavia remains mostly off-ramp stubs. The land uncovered from the destruction of the freeway north of Octavia carves a path through the neighborhood, now filled with parking lots. Some construction has actually filled in but the land remains empty for most of the trip.

A similar ramp-stub/parking lot situation is visible near the Transbay Terminal from the destruction of the Embarcadero Freeway.

Octavia Boulevard

Former Freeway Off-Ramps