Parks and monuments
Civic Center Plaza
This grassy plaza is situated at the heart of the Civic Center and its tree-lined central avenue visually draws the eye to the imposing structure of City Hall. Protests and demonstrations of all political persuasions are frequently staged here. There is a parking lot underneath the plaza.
Large Four Piece Reclining Figure
This bronze sculpture was created by English artist Henry Moore in 1973. It poses happily outside Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.
Sgt. John Macaulay Park
Named in honor of a police sergeant who died on duty, this vibrantly colored park and playground only allows adults in if they are accompanied by kids. It has become a bit of an urban oasis set amidst the grittiness of the Tenderloin.
United Nations Plaza
The UN Charter was signed in the Civic Center in 1945, and this plaza was constructed in honor of its ideology and is ironically over the site of the original San Francisco City Cemetery. Designed by architect Lawrence Halprin, and completed in 1975, this is a three acre red-bricked pedestrian plaza. Brick columns inscribed with UN members country names line the plaza, and the UN Fountain sits at its center. Intended to be a visual gateway to the Civic Center, it is often habituated by the city's homeless, but has a compact and diverse Farmers' Market (http://www.hocfarmersmark...) on Wednesdays and Sundays.
James Lick (Pioneer) Monument
The monument is a tribute to California and its early pioneers like Sir Francis Drake. Atop sits a bear and a man carrying both spear and shied — all three objects are imagery that represent California.
Architecture
Alcazar Theater
Built in 1911 in honor of the Shriners Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; this Byzantine-style Islamic temple now a 500 seat theater showing Broadway and off-Broadway shows, is now a historical city landmark. The architect was T Patterson Ross.
The Civic Center with its "classical" architecture was declared a national landmark in 1978. It has several buildings that are of architectural interest including the Asian Art Museum, listed under Museums and galleries above, as well as the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, the buildings that comprise the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center SFWMPAC, the Orpheum Theater, Golden Gate Theater, the Curran Theater, and the interior of the Great American Music Hall, which are all listed under Performing arts below. Other architectural points of interest include:
Little Saigon
A tiny two block strip of Larkin St houses an active Vietnamese American community where the vast majority of shops and restaurants are Vietnamese owned and operated. Little Saigon functions as a both a Vietnamese commercial and cultural center, and there are some excellent restaurants and stores here.
The Art Institute of California â San Francisco
The institute holds public multimedia exhibitions in the fields of media arts, fashion, animation and design.