The Beaux Arts City Hall is the crown jewel of San Francisco’s Civic Center. Completed in time for the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915, it dominates the area.
The trees of Civic Center Plaza that lead toward City Hall from the east and the War Memorial and Fulton Street that lead toward the City Hall from the west are similar to East Seaton Park and E. Capitol Street leading toward the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. However, San Francisco’s City Hall is taller than the Capitol in D.C.
St. Peter’s in Rome was the inspiration for the splendid dome of City Hall, which actually consists of three domes layered on top of each other. Accidentally damaged during a renovation, the embellishment is now gold plated, glittering in the setting sun.
Do not miss an opportunity to photograph the lavish architecture of City Hall and the nearby plazas, Opera House, and Asian Art Museum.
How to get there
You can take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport) trains into the city to the Civic Center Station. San Francisco Muni can also take you here from anywhere in San Francisco. Links to both providers are in the resource section below.
Alternatively, you can take the car and park on one of the many metered spots around Civic Center Plaza. The rate is $0.25/5 minutes, with a maximum of 1 hour. This requires good timing on your part, since the tours can take up to one hour. Top off the meter before the tour starts.
GPS position
How to photograph San Francisco’s Civic Center and City Hall
Supervisors Legislative Chamber
Arrange your visit around the tour of City Hall. The tour group will take you to the Mayor’s office, from where you can glance over the Civic Center Plaza and the Mayor’s balcony. The rooms are not very interesting and the Mayor’s personal office is off limits.
The tour will also take you into the Supervisors Legislative Chamber (image above). Manchurian Oak wood panels decorate the walls of this flamboyant room. Today, the Manchurian Oak woods are gone, making the paneling irreplaceable. Thus, the curtains stay closed, to keep the wood from fading. Even the lights are dim, so the entire room feels dark and gloomy.
Boost your ISO sensitivity and pay attention to your aperture setting, to preserve depth of field. A wide-angle lens will help you make the most of the limited room you have and will yield a much larger depth of field, even with wider apertures. I used a 12mm lens on the Canon 7D for this image. Exposure time is 1/15s @ f/6.3 with ISO-2000.
For detail photographs of the ornaments, I used a lens with image stabilization to keep the exposure time above 1/40s at around 130mm focal length. I had to boost ISO to 6400, but I could get usable photographs.
The tour guide will fill the hour with many interesting facts. After the tour is over, drop some more coins into the parking meter if you have to and come back for a tour of your own.
Arched door to balcony
Our tour guide did not take us to the giant arched windows and doorways leading to the balcony on the third floor. The lighting in the entire city hall is stunning (the image above, the image at the beginning of the article, and the image below are good examples).
The Architects constructed the building with lighting in mind. The two light courts left and right of the entrance hall flood the area with warm daylight. The giant upper floor windows fill the area below the rotunda with a wonderful soft light. Photographing the hallways, the wall, and the ceiling decorations and embellishments is a pure joy.
The meaningful decorations depict the age of discovery, human endeavors, and rights and mythology.
City Hall's North Light Court
The ornate lights and the warm daylight contrast with the cooler temperatures of the shadows indoor. This combination of opposing colors is very attractive to viewers. We perceive yellow as a very “bright” color, blue on the other hand as a darker color. To balance the picture, I chose to give more weight to the blue color. This creates harmony. At the same time I was able to capture the reflection of the lamp and the door on the floor of the entrance hall. The symmetry of the door and the asymmetry of the lamp and flower pot create a pleasing, yet dynamic composition, drawing the viewer toward the light and through the door.
Do not forget the details! The clock, lamps, figures, inscriptions, carvings, windows, and busts all tell a story. Detail pictures complete your portfolio of this unique building.
Gate Lantern View
The Civic Center Plaza to the east of city hall and the War Memorial Garden to the west offer attractive outside options for City Hall. The entrance of City Hall faces Civic Center Plaza. This is where the city holds its celebrations and parades. Come early during those days to get a good spot.
During Christmas Time, a Christmas tree stands on Civic Center Plaza.
The War Memorial Gate at Franklin Street is another superb choice to photograph the exterior of city hall (image above).
If time permits, you should also see the Opera House and Asian Art Museum. Both buildings offer even more unique photography options and challenges.
Best Time of the Day and Best Season
Tours of City Hall run Monday to Friday at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm. City Hall is open Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm. The afternoon light is best for photographs from Civic Center Plaza, while the west side, seen above, is best during the late morning. On many days, the fog rolls in during the afternoon, creating diffused light. This enabled me to photograph the back entrance and lantern during the afternoon (above).
Time required
It takes about 90 minutes to photograph the interior if you take the tour. A little over two hours should be all you need.
Equipment
Limit your equipment for the indoor tour. Take a small camera bag and leave large items behind to keep the security screening process flowing smoothly.
- Camera with IS lens
- Wide-angle lens
- CP filter for outdoor shoots
Fees
The tour is free but you can donate to the educational programs.
Difficulty Photographing
A number of homeless people loiter around the Civic Center Plaza, making people uncomfortable, especially when you carry expensive camera equipment. Although I have taken pictures here at night, I usually try not to stay too long to avoid becoming a target.
Close Locations
- Alamo Square
- San Francisco Christmas Lights
- Buena Vista and Haight Ashbury
- Twin Peaks
- Yerba Buena Gardens
- San Francisco Mission
- Cable Cars
- Ferry Building
- Embarcadero Center
- Stow Lake and Botanical Garden
- Corona Heights Park
- Pier 7
Useful Resources
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2 Comments
Incredible construction with thos three layered domes. I can see clearly that St. Peter’s was the inspiration for this building. The dome building techniques are stunning and fascinating, they require a lot of engineering.
Incredible ornate details, that is opulence! It’s so nice that the architects were cognizant of lighting…especially for the benefit of future photographers.