Moscone Center

Moscone Center
9yz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Moscone Center
Location	San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37.7833, -122.4033
Opened	1981
Expanded	1992, 2003, 2018
Owner	City and County of San Francisco
Operator	San Francisco Travel Association

Moscone Center. The Moscone Center is a convention center located in the South of Market area of San Francisco, California, and is named after George Moscone, the Mayor of San Francisco who was assassinated in 1978. It is owned by the City and County of San Francisco and operated by the San Francisco Travel Association, in partnership with SMG (company), a leading provider of convention center management services, including McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. The center hosts various events, including the annual Macworld conference, Google I/O, and Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, which attract attendees from around the world, including Silicon Valley, New York City, and Tokyo.

● History

The Moscone Center was opened in 1981, with an initial construction cost of $157 million, funded by the City and County of San Francisco, with support from California Governor Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein. The center was designed by Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum and Gensler, and was built on a site previously occupied by a San Francisco and San Jose Railroad yard, near the San Francisco Bay Bridge and AT&T Park. In the 1990s, the center underwent a major expansion, which added an additional 600,000 square feet of exhibition space, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and HOK (firm), and was completed in 1992, with a grand reopening ceremony attended by California Governor Pete Wilson and San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan. This expansion allowed the center to host larger events, such as the Democratic National Convention in 1984, which was attended by Walter Mondale, Geraldine Ferraro, and Jesse Jackson, and the Republican National Convention in 1992, which was attended by George H.W. Bush and Dan Quayle.

● Architecture

The Moscone Center features a unique design, with a large, open exhibition space and a distinctive skylight system, designed by Renzo Piano and Arup Group, which provides natural light to the interior of the building, and offers stunning views of the San Francisco Bay and the San Francisco skyline. The center's design has been influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen, and I.M. Pei, and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the American Institute of Architects' Honor Award, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Preservation Award. The building's exterior is clad in granite and stainless steel, and features a large, public plaza area, designed by Lawrence Halprin, which is used for events and exhibitions, and is surrounded by notable landmarks, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

● Facilities

The Moscone Center offers a wide range of facilities and services, including over 700,000 square feet of exhibition space, 106 meeting rooms, and a 50,000 square foot ballroom, designed by Gensler and HOK (firm). The center also features a state-of-the-art audio-visual system, designed by AVI-SPL, and a comprehensive catering service, provided by Levy Restaurants and Centerplate, which offers a range of dining options, from fine dining to casual food courts, and is supported by local San Francisco businesses, including Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown, San Francisco. The center is also equipped with advanced sustainability features, including a green roof and a rainwater harvesting system, designed by ARUP and CH2M Hill, which reduce the center's environmental impact, and is recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Environmental Protection Agency.

● Events

The Moscone Center hosts a wide range of events throughout the year, including conferences, exhibitions, and trade shows, such as the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions' IAAPA Attractions Expo, the National Retail Federation's NRF Big Show, and the Game Developers Conference, which attract attendees from around the world, including Los Angeles, New York City, and London. The center has also hosted numerous high-profile events, including the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, the Google I/O conference, and the Facebook F8 conference, which have featured speakers such as Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin, and Mark Zuckerberg, and have been attended by notable figures, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates. The center's events calendar is managed by the San Francisco Travel Association, in partnership with Destination Marketing Association International and the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus.

● Location

The Moscone Center is located in the South of Market area of San Francisco, California, near the San Francisco Bay Bridge and AT&T Park, and is within walking distance of many notable landmarks, including the Ferry Building, the Embarcadero Center, and the Transbay Transit Center. The center is also accessible by public transportation, including the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system and the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) system, which connect to other major Bay Area cities, including Oakland, California, Berkeley, California, and San Jose, California. The center's location makes it an ideal venue for events and conferences, with easy access to San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport, and is supported by local San Francisco businesses, including Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown, San Francisco.

● Expansion

The Moscone Center has undergone several expansions since its opening in 1981, including a major expansion in 1992, which added an additional 600,000 square feet of exhibition space, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and HOK (firm), and was completed in 1992, with a grand reopening ceremony attended by California Governor Pete Wilson and San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan. In 2003, the center underwent a $55 million renovation, which updated the center's facilities and services, and was designed by Gensler and HOK (firm). In 2018, the center completed a $500 million expansion, which added an additional 350,000 square feet of exhibition space, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and HOK (firm), and was completed in 2018, with a grand reopening ceremony attended by California Governor Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor London Breed. This expansion has allowed the center to host even larger events, and has cemented its position as one of the premier convention centers in the United States, and is recognized by the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus and the Destination Marketing Association International.