John King ’s “portal” explores the story of American urban design through San Francisco’s iconic ferry building.
The saga of the ferry building is a microcosm of a larger evolution along the waterfronts of cities everywhere, tracing the damage inflicted on historic neighborhoods and working dockyards by cars, highways, and top-down planning and urban renewal.
A book for city lovers and visitors, architecture fans and pedestrians, “portal” is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of San Francisco and the future of American cities.
