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1893
Fairmont Heritage Place - Ghirardelli Square
San Francisco, California
900 North Point Street, San Francisco, California 94109
Original Property Opened in 1893
Historic Hotels of America member since 2016
The journey of Fairmont Heritage Place - Ghirardelli Square began in 1893, when chocolatier and Italian immigrant Domenico Ghirardelli purchased an entire city block known at the time as the Pioneer Woolen Mill complex. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company grew exponentially at the end of the 19th century, and the family hired architect William S. Mooser to renovate the entire complex. In the 1960s, the chocolate company moved to San Leandro, leaving a single chocolate shop to carry on the legacy at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
The historic clock tower building at San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square has been home to the Fairmont Heritage Place - Ghirardelli Square since 2008. With history as rich as the chocolate that funded it, Fairmont Heritage Place - Ghirardelli Square has created a luxury urban resort in the iconic San Francisco waterfront. The residential-style, all-suite building allows guests to experience one of San Francisco’s most iconic tourist destinations with ultimate convenience and comfort.
Discover
- Discover the original features of the brick structure that once housed a chocolate factory. Today, the stately red brick building still features the famous clock tower and a 15-foot-tall Ghirardelli sign, which was installed in 1923 and was a beacon to sailors on the San Francisco Bay. Historical elements from the original chocolate factory are found throughout Fairmont Heritage Place - Ghirardelli Square, such as exposed red brick walls and timber beam supports.
- Learn how the gold rush in 1849 spurred industry across the city. Promise of business motivated immigrants like Domenico Ghirardelli to open small shops along the Pacific Coast near mining communities. Eventually, the successful Ghirardelli opened shops across the booming city of San Francisco before purchasing an entire city block by 1892 in the area now known as Fisherman’s Wharf.
- Discover how two San Franciscans, William M. Roth and his mother, Lurline Matson Roth, worked to save the original factory structure in the 1960s. The Roths hired the architectural firm Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons—as well as landscape architect Lawrence Halprin—to convert the location into a commercial facility known as “Ghirardelli Square.” The U.S. Department of the Interior has highlighted their work on the facility as a “prototype of commercial adaptive re-use.”
Explore
- Explore stunning Bay views from the rolling streets of San Francisco. Take in the view from Fairmont Heritage Place - Ghirardelli Square before heading to the beloved Golden Gate Park. Or travel to Lands End at the northwestern corner of San Francisco. The gorgeous hike provides breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean.
- Head to the lively neighborhood of North Beach, San Francisco’s Little Italy that was once the historic center of the beatnik subculture, and has become one of San Francisco’s main nightlife districts.
- Explore a signature San Francisco shopping destination, the Ferry Building Marketplace, which features tantalizing culinary shops, artisan vendors, and an unrivaled farmers market. Walk along Market Street and gaze at the historic clock tower that anchors the Ferry Building Marketplace along the waterfront.
Experience
- Hop on a cable car, the only historic landmark that moves, and see all that San Francisco has to offer. Head out to the cable car turnaround at the intersection of Powell Street and Market Street, and travel through the Nob Hill and Russian Hill neighborhoods to the end of the line at Aquatic Park near Ghirardelli Square.
- Visit the sea lions that call Fisherman’s Wharf home. Dozens of sea lions moved in to the empty boat docks in the late 1980s and now live at PIER 39 throughout the year, leaving only briefly in June and July to breed on the Channel Islands.
- Experience a grand performance at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House, a music hall built as a memorial to San Franciscans lost in World War I. A California Historical Landmark, the American Renaissance-building hosts ballets and operas year-round, representing how heritage, arts, and design work in harmony.
Taste
- Step outside into Ghirardelli Square to enjoy some of the best dining San Francisco has to offer in the courtyard-style food hall. Indulge in the namesake chocolates, Ghirardelli Squares, at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience, or sample one of the innovative creations made with the beloved confections.
- Taste some of the best seafood on the West Coast in San Francisco. A favorite of locals and travelers alike, the Bay Area’s waterfront restaurants are known for serving oysters with afterwork drinks. Fresh daily catches from the Pacific grace the plates at the city’s sushi restaurants, while the seasonal Dungeness crab can be found in restaurant recipes passed down within fishermen’s families for generations.
- Sample San Francisco sourdough at the city’s finest bakeries. Sourdough is made from a fermented leavening agent known as a starter. This ancient style of breadmaking is said to have been practical for California’s rugged mining communities, especially before the commercialization of baker’s yeast. The crusty, tangy bread has been perfected and popularized in the region ever since.
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