Moscone Center

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Colored flags flying high outside the Moscone Convention Center

Moscone Center at Sunset

The Moscone Center is San Francisco, California's largest convention center and exhibition hall. Built in 1981 with Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum as architects, the center is named for George Moscone, a former mayor of San Francisco who was assassinated in 1978. Ironically, Moscone opposed the development of the area since he thought it would displace middle-class residents. The center consists of two main underground halls, Moscone North and Moscone South, as well the three-level Moscone West exhibition hall, which opened in 2003. The complex is located in the South of Market area, providing easy access to downtown San Francisco's many hotels and restaurants.

The center is well known for hosting events focused on Apple Computer, such as Macworld Expo and the Worldwide Developers Conference. It is also home to several large professional gatherings, such as the American Bar Association's annual meeting, and public gated events such as WonderCon and the 1984 Democratic National Convention. The North and South halls are built beneath Yerba Buena Gardens and offer over 538,000 combine square feet of exhibit space.

PowerLight Corporation installed a large solar electricity system on the roof of the center in March 2004. The installation of this system marked San Francisco's first major step towards obtaining all municipal energy from pollution-free sources. With the 60,000 square foot solar array (675 kW capacity) in place, San Francisco boasts one of the largest city-owned solar installations in the country. The electricity generated by the solar system, combined with savings from energy efficiency measures, delivers the equivalent energy to power approximately 8,500 homes.

There is an Amtrak bus stop at the Moscone Center (station code SFM) which transports riders to the Amtrak station in Emeryville.

American Airlines recently announced plans for an AAdvance Bag Check facility at the Moscone Center. American Airlines passengers will be able to check their luggage and print their boarding pass at Moscone, then simply collect the bags at their final destination.