San Francisco Civic Center Historic District

San Francisco's Civic Center is a group of monumental public buildings gathered around Civic Center Plaza, with further buildings extending the main axis to the east and west. It covers all or part of 12 city blocks. City Hall, built in 1913-16, anchors the district with a dome rising more than 300 feet, higher than the U.S. Capitol, on a granite-clad steel frame. Facing it across Van Ness Avenue, the 1932 War Memorial complex pairs the Opera House and the Veterans Building on either side of a landscaped court. Other major buildings include the 1915 Exposition Auditorium, the 1916 Public Library and the Federal Building. Most are designed in Beaux Arts or Renaissance-inspired classical styles. Nine buildings are described as contributing to the district's national importance. The Herbst Auditorium in the Veterans Building is where the United Nations Charter was signed on June 26, 1945. The buildings continue to serve government, cultural, museum and convention uses.