Every large city has a building that transcends icon status -- it serves as a lens amplying that city's roots, the conflicts that shaped the metropolis and how daily life has evolved. To look at the Ferry Building is to see the power of 19th Century civic aspirations, shifts in how people people get from point A to point B, and the transformation of industrial waterfronts into lifestyle zones. There's something else on view: the threat posed by sea level rise to the Ferry Building, the Embarcadero waterfront that it anchors, and urban waterfronts in general.
The three sections have self-explanatory titles: Heyday, Relic and Rebirth.
The cast of characters? Everyone from Lawrence Ferlinghetti to Dianne Feinstein. Architect A. Page Brown, who died in a freak horse accident before his creation took shape, to newspaper legend Herb Caen, who was celebrated before his death with a huge gathering in front of the landmark he loved. Malvina Reynolds and Anthony Bourdain, and a nuclearized octopus that wreaks havoc.
I'm humbled and happy at how "Portal" has been received. But you'll need to double-click on the "Reviews" tab for that.