Moscone Center
The George R. Moscone Convention Center[5] (/mɒsˈkoʊni/), popularly known as the Moscone Center, is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California, United States. The complex consists of three main halls spread out across three blocks and 87 acres (35 ha) in the South of Market neighborhood.[4] The convention center originally opened in 1981. It is named after former San Francisco mayor George Moscone, who was assassinated in November 1978.
Moscone Center
747 Howard Street
San Francisco, California
94103
City and County of San Francisco
1981 (Moscone South)[1]
1981[1]
- $157 million (Moscone North)[1]
- $158 million (Moscone West)
over 2,000,000 sq ft (190,000 m2)[1]
1,500,000 sq ft (140,000 m2)[2]
- Up to 106 meeting rooms
- Up to 256,225 sq ft (23,804.1 m2)
Pay parking nearby
The Moscone Center complex consists of three main halls:
Moscone North and South are connected by a pedestrian bridge over Howard Street, as well as by the underground exhibition hall, which extends far beyond the aboveground structures and beneath Yerba Buena Gardens and the Metreon entertainment center. The massive underground hall has been described as a bunker.[9][4] Together, Moscone North and South have 504,000 square feet (46,800 m2) of contiguous exhibition space, two ballrooms, 82 meeting rooms, and 107,000 square feet (9,900 m2) of pre-function lobby space.[10]
A large solar electricity system was installed on the roof of the center in March 2004 by PowerLight Corporation. 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 (5,600 m2) 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.
The location of the complex in the South of Market area provides easy access to downtown San Francisco's many hotels and restaurants, as well as major transportation systems. The Yerba Buena/Moscone station, in the southwestern corner of the convention center complex, provides access to the Muni Metro, which connects to Caltrain.[11] The center is also two blocks away from the Powell Street station, which is served by both BART and the Metro.[12]
Labor organizations supported the construction of the center, and were granted full labor jurisdiction. All labor in the Convention Center is performed by I.A.T.S.E. Local 16 Stagehands, Sign and Display Workers Local #510, Brotherhood of Teamsters local #65, IBEW Local #6, Security I.A.T.S.E. Local #B-18, Communications Workers of America, and the Hotel & Restaurant Workers Local #2. IUOE Local #39 provides Engineering Services.
Projection Presentation Technology is the on-site rental service.[13]
Moscone Center hosts many large events each year. During the 2016–17 season, Moscone Center hosted 74 events with a total attendance of 1,021,031.[14]
Moscone Center hosts a number of annual professional gatherings, including:
In addition, Moscone Center hosts public gated events such as the SF Auto Show and the Fancy Foods Show.
Moscone Center formerly hosted the following annual events:
Other notable events at the convention center have included: