However , after the completion of the Bay Bridge and the rapid decline of ferries and the Ferry Building , the neighborhood fell into decline . The transition to container shipping , which moved most shipping to Oakland , led to further decline . Automobile transit efforts led to the Embarcadero Freeway being built in the 1960s . This improved automobile access to the Bay Bridge , but detracted aesthetically from the city . For 30 years , the highway divided the waterfront and the Ferry Building from downtown . It was torn down in 1991 , after being severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Embarcadero (San Francisco)