Yerba Buena Gardens, Urban park in South of Market, San Francisco, US

Yerba Buena Gardens is a 5-acre park in South of Market featuring green lawns, water features, and multiple outdoor spaces bordered by cultural institutions and restaurants. The grounds span several levels with distinct zones and gathering areas throughout.

The park opened in 1993, transforming a former industrial area into a central public space for the city. This development marked a turning point in how the South of Market neighborhood was reimagined and used.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, titled "Revelations," was made by sculptor Houston Conwill, poet Estella Majoza and architect Joseph De Pace. Its etched glass panels carry excerpts of King's speeches in the languages of San Francisco's sister cities. Entering the fountain, reading the walls beneath the water and exiting back into the garden follows the path of a baptism-like journey of transformation.

The two blocks lie between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets, joined by a pedestrian bridge over Howard Street that rests on part of the Moscone Center. The North block holds the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; the South block holds the Children's Creativity Museum, the LeRoy King Carousel, a bowling alley and an ice rink. The Sister Cities Garden on the terrace above the King memorial waterfall looks out to the downtown skyline.

The South block holds the LeRoy King Carousel, a restored 1906 machine by Charles I. D. Looff, alongside a bowling alley that was reinstated after John Elberling of TODCO protested its removal from the plans. The carousel and rink sit in the block dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1998.