boudin

It’s 8:00 am on Fisherman’s Wharf in SanFrancisco.Theworld-famouslocalehasyet

to be inundated with the hordes of touriststhat tread its sidewalks and eateries everyday.Butalreadyatthisearlyhour,oneofthepremierdestinationsontheWharfisstartingtodoabriskbusinessas localsstopbyforacupofcoffeeoraneggscrambleservedinasourdough bread bowl. This is the genius ofBoudin at the Wharf: It’s equal parts visitorcenter, tourism attraction, local bakery, andneighborhoodeatery.

Replacing a 30-year-old demonstrationkitchen and café, the Boudin at the Wharfbuilding was designed by San Francisco-basedarchitecturalfirmEHDD,andelementsof its design recall one of the firm’s otherprojects,theMontereyBayAquarium.Alongits Jefferson Street façade, Boudin’s open,inviting, huge windows allow passersby towatch the bakers at work while the smell offresh sourdough and other breads waft overthestreets.SeenfromtheEmbarcadero,alongthe wharf itself, the building appears as anindustrialwarehouse,invokingthehistoryofthecompanyanditsoriginsinSanFrancisco.Themarvelofthedesignisthatitblendsintoits surroundings no matter which side oneviewsitfrom–whetherthetouristattractionssuchastheWaxMuseumandRipley’sacrossthestreet,ortheworkingwharfbehind.

On the second floor are the bakery andmuseum. The latter provides a self-guidedtour through the history, science, andartisanship of Boudin. San Francisco asa city continues to wait for a permanenthistory museum to be housed in The OldMint, a development that has been delayedforanumberofyears. Meanwhile,Boudin’smuseum meets this need, celebrating theregion’s past by showcasing the history oftheCaliforniaGoldRush,SanFrancisco,andBoudin itself, all intrinsically entwined. Thecompany, along with Levi Strauss and WellsFargo, had its start during the Gold Rush,providingservices(inthiscase,bread)tothethousandswhocametothecityandworkedtheminesintheadjacentSierraNevada.Themother dough (the “starter” preserved fromonebakingtothenext)wasbroughtoverfromFrance, and due to the microclimate of San

Francisco,thebreadcameoutsour.In1906,inthefamousearthquakeandaccompanyingfire that devastated much of the town, themotherdoughwouldhaveperishedhadnotLouise Boudin run into the burning bakerywithabucketandsavedasmallbatch.

Itisfromthissmallbatchofcenturialmotherdough that all Boudin sourdough is baked.Themuseumtoursurroundsthebakeryfloor,withbalconiesoverlookingtheaction.Froma glass pipe connecting the bakery with thesilo,visitorscanwatchflourracebyat fortymilesperhour,tothefloorofthebakeryitself,whereartisanshandcraftthesourdoughandanumberofotherbreads,theself-guidedpaceof the tour invitesvisitors to take their timeandfollowtheentireprocess.

ThisworkingbakerysuppliesnotonlyBoudinat the Wharf, but also the company’s storeonPier39andanumberof theFisherman’sWharf-area restaurants. To transport breadtothepopularbreadstoreanddeliinBaker’sHall on the floor below, aninnovative conveyer system wasbuiltintotheceiling.Bakersplaceloaves into baskets which arethen whisked above customer’sheads and across the entry lobbyto both establishments, dippingdownfromtheceilingforaretailexperttograbwhatever’sneeded.Theconveyanceprovidesnotonlyavitaltoolforsupplyingtheretailestablishments with bread, butalso a strong visual cue carryingforth the industrial theme of thebakery.

Sometimes, however, circum-stances may call for other meansof delivery. A few months ago,walking past the bakery, I wasovercome by the delicious smellofasiagocheese in theair.WhenIwenttothebreadstore,however,theywereoutoftheirfamousasia-go sourdough. The young lady atthecounteraskedmetowaitafewminutes and suddenly the bakerappeared in person, delivering afreshlybakedloafdirectfromthe

oven. It is this kind of personal service thatisfeltthroughoutthefacility,beitthecasualdining and retail locations on the first floor,theupstairsfinediningbistrowith itsviewsoverSanFranciscoBay,orthemuseumitself,wheredocentssuchasTerryHamburgguideadultsandwonder-eyedchildrenthroughthebakerytour,providingapersonalsenseofex-citementandaweoftheentireprocess.

Indeed, Boudin at the Wharf does not feellike an industrial visitor’s center at all. If itwere located in any one of the city’s otherneighborhoods, it would feel right at home.That’s the magic of the place. It is for thisreasonthatlocalslikemyselfcontinuetoworkourwaythroughthecrowdsoftouriststovisitBoudinforasourdoughbreadbowlfilledwithclamchowderoradrinkatthebar.JustasSanFrancisco is home to Boudin, Boudin at theWharf feels like home to many of us and itistheperfectwaytointroducevisitorstothefeelingofSanFrancisco.

Joe Kleiman (jkleiman@lightswitch.net) manages the San Francisco office of Lightswitch, an award-winning lighting and projection design firm that has contributed to three projects receiving Theas in past years: The Fremont Street Experience, Men in Black – Alien Attack, and Curse of DarKastle. Prior to joining Lightswitch, Joe served for more than a decade with numerous large format cinemas and attractions. In his spare time, he’s a volunteer keeper with the San Francisco Zoo.

The Boudin Bakery is a visitor attraction, a neighborhhood eatery, a history museum and San Fransisco’s signature sourdough source.

Award for Outstanding AchievementBoudin at the Wharf

a taste of sourdough by Joe Kleiman

13thAnnualTheaAwards

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13thAnnualTheaAwards