San Francisco's Civic Center ((Figs. 1) and 2) is on the National Register of Historic Places because it includes a magnificent collection of nineteenth and twentieth century Revival and Beaux Arts architecture and exemplifies the finest manifestation of the “City Beautiful” movement in the United States. The Civic Center is known as one of the most important national and international historic sites, as it is the birth place of the United Nations and has witnessed the drafting and signing of post World War II peace treaties with Japan. Major government and cultural buildings surround the Civic Center Plaza, including San Francisco City Hall, the Asian Art Museum, the new Main Library, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, as well as the State Supreme Court building. This trip will visit both the San Francisco City Hall and the Asian Art Museum to explore their recent seismic retrofits as well as their histories.