Chocolate and Culture at San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square
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All chocolate lovers will have a visit to Ghirardelli Square on their list when they visit San Francisco, but this destination has something for everybody. Although the square is named after the famous Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, there are all kinds of shops and historical sights to be found there. Back in the early 1900s, Domingo Ghirardelli built the chocolate building, the cocoa building, the clock tower and the power house that today form the cultural hub that is Ghirardelli Square.
After chocolate production was moved out of town, the factory was transformed into a courtyard of shops and restaurants. Ghirardelli Square itself was placed on the National Historic Register in 1982, and quickly became a popular San Francisco attraction. It’s easy to get to, being just a couple of blocks west of Fisherman’s Wharf, on North Point Street between Beach Street and Larkin Street.
And for the chocolate lovers: Although they don’t manufacture Ghirardelli chocolate here these days, the flagship store of the company, Ghirardelli Chocolate Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop, is locatedhere. You also can see original chocolate manufacturing equipment being used and both eat and drink its products. And the smell is fantastic!