Justin Herman Plaza

On the second leg of the Joshua Tree US Tour, U2 decided to have a spontaneous “Save The Yuppies” free concert at Justin Herman Plaza, so on November 11, 1987 about 20,000 people gathered within minutes to see them.

During the song “Pride (In the Name of Love)” Bono spray painted the slogan “Rock’n’Roll Stops The Traffic” onto a sculpture/waterfall next to the impromptu stage. The scene is forever captured in their 1989 movie “Rattle and Hum”.

San Francisco’s Recreations and Parks Commission voted in November of 2017 to remove the name of former city planner Justin Herman from the plaza ending a decades-long argument about whether it’s appropriate to honor Herman, whose policies shaped modern San Francisco but also wiped out underserved communities. It is now simply known as “Embarcadero Plaza“.

Other Notable Acts That Played at Justin Herman Plaza Include:

9/10/2015 – Train
2/7/2007 – Jefferson Starship
10/21/2002 – Sammy Hagar
6/16/1995 – Tower of Power
4/3/1995 – Radiohead
4/14/1993 – Belly
7/25/1989 – Tim Finn
7/21/1978 – Greg Kihn Band

Justin Herman Plaza
1 Market Street
San Francisco CA 94105