Under Mayor Tom McEnery in the 1980s the agency drove a downtown revival, building hotels, offices, museums, theaters and parks and saving some landmarks, such as the Hotel De Anza and the Hotel Montgomery. It also cleared historic buildings and widened streets, and its 1980s work at the plaza uncovered the remains of the Market Street Chinatown.
Questions people ask
What did the Redevelopment Agency build downtown?
Among other things, the Fairmont and Circle of Palms, the Paseo de San Antonio and the Hammer Theatre.
Did it save old buildings?
Some: it restored the Hotel De Anza and moved the Hotel Montgomery, but it demolished others.