In 1893 Domingo Ghirardelli purchased the entire city block in order to make it into the headquarters of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. In 1964 the square and its historic brick structures were restructured and turned into an integrated restaurant and retail complex, the first major adaptive re-use project in the United States. Ghirardelli Square is now a landmark public square with shops and restaurants in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The square once featured over forty specialty shops and restaurants, and some of the original shops and restaurants are still there.