Embarcadero and nearby Montgomery Street stations are typically the two busiest in the BART system.

A major Bay Area transit hub, Embarcadero is also served by numerous bus routes of several other agencies which stop above the station and on surrounding streets.

The station was designed by chief BART architect Tallie Maule and Hertzka & Knowles & Associates in collaboration with Parsons Brinckerhoff, Tudor Construction, and Bechtel.

[2][11] In 1998 a new southward extension was opened, extending the N Judah along the Embarcadero to the Caltrain station at 4th and King Streets.

[15] The Jazz Man was actually a fugitive from Albuquerque facing capital murder charges stemming from the 1987 death of his wife Diedre.

[18] The entrances on the southern side of the station were closed from April 13, 2020, to May 15, 2021, due to low ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[28] Bathrooms at underground BART stations were closed after the September 11 attacks due to security concerns.

The bathroom at Embarcadero station reopened on June 30, 2023, after a renovation, with an attendant on duty during all operating hours.

[30]: 3, 6  Wall Canyon, a 37-foot (11 m)-high colored ceramic relief by Stephen De Staebler, is partially hidden behind a staircase at the southwest end of the station.

[31] A duotone granite portrait of Tallie Maule – the chief architect of the original BART system – is on the mezzanine level.

Created by Barbara Shawcroft, the orange-and-white Nomex sculpture moved with the breeze from passing Muni and BART trains.

[34] The sculpture was removed in June 2014 and returned to Shawcroft – a professor emerita at UC Davis School of Design – who planned to repurpose it into other pieces.

Other transit agencies that stop nearby include SamTrans (292, 397, 398, 713, FCX) and PresidiGo (Downtown Shuttle).