A portion of the area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as Pioneer Woolen Mills and D. Ghirardelli Company.

The Roths hired landscape architect Lawrence Halprin[3] and the firm Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons to convert the square and its historic brick structures to an integrated restaurant and retail complex,[4] the first major adaptive re-use project in the United States.

In 1965, Benjamin Thompson and Associates renovated the lower floor of the Clock Tower, keeping the existing architectural elements, for a Design Research store.

[9] Lawrence Halprin's idea for Ghirardelli Square was to preserve the space within the urban setting and create an example for other U.S. cities, something which hadn't been done before.

[10] The cast bronze statue[11] in Ghirardelli Plaza, titled Andrea, was installed by San Francisco sculptor Ruth Asawa in 1968.

The fountain was met with condemnation from American landscape architect Lawrence Halprin who found the piece unserious and demanded its removal.

[10] After several years, a series of renovations had departed from Lawrence Halprin's original design intention, resulting in Ghirardelli Plaza becoming visually unappealing and less accessible.