The Hunter Dunlin Building in the French Romanesque Style

 Posted by on February 5, 2013
Feb 052013
 
The Hunter Dunlin Building in the French Romanesque Style

111 Sutter Street The Financial District 111 Sutter Street, or the Hunter Dulin Building, is a terra-cotta clad building modeled on a French château. This 22-story French Romanesque building is topped with a 38-foot high mansard roof sporting both dormers and gables. The building was designed by New York architecture firm Shultze and Weaver for Los Angeles brokerage house Hunter Dulin. When it was built in 1927, it was the fourth-highest building in San Francisco. Shultze and Weaver were known for such American icons as the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, the Biltmore in Los Angeles and the Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. Continue Reading

The Adam Grant Building

 Posted by on January 19, 2013
Jan 192013
 
The Adam Grant Building

114 Sansome Street Financial District The garland façade, as well as the coffered entryway, were removed in the 1960s. Over the course of its 145-year history, the Adam Grant Building at 114 Sansome Street has gone through several iterations. Constructed in 1867, the first building housed the dry goods business of Daniel Murphy and Adam Grant. Architect John Gaynor incorporated 250 tons of iron into this four-story brick structure located  at the  corner of Sansome and Bush Streets.  As a result, the 1868 Joint Committee on Earthquakes honored Gaynor, citing his structure as an exemplar of earthquake-resistant building. Ironically, exemplar Continue Reading

450 Sutter, A Mayan Palace

 Posted by on December 22, 2012
Dec 222012
 
450 Sutter, A Mayan Palace

450 Sutter Street is San Francisco’s monument to the Mayan Revival branch of Art Deco. Art Deco draws on a variety of sources including Art Nouveau, Cubism and the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Art Deco celebrates the technological wonders of the early 20th century, the frivolities of the roaring twenties, and the hard times of the Great Depression. Art Deco is commonly divided into three related design trends: Streamline Moderne, Classical Moderne and Zigzag Moderne. Zigzag, represented by angular patterns and stylized geometry, flourished in large cities and was primarily used for public and commercial buildings. The Mayan Revival (also Continue Reading

Ghost Figures of the Financial District

 Posted by on November 18, 2012
Nov 182012
 
Ghost Figures of the Financial District

580 California at Kearney Financial District This building sits on the corner of Kearny and California Streets. It has twelve untitled figures along the four top edges resembling ghost forms wrapped in long cloth garments. They were created by the sculptress Muriel Castanis from 1982-85 for a commission by the building architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee. The sculptures are made of molded fiberglass, selected due to its strength, light weight (1200-1300 lbs. each) and weathering properties. The three female figures in each tableau are reproduced on each of the four sides of the building. Muriel Brunner Castanis (September 27, 1926 Continue Reading

University of Wisdom in the Financial District

 Posted by on October 10, 2012
Oct 102012
 
University of Wisdom in the Financial District

310 Battery Street Financial District Embarcadero * This piece sits on the other side of the Old Federal Reserve Building from Dionysus and Hermes, also by Armand Arman. The French-born American artist Arman told an interviewer in 1968. “I have never been — how do you say it? A dilettante.” Arman’s vast artistic output ranges from drawings and prints to monumental public sculpture. His work—strongly influenced by Dada, and in turn a strong influence on Pop Art—is in the collections of such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London and the Centre Continue Reading

Mark Twain and his Jumping Frogs

 Posted by on October 7, 2012
Oct 072012
 
Mark Twain and his Jumping Frogs

Foot of the Transamerica Pyramid 600 Montgomery Financial District * Frog Pond by Richard Clopton Bronze 1996 Redwood Park Transplanted from the Santa Cruz Mountains 60 miles to the south, magnificent redwoods dominate this park designed by Tom Galli. The fountain designed by Anthony Guzzardo is decorated with the jumping frog sculptures, in a fond remembrance of Mark Twain, who for a time lived and wrote on this site. Richard Clopton (1945- ) has his studio in Richmond, California. Training in the life sciences and the technical and aesthetic demands of a career in dentistry combined with an interest in the natural world Continue Reading

200 California Street

 Posted by on September 23, 2012
Sep 232012
 
200 California Street

200 California Street Financial District Hawaiian by Gwynn Murrill – Bronze- 2002 This is part of San Francisco’s 1% for Art Program. San Francisco’s “Downtown Plan” adopted in 1985, was developed under the fundamental assumption that significant employment and office development growth would occur. New commercial development would provide new revenue sources to cover a portion of the costs of necessary urban service improvements. Specific programs were created to satisfy needs for additional housing, transit, childcare, open space, and art. The public art requirement created by this plan is commonly known as the “1% for Art” program. This requirement, governed by Section Continue Reading

Hermes and Dionysus Shake it Up

 Posted by on August 30, 2012
Aug 302012
 
Hermes and Dionysus Shake it Up

411 Sansome Street Financial District * * This bronze, done in 1986, titled Hermes and Dionysus-Monument to Analysis is by Arman. (1928-2005)  The French-born American artist Arman told an interviewer in 1968. “I have never been — how do you say it? A dilettante.” Arman’s vast artistic output ranges from drawings and prints to monumental public sculpture. His work—strongly influenced by Dada, and in turn a strong influence on Pop Art—is in the collections of such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Born in Nice Continue Reading

Dancing Dahlias on Claude Lane

 Posted by on August 27, 2012
Aug 272012
 
Dancing Dahlias on Claude Lane

8 Claude Lane Union Square/Financial District * This mural, (on  the outside of Claudine Restaurant) is by Vogue TDK.  According to an interview he did with 1:AM he got into graffiti in late 1984, after school, I turned on the TV to the local PBS station and caught the start of the documentary “Style Wars”.  There was a scene where there was a MTA train moving down the tracks, then the train curves to show some graff and that was it.  I was hooked and knew that is what I was going to do. As far as why he is the Continue Reading

Pacific Bird

 Posted by on July 3, 2012
Jul 032012
 
Pacific Bird

Golden Gateway Embarcadero/Financial District 551 Battery Street * Pacific Bird by Seymour Lipton  1961 Seymour Lipton (1903-1986) was an American abstract expressionist sculptor. He was a member of the New York School who gained widespread recognition in the 1950s. Lipton was interested in art as an adolescent. Although his high school teachers wanted Lipton to pursue art, his parents encouraged him in his decision to study electrical engineering at the Brooklyn Polytechnical Institute and later to pursue a course of study in the liberal arts at New York’s City College. After college, Lipton continued his education in the field of Continue Reading

Financial District- Fire Station #13

 Posted by on June 23, 2012
Jun 232012
 
Financial District- Fire Station #13

Fire Station #13 Financial District 530 Sansome Street * Untitled by Henri Marie-Rose 1969 Henri Marie-Rose (1922-2010) born in François, Martinique, the son of Appien Constance Raymonde and Quentin Joseph Marie-Rose Dite Cétoute, Henri Marie-Rose Dite Cétoute, who later simply went by Henri Marie-Rose, was a San Francisco resident for 58 years, living initially in North Beach before settling on Potrero Hill. He attended the École des Arts et Métiers and the École des Arts Appliqués in Martinique. He had three one man shows in 1940, 1942 and 1943 and was appointed Attaché Culturel au Projet d’Urbanisme, Shortly thereafter, he Continue Reading

Financial District – Guardian by Bruce Beasley

 Posted by on February 11, 2012
Feb 112012
 
Financial District - Guardian by Bruce Beasley

Financial District 600 California Street  Guardian by Bruce Beasley –  Bronze – 1992 Made possible by the 1% for Public Art Program This sits at the top of the stairs of a public space that you enter through Kent Roberts’ Bridges. Bruce Beasley (1939) is an American abstract expressionist sculptor born in Los Angeles and living and working in Oakland,  He attended Dartmouth and UC Berkeley.  He has a wonderful sense of humor that can be experienced by visiting his website. With an artist that had a 45 year retrospective in 2005 he has a large body of highly versatile Continue Reading

Financial District – Three Bridges by Kent Roberts

 Posted by on February 10, 2012
Feb 102012
 
Financial District - Three Bridges by Kent Roberts

Financial District 600 California Street  Three Bridges by Kent Roberts – 1992 Public Art made possible by the 1% for Public Art Program  Kent Roberts has appeared in this site before.  Roberts has a BFA and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute.  He also has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Mexico. He presently works at SFMOMA.

Financial District – The General Harrison

 Posted by on January 21, 2012
Jan 212012
 
Financial District - The General Harrison

Financial District 425 Battery Street The General Harrison by Curtis Hollenback and Topher Delany The financial district of San Francisco was built on mudflats. At one time, the muddy shoreline came up to Montgomery Street. The mudflats were riddled with hulls of abandoned ships left by their crews when they headed for the gold in the California hills. These ships were often used as hotels, jails, stores, and warehouses. In 2001, one of these ships, the General Harrison, was uncovered at the corner of Clay and Battery Streets; today the Elephant & Castle Pub sits atop the remains of the hull. Continue Reading

Pacific Coast Stock Exchange

 Posted by on November 8, 2011
Nov 082011
 
Pacific Coast Stock Exchange

Financial District Pacific Coast Stock Exchange The Pacific Stock Exchange began life as a classical U.S. Treasury building, then in the 1930’s, Timothy Pflueger was hired to turn it into the Stock Exchange.  He was growing weary of classicism but was instructed that the granite stairs and the ten Tuscan columns had to remain.  The building was essentially torn town, leaving the front we see today.  Then Pflueger met Ralph Stackpole, and a wonderful working relationship was formed. Stackpole created the medallions on the entablature, as well as the two gorgeous art deco statues that grace the sides of the Continue Reading

Bankers Heart

 Posted by on August 27, 2011
Aug 272011
 
Bankers Heart

Financial District – San Francisco 555 California Street This is in the center of A.P. Giannini Plaza.  A.P. Giannini was born in San Jose, California and was the Italian American founder of the Bank of America.  He founded the Bank of Italy in 1904.  The bank was housed in a converted saloon directly across the street from the Columbus Savings & Loan as an institution for the “little fellow”. It was a new bank for the hardworking immigrants other banks would not serve. He offered those ignored customers savings accounts and loans, judging them not by how much money they Continue Reading

Sydney Walton Park

 Posted by on July 5, 2011
Jul 052011
 
Sydney Walton Park

This is one of the entries to Sydney Walton Park in the Embarcadero Area of San Francisco.  It sits surrounded by Jackson, Pacific, Davis and Front Streets.  This wonderful park is full of art, and history.  It is just a marvelous oasis in the middle of lots and lots of high rises.  You will also find Kokkari Restaurant across the street on Jackson, one of the best Greek restaurants you will ever have the pleasure of dining in. The Arch above is the Colombo Market Arch on Front Street, it is the only structural piece remaining from the old San Francisco Continue Reading

Icons of San Francisco – Transamerica Pyramid

 Posted by on May 20, 2011
May 202011
 
Icons of San Francisco - Transamerica Pyramid

,  An iconic image for San Francisco, the Transamerica Pyramid.  It was designed by architect William Pereira, and when it was first built it engendered considerable argument.  You either hated it or loved it, there seemed to be no in between.    Forty Eight stories or 850 feet tall, it was among the five tallest buildings in the world when it was completed in 1972.  The Transamerica company was bought out by a Dutch firm, and no longer exists.  The Dutch company however, still owns the building. There are so many fascinating facts about this building. The base of the building contains Continue Reading

Edgar Walter and Electric Power

 Posted by on March 29, 2001
Mar 292001
 
Edgar Walter and Electric Power

Pacific Gas and Electric Building 245 Market Street Embarcadero/Financial District Above the arched entryway to the Pacific Gas and Electric building is this bas-relief depicting the primary activities of the company, hydroelectric power.  At the top is a waterworks with water pouring through three openings symbolizing the “falling waters” that come from the mountains.  This sign is flanked with two kneeling men facing the center.  Under the base is a head of a grizzly bear, set amidst foliage, claws showing over the rim of the archway. The sculptor for this entry way was Edgar Walter. Edgar Walter  was born in Continue Reading

245 Market Standing As A Remembrance of Skyscrapers of Old

 Posted by on March 29, 2001
Mar 292001
 
245 Market Standing As A Remembrance of Skyscrapers of Old

245 Market Street Financial District / Embarcadero The seventeen story Pacific Gas and Electric Company General Office Building, designed by Bakewell & Brown and built between 1923 and 1925, is one of a series of skyscrapers built during the 1910s and 1920s which imparted to San Francisco its downtown character. This character of large ornamented classic buildings is fast being lost with newer modern style buildings.  245 Market was also one of the first steel skyscrapers built in San Francisco. The building was enlarged in 1945-1947 to the design of Arthur Brown, Jr. The addition, which has its own address at 25 Beale Street, Continue Reading

Fountain at One Bush Plaza

 Posted by on March 27, 2001
Mar 272001
 
Fountain at One Bush Plaza

Financial District One Bush Plaza Crown Zellerbach Building This beautiful and timeless fountain was made in 1959. It was a creation of artist David Tolerton.  Tolerton was born in 1907 and died of natural causes at 93. His father came to the Bay area in 1915 and owned an art gallery on Sutter Street in San Francisco.   Tolerton studied philosophy at Stanford University from 1926 until 1928, then attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where he also taught.  He also studied ironworking in France, Spain, Italy and Germany. His work was almost exclusively in metal, but apparently he spent some time Continue Reading

Woman in Bronze

 Posted by on March 27, 2001
Mar 272001
 
Woman in Bronze

Financial District One Bush Plaza Woman in Bronze Marcello Mascherini 1959 Marcello Mascherini was an Italian sculptor, born in Padua, who lived from 1906 to 1983.  While an extremely famous sculptor in his time, little is written about him today.  Marcello Mascherini was a prolific sculptor who made an impact on Italian art. Mascherini’s sculptures are on display in Rome at Palazzo Montecitorio where they have rested since after his death in 1969. This particular sculpture was mentioned in Life Magazine’s “Life Guide – Art in Buildings” in 1963.

One Bush Plaza and Its Environs

 Posted by on March 26, 2001
Mar 262001
 
One Bush Plaza and Its Environs

1 Bush Plaza Market Street Area One Bush Plaza, also known as the Crown Zellerbach Building, stands as a monument to International Style. International style is a phase of Modern architecture that began at the beginning of the 20th century, and continues as a dominant style in corporate and institutional structures in the 21st century. The term originated from the book International Style (1952). The book documented the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture held at MOMA in New York City in 1932. International Style encompasses three elements: expression of volume rather than mass, emphasis on balance rather than preconceived symmetry, and expulsion Continue Reading

Escalieta 1

 Posted by on March 24, 2001
Mar 242001
 
Escalieta 1

SOMA Financial District 49 Stevenson  Escalieta 1 by Manuel Neri –  Marble – 1985 This is public art created by the 1% Public Art Program Manuel Neri (born April 12, 1930) is an American sculptor, painter, and printmaker and a notable member of the “second generation” of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. Neri was born in Sanger, California, to immigrant parents who had fled Mexico during political unrest following the Mexican Revolution. He began attending college at San Francisco City College in 1950, initially studying to be an electrical engineer. After taking a class in ceramics, he was inspired to Continue Reading

Market Street’s Flatiron Building

 Posted by on March 23, 2001
Mar 232001
 
Market Street's Flatiron Building

Flat Iron Building 540 Market Street Market Street / Financial District Built in 1913 the Flatiron Building was designed by Havens & Toepke.  It is one of the few, and most distinctive extant flatirons on Market Street. Flatirons were common north of Market both before and after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, but the destruction of  many of them such   as the 1892 Crocker Building at Post and Market for high-rises has made them rare. The skeletal structure of the building is well-adapted to an unusual (for San Francisco) Gothic treatment in which three-part bays are separated by thin Continue Reading

Market Street Angel

 Posted by on March 17, 2001
Mar 172001
 
Market Street Angel

720 Market Street Angel by Stephen de Staebler Kenneth Baker of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote this in 2002 “Several years ago a winged bronze figure by Bay Area’s sculptor Stephen de Staebler appeared without fanfare, nestled against a building facade on Market Street. Looking gnawed by time, as de Stabler’s figures typically do, it reads as an elegy for the waning of humanism, in the symbolic form of a ruined angel. By not overreaching in scale, content or its bid for attention, the piece achieves an improbable grandeur ” *   From DeStaebler’s obituary in the New York Times: Continue Reading

Art at One Market Street

 Posted by on January 18, 2000
Jan 182000
 
Art at One Market Street

1 Market Street The Embarcadero San Francisco has many laws regarding open space and art work. This piece sits just inside the doors of 1 Market Street. Both pieces of this installation are available to view through the windows, or are available to see up close between 7:00 am and 6:30 pm. This installation is part of the POPOS and the 1% for Art programs. Privately-owned public open spaces (POPOS) are publicly accessible spaces in forms of plazas, terraces, atriums, small parks, and even snippets that are provided and maintained by private developers. In San Francisco, POPOS mostly appear in Continue Reading

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