Category: All of SAN FRANCISCO
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Hans Shiller Plaza
Corner of Peabody and Leland Visitation Valley Opening in March 2001, Hans Schiller Plaza was the first Visitacion Valley Greenway site to be completed. Construction was supervised by the Trust for Public Land with funding from the Columbia Foundation founded by the late Madeleine Haas Russell. The gift was made in memory of her friend…
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Decorator’s Showcase
Palmer Weiss commissioned Michael H. Casey to design the base for the breakfast nook table she used in the 2010 Decorator’s Showcase. Palmer was a true professional and delight to work with, sadly many designers looking for a bargain on the table afterwards were not as professional. The table was originally sculpted in clay…
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St. Mark and St. Matthew of Grace Cathedral
Grace Cathedral 1100 California Street San Francisco, California Michael H. Casey was honored to have been chosen to sculpt both Saint Mark and Saint Matthew for Grace Cathedral in 2001 – 2002. He always felt he was chosen due to the fact that he mentioned seismic stability during his interview. The sculptures were life sized, originally…
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Females Grace the Olympic Club
665 Sutter Street The Olympic Club Parking Garage Union Square I have showed you the figures at the front of the Olympic Club here. But at the back, the entry to the parking garage, are 9 female nudes. The sculptures are by Michelle Gregor. Michelle has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from University of California,…
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Ndebele
1601 Griffith Street BayView / Hunters Point This abstract sculpture composed of three vertical elements, is titled Ndebele and is by Fran Martin. It was installed in 1987. I have tried three times over many many months to find this piece. It is listed at the pump station but it is actually on the side…
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Heron’s Head Park
Heron’s Head Park Evans and Jennings Bay View / Hunter’s Point Heron’s Head Park was “born” in the early 1970s, when the Port began filling the bay to construct what was to be the Pier 98 shipping terminal. The terminal construction never materialized, and the peninsula remained undeveloped. Over years of settlement and exposure to…
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SFAC Shame on You
1351 24th Avenue Outer Sunset This travesty sits in front of the San Francisco Department of Public Health Building. The only photograph I could find was through the Smithsonian Institute. The sculpture, titled Sailor and Mermaid, originally was made of copper sheets, cut, pounded, and welded, with bronze. It sits on a concrete pad. It was…
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An Ode to the Automobile
Mason and O’Farrell Streets Union Square The construction of the Downtown Center Garage, now the Mason O’Farrell Garage, harkens back to when the automobile was king. San Francisco now has a Transit First Policy which specifically gives priority to public transit and other alternatives to the private automobile as the means of meeting San Francisco’s transportation…
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The Rialto Building
116 New Montgomery South of Market I became intrigued with this building when a friend showed me this Black and White photo in the lobby of the Rialto. (Note: the round building on the left is the Crossley building) The Rialto is an eight-story H-shaped plan with center light courts. It has a steel frame…
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Covering Construction
4th and Folsom South of Market This piece, sponsored by the SFAC, is by Randy Colosky. It is titled Ellipses in the Key of Blue. According to Randy’s Website: Ellipses is the Key of Blue is 140 ft. long x 8 ft. tall, digitally printed and drawing mounted on plywood. According to the sign on the…
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The Sundial at Ingleside Terrace
Entrada Court Ingleside Terrace What is now Ingleside Terraces was the southwestern most portion of San Miguel Rancho, bordered on the west by Rancho Laguna de la Merced. Rancho Laguna de la Merced and San Miguel Rancho were apparently the last of the Mexican “ranchos” to be incorporated in what we now know as…
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San Francisco Flower Market
San Francisco Flower Market 6th and Brannan SOMA With the face of San Francisco changing so very rapidly right now, I thought I would take a look at a block of buildings that has been a stalwart in the South of Market area serving an single industry, the San Francisco Flower Market. There are…
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Thomas Houseago
Foundry Square 1st and Howard These two sculptures are by Thomas Houseago. The standing is titled Boy III and the one laying is Sleeping Boy. These are both white coated bronze. Photo Courtesy of the San Francisco Planning Commission This information about the artist comes from the San Francisco Planning Commission. Thomas Houseago was born…
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Sargent Johnson Tile’s the Maritime Museum
Maritime Museum Aquatic Park This 14′ x 125′ glazed tile mural was created by Sargent Johnson in 1939 with the help of FAP (Federal Art Project) funds. The east end, however, is incomplete. When the project began, the building was to be a publicly-accessible bathhouse. However, shortly after it opened, the City leased a majority…
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Arelious Walker Stairway
Innes Avenue Bay View / Hunters Point This was the proposal that was written for the Call for Artists by the SFAC: The Arelious Walker Drive Stair replacement is a dynamic community project in partnership with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the Department of Public Works to create ceramic tile mosaic steps on the…
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Exultadagio
San Francisco Conservatory of Music 50 Oak Street Civic Center Fulfilling the 1% for public art requirement for private development in San Francisco, this glass curtain wall of the music school includes 8” deep horizontal and vertical glass fins. A dichroic glass bevel at the front edge of each fin casts colored light across the…
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Reflections
680 Folsom Street SOMA East of 5th This piece by Gordon Huether is titled Reflections. It is part of the 1% for Art program in San Francisco. According to his website Gordon Huether was born in Rochester, NY in 1959, to German immigrant parents. Having dual citizenship in Germany and the U.S., Huether has spent much…
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Marine Firemen’s Union
240 2nd Street SOMA East of 5th The Pacific Coast Marine Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders and Wipers Association often referred to as the Marine Firemen’s Union is an American labor union of mariners working aboard U.S. flag vessels. The Marine Firemen’s Union is an affiliate union of Seafarers International Union.The union was formed in San Francisco,…
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Rain Portal
SFPUC Building 525 Golden Gate Avenue Civic Center Rain Portal by Ned Kahn. Kahn has several pieces around San Francisco that you can read about here. Ned Kahn’s Rain Portal is located inside the lobby of the new Public Utilities building. Kahn’s Firefly graces the exterior of the building and you can read about it here. Rain…
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Peace
154 McAllister Street Civic Center According to Reka’s own website: James Reka – Melbourne, Australia Self-taught artist James Reka is a young contemporary Australian artist based in Berlin, Germany. His origins lie in the alleyways and train lines of Melbourne’s inner-suburbs where he spent over a decade refining his now-emblematic aesthetic. His character work…
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Island Fever
50 8th Street SOMA/Civic Center I am a huge fan of Lady Mags and Amanda Lynn, and they have been on this website many times. I have also been walking by this piece for quite a while, admiring it and yet not quite having a chance to take pictures when it wasn’t blocked by…
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McDowell Hall
McDowell Hall Franklin Street Fort Mason Marina District Fort Mason was originally called Fort Point San Jose According to a 2005 Historic American Buildings Survey Quarters 1 was built in 1877. General Irvin McDowell secured $9,998.74 from Congress to construct Quarters 1. This building was not named McDowell Hall until July 1958, in…
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Atlantis and Mu
Maritime Museum Aquatic Park The interior of the museum is painted with a large mural by Hilaire Hiler, These murals depict the mythic continents of Atlantis and Mu. Many know the story of Atlantis, but Mu is not as well known. Mu is the name of a suggested lost continent whose concept and the name were proposed…
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Spirogyrate
Terminal Three SFO Post TSA One weekend in January 2014 the city of San Francisco and the contractors opened the new Terminal Three to the public before it went live. I used the opportunity to capture as much public art as I could before you had to buy an airline ticket to get access to…
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Love and Marriage San Francisco Style
City Hall South Light Court In 2004, San Francisco General Hospital launched Hearts in San Francisco to generate revenue to support its numerous programs. This heart, in City Hall’s South light court, was part of that program. Designed by Deborah Oropallo the interlocking Heart, titled LOVE + MARRIAGE, was sponsored by Ambassador James Hormel and Timothy…
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Sargent Johnson and Aquatic Park
Maritime Museum Aquatic Park This carved sandstone entry to the Maritime Museum was done as a Federal Arts Project (FAP) by Sargent Johnson. Johnson was in this site before for the log. This building was originally a New Deal WPA (Works Progress Administration) building called the Aquatic Park Bathhouse. Construction began in 1936 and the…
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Judge James Seawell
Second Floor City Hall Civic Center The San Francisco Call ran this article on November 8, 1898: Judge James M. Seawell. No better nomination has been made by any party than that of Judge James M. Seawell, one of the Democratic candidates for Superior Judge. During the six years he has served in that capacity…
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Sky
San Francisco International Airport Terminal 3 Post TSA This is Sky by Merge Conceptual Design. Merge Conceptual Design is comprised of Franka Diehnelt and Claudia Reisenberger who are both architecture graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, and currently teach at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Sky is a suspended light sculpture comprised of…
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Dianne Feinstein
City Hall Mayors Balcony Civic Center Dianne Feinstein was the head of the Board of Supervisors on the day that Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were tragically assassinated. She instantly became Mayor. This sculpture (the second of Dianne Feinstein to sit in City Hall) was done in 1996 by Lisa Reinertson. According to…
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City Hall in Wood
City Hall South Light Court Civic Center This is one of five wooden models that Don Potts did for the 1982 AIA Convention. The pieces were later purchased by the City and four are now on display in City Hall. You can read about the first two here. Don was a meticulous artist. Another renown…