Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Embarcadero Center – La Chiffonniere

Posted by Cindy on April 4, 2012

Apr 042012

Embarcadero Center * Jean Dubuffet – La Chiffonniere With “La Chiffonniere,” French artist Jean Dubuffet conveyed a woman dressed in rags by utilizing petal-like layers of curved stainless steel edged in epoxy Dubuffet (1901-1985) was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called “low art” and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making. He pioneered Art Brut, featuring amateur art made primarily by children and people in mental institutions, which he considered the purest form of expression. While not the Continue Reading

Lands End – Labyrinth

Posted by Cindy on April 3, 2012

Apr 032012

Land’s End * * This labyrinth is at Land’s End in San Francisco, on the Coastal Trail. Created by Eduardo Aguilera in 2004, it is a hike to get to but well worth the trek. The easiest hike is to park at the Palace of the Legion of Honor and walk towards the ocean. You can also park at the 48th and Point Lobos parking lot above the Cliff House and walk towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Once you start walking you are heading towards Mile Rock Beach. There is a small sign at the top of the hill that Continue Reading

Hayes Valley – Great Adventure

Posted by Cindy on April 2, 2012

Apr 022012

Hayes Valley/Western Addition Octavia and Page * This is Growing Home’s Community Garden, their mission is to provide a community garden where both homeless and housed San Franciscans work side-by-side to grow nutritious food, access green space, and build community. The mural on the back wall is by Ben Eine, he has several murals around San Francisco. In an interview with Proxy SF, Eine said this about the piece, “My problem with this wall was the width between the windows. The first letter I sketched up on this was the ‘E’ and then that gave me the size of each Continue Reading

Nob Hill – Pacific Union Club

Posted by Cindy on April 1, 2012

Apr 012012

Nob Hill Pacific Union Club Flood Mansion * This house, built in 1886 forJames Clair Flood, was the first Brownstone west of the Mississippi. It was the only great Nob Hill house to survive the 1906 Fire, saved just barely, thanks to its Connecticut brownstone walls. The Pacific Union Club purchased it’s shell and William Bourn, who was on the building committee, secured the reconstruction commission for Willis Polk. * * * * This bronze fence surrounding the property is the city’s finest; Flood allegedly employed one man just to polish it. With those days gone, it has been allowed to Continue Reading

Nob Hill – Dancing Sprites

Posted by Cindy on March 31, 2012

Mar 312012

Nob Hill Huntington Park * * * * Dancing Sprites by Henri Leon Greber – Bronze – Circa 1900 This statue sits on the California Street side of Huntington Park on the top of Nob Hill. It was donated to the city by Mrs. James Flood in 1942. It is owned by the San Francisco Arts Commission. Henri Léon Greber (1855-1941) was a French sculptor, and this work of his is a group of three nude children holding hands in a circle. A ribbon of cloth drapes around the children. They are dancing with legs uplifted. The bronze sculpture stands Continue Reading

Nob Hill – Fountain of the Turtles

Posted by Cindy on March 30, 2012

Mar 302012

Nob Hill Huntington Park * * * * * * Huntington Park has a rich history steeped in the building of the Trans-continental railroad. The railroad men of California constituted some of the richest men in San Francisco. They were known as the Big four and their names were, Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford, and Mark Hopkins. Their names will sound familiar even if all you know is the names of the hotels atop Nob Hill. This fountain is a copy of Rome’s Fontana della Tartarughe (fountain of the turtles) designed by Giacomo Della Porta and Taddeo Landini in Continue Reading

The Tenderloin – Safe Passage

Posted by Cindy on March 29, 2012

Mar 292012

The Tenderloin * * On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Chinatown Community Development Center teamed with community partners to paint a sidewalk mural, part of the “Safe Passage” project, in the Tenderloin neighborhood. “Safe Passage,” a two-part project that began in 2008, encourages community participation and effort to help improve street safety for children, and maintain a harmonious environment for all Tenderloin residents. The 11-block street mural of a bright yellow brick road provides children with visual guides around the neighborhood so they can walk safely to their schools, afterschool programs and homes without getting lost. The mural covers the Continue Reading

Broadway Tunnel Art

Posted by Cindy on March 28, 2012

Mar 282012

Chinatown Broadway Tunnel This is the Chinatown side of the Broadway Tunnel. It is dedicated to Robert C. Levy and has a plaque that reads: Robert C. Levy 1921-1985 City and Engineer and superintendent of Building Inspection City and County of San Francisco He devoted his life to high standards of professionalism in engineering and to this city which he loved January 1986 Dragon Relief by Patti Bowler – Bronze – 1969 The windows you see are the offices of San Francisco District Health Center #4 of Chinatown. Patti Bowler lived most of her life with her husband Carson in Continue Reading

SOMA – Federal Building

Posted by Cindy on March 27, 2012

Mar 272012

SOMA Federal Building 90 7th Street * This post is about the art that is part of the new Federal Building in San Francisco, however, it is difficult to discuss art without introducing you to the building itself. I abhor the building, and it is not because I have anything agains modern architecture, I just think this is classic cliche architecture, out of fashion the day it was built. However, here is Wikipedia’s discussion so we keep my opinion to a minimum. The San Francisco Federal Building is a building designed by the architectural firm Morphosis. Thom Mayne of Morphosis Continue Reading

Union Square – Dewey Monument

Posted by Cindy on March 26, 2012

Mar 262012

Union Square * Most everyone that visits San Francisco sees this piece of public art. Two years before the Gold Rush, in 1847, Jasper O’Farrell, the first surveyor of San Francisco, created a design for the city, with Union Square as a public plaza. By the 1880s, it was a fashionable residential district, and in 1903, this towering monument was added. A monument to Admiral George Dewey’s victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish American War. It also commemorates U.S. President William McKinley, who had been recently assassinated. The figurine at the top of the monument, “Winged Continue Reading

Union Square – Lamp Posts

Posted by Cindy on March 25, 2012

Mar 252012

Union Square * * * Union Square Collonade by Ron M. Fischer Union Square was built and dedicated by San Francisco’s first mayor, John Geary in 1850 and is so named for the pro-Union rallies that happened there before and during the United States Civil War. Since then, the plaza has undergone many notable changes with the first most significant change happening in 1903 with the dedication of a 97 ft tall monument to Admiral George Dewey’s victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish American War. The second major significant change happened between 1939-1941 when a large Continue Reading

Civic Center – Hiro II

Posted by Cindy on March 24, 2012

Mar 242012

Civic Center San Francisco War Memorial Opera House Hiro II by Peter Voulkos * This piece is actually owned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, it was acquired in 1971. Peter Voulkos was born January 29, 1924, in Bozeman, Montana to Greek-born parents, Efrosine and Harry Voulkos, and died February 16, 2002 in Bowling Green, Ohio. He first studied painting and ceramics at Montana State University (then Montana State College) in Bozeman, then earned an MFA degree from the California College of the Arts. He began his career producing functional dinnerware. He is most known for his ceramic Continue Reading

Civic Center – Hall McAllister

Posted by Cindy on March 23, 2012

Mar 232012

Civic Center * Hall McAllister by Robert Ingersoll Aitken – Bronze – 1904 Outside the north wall of City Hall, on McAllister Street coincidentally, is the figure of pioneer attorney Hall McAllister. McAlllister served as first presiding judge of the Circuit Board of the Pacific States from 1855-1862. The pediment reads: HALL MCALLISTER Leader of the California Bar Learned Able Eloquent Fearless Advocate A Courteous Foe The artist, Robert Ingersall Aitken, was born in San Francisco, California in 1878. Robert Ingersoll Aitken studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, in San Francisco, with Douglas Tilden. From 1901 until 1904 Continue Reading

Civic Center – Abraham Lincoln

Posted by Cindy on March 22, 2012

Mar 222012

Civic Center Front of San Francisco City Hall * * Abraham Lincoln by Haig Patigian – 1926 This statue of Abraham Lincoln by Mr. Patigian replaced a statue by P. Mazarra of Lincoln destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.”Lincoln was dead! A period of national mourning swept the nation immediately after his assassination. During this time, Pietro Mezzara–who was listed in the San Francisco city directory as a cameo cutter and a sculptor–began working on a clay model of a large statue of Lincoln.The Mechanics Institute was soon going to host a fair, and so the Institute suggested that Mezzara cast the statue Continue Reading

Civic Center – Henry Moore

Posted by Cindy on March 21, 2012

Mar 212012

Civic Center Davies Symphony Hall Corner Van Ness and Grove Street * * Large Four Piece Reclining Figure by Henry Moore – 1973 – Bronze This piece, by Henry Moore, sits prominently in the Civic Center, and an easy one to see and enjoy by anyone that visits San Francisco. In the early 1970s Moore produced a group of monumental sculptures relying heavily on the curve or arc as its principal motif. This work exemplifies the trend, its complex semi-abstract composition and highly polished bronze patina making it a ‘difficult’ work to read. The hollows, voids and truncated elements do, Continue Reading

Mission District Composite Mural

Posted by Cindy on March 20, 2012

Mar 202012

Mission District Side of 161 Erie * * This wall began with nothing but a Banksy, it was just the center tree with bird. Apparently the neighborhood artists decided to run with the theme and added more all in one day. While Chor Boogie’s bird, that is identifiable, all other artists remain unknown. A blogger at Gone Tommorrow has a wonderful time lapse video of the “art day”.

Golden Gate Park – William McKinely

Posted by Cindy on March 18, 2012

Mar 182012

The Panhandle Baker Street Between Oak and Fell * * * * William McKinely by Robert Ingersoll Aitken The Panhandle is a park that forms a panhandle with Golden Gate Park. The Panhandle is near the geographic center of the city, and forms the southern boundary of the Western Addition neighborhood and the northern boundary of the Haight Ashbury. The McKinley statue stands at the beginning of the Panhandle as you enter into Golden Gate Park. William McKinley was the 25th President who died on September 14, 1901 after being shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Just four months prior to Continue Reading

Lands End – Chinese Cemetery

Posted by Cindy on March 17, 2012

Mar 172012

Lincoln Park Golf Course Chinese Cemetery 1st and 13th Fairway * * * At the turn of the 20th century there were no municipal golf courses in San Francisco or, for that matter, in any of the surrounding communities. However by 1902 golf was fast gaining popularity, and many private golf and country clubs were starting. The general public, who did not have access or were unable to afford the country club setting for golfing recreation, began to press the City to set aside some public land to be groomed as a public golf course. In 1902 the parcel of Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Windmills

Posted by Cindy on March 16, 2012

Mar 162012

Golden Gate Park Windmills The North Windmill Queen Wilhelmina Park The Murphy Windmill The Murphy Windmill Today There are two windmills in Golden Gate Park that served a valuable purpose when they were built. When the park was first being developed the focus was on planting trees to stabilize the ocean dunes that covered three-quarters of the park’s area. The two windmills together pumped over 1 1/2 million gallons of water a day to help with this stabilization. In 1902, the park saw the completion of the Dutch windmill, or the North windmill. The design for the attraction came from Continue Reading

Kezar Stadium

Posted by Cindy on March 15, 2012

Mar 152012

Golden Gate Park Kezar Stadium * * * What it looked like originally Every San Francisco 49er faithful knows that this was the first home of the team. What they may not know is who played their first. An appropriation of $200,000 from the City of San Francisco and a $100,000 endowment by Mary Kezar in 1922 gave San Francisco Polytechnic School and San Francisco a football field. The stadium was designed by Willis Polk and built by contractor Palmer and McBride. Most stadiums are built from North to south so that a majority of the spectators don’t sit with Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Sharon Building

Posted by Cindy on March 14, 2012

Mar 142012

Golden Gate Park Sharon Building * * * * This delightful example of what some say is Victorian Romanesque architecture and others say is Richardsonian Romanesque, was designed by architects George Washington Percy and Frederick F. Hamilton. The building is the result of a $50,000 donation from silver baron, Nevada senator, and unscrupulous bank owner, William Sharon. The building and the intent of the donation, included a playground. The building was originally intended to give families with children a place to play indoors and have refreshments during inclement weather, it now houses the non-profit Sharon Art Studio, offering art classes in Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Verdi

Posted by Cindy on March 13, 2012

Mar 132012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * * * * Giuseppe Verdi by Orzio Grossoni March 23, 1914. The statue was dedicated to the sounds of the sweet voice of soprano Luisa Tetrazzini. She sang the aria from Aida to a reported audience of 20,000. The memorial was a gift of the Italian Community spearheaded by Ettore Patrizzi owner and publisher of San Francisco’s Italian newspaper L’Italia (published form 1887 to 1943). The subscription fund raised $15,000 for the statue and commissioned the work through a contest at the the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. The sculptor chosen was Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Robert Emmet

Posted by Cindy on March 12, 2012

Mar 122012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * Robert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland. He led an abortive rebellion against British rule in 1798. In 1803 he was captured, tried and executed for high treason. The Emmet statue shows the 25 year old making his famous “Speech from the Dock” during his sentencing. The artist was Gerome Connor who created the bronze in 1916. The statue was a gift of Senator James Duval Phelan. The piece was cast by the Bureau Brothers Foundry of Philadelphia and the granite pedestal and platform were Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Beethoven

Posted by Cindy on March 11, 2012

Mar 112012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * * As a gift from the Beethoven Men’s Choir, the dedication of this statue coincided with the attendance of the Choir at the Pan Pacific International Exposition and a grand concert of Beethoven’s works held at the Civic Auditorium that evening (August 6, 1915). The monument, which was draped in American and German flags for the unveiling is a replica of the Henry Baerer work that stands in Central Park. The bronze copy was cast at the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company of Mt. Vernon, NY. Heinrich Baerer was born in Kirchhain, Kurhessen, Germany, in 1837. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Pioneer Woman

Posted by Cindy on March 10, 2012

Mar 102012

Golden Gate Park * * * * Pioneer Woman and Children Charles Grafly 1915 This is the only statue of a woman in Golden Gate Park. It is the 1914 work of Charles Grafly. It was featured at the PPIE (Panama-Pacific International Exposition) in 1915 and then again at the GGIE (Golden Gate International Exposition) in 1939. In 1940 it was placed in Golden Gate Park near the Pioneer Log Cabin which has been in the Park since 1911. A 1915 article about the sculpture when it was at the Pan-Pacific International Exposition: The “Pioneer Mother” monument, by Charles Grafly, Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Thomas Starr King

Posted by Cindy on March 9, 2012

Mar 092012

Golden Gate Park JFK Drive * Thomas Starr King – Bronze – 1892 – by Daniel Chester French This statue was unveiled by Thomas Starr King’s grandchildren on October 26, 1892. Thomas Starr King was born December 17, 1824 Mr. King was an American Unitarian and Universalist minister, influential in California politics during the American Civil War. Starr King spoke zealously in favor of the Union and was credited by Abraham Lincoln with preventing California from becoming a separate republic. He wrote a book about Yosemite National Park, where there is a peak named for him. He died of diphtheria Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – John McClaren

Posted by Cindy on March 8, 2012

Mar 082012

Golden Gate Park Rhododendron Grove John McLaren, Supervisor of Golden Gate Park from 1890 until his death in 1943, detested statues. He hated them with such a passion that he defied the City authorities and persisted in his lifelong crusade to keep Golden Gate Park statue-free. It is fitting, then, that for his efforts McLaren was immortalized in the form of–what else? –a statue, which may be found near the entrance to the Rhododendron Dell that bears his name. Interestingly, the McLaren statue is placed at the very back of a hedged-off grassy space, far from the gaze of visitors. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Father Junipero Serra

Posted by Cindy on March 7, 2012

Mar 072012

Golden Gate Park Father Junipero Serra by Douglas Tilden This is Father Junipero Serra, one of the most studied men in California history. Born November 24, 1713, Serra was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the chain of missions that go from Mexico to San Francisco, California, he died August 28, 1784. Father Serra was such a vital part of California history, that every public school child in California learns of his life. The shrubbery has grown up to cover most of the friar but his base, designed by architect Edgar A. Mathews, reads Padre Junipero Serra – Founder Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Doughboy

Posted by Cindy on March 6, 2012

Mar 062012

Golden Gate Park JFK Drive Heroes Redwood Grove This grove is dedicated to the memory of the members of the San Francisco Parlors, Native sons of the Golden West who gave their lives in the World’s War I and II. The meadow adjacent to this grove and the Doughboy Statue with laurel wreath are easy to notice while passing by on JFK Drive, but the redwood grove itself is visited less often. The trees were planted in 1930 in honor of war casualties, and have since grown enough to create a dense, shady grove. The sculpture was by M. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – General Pershing

Posted by Cindy on March 5, 2012

Mar 052012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse A tribute to General Pershing and the victorious armies of the United States and her co-belligerents during the World War 1914-1918 Presented by Dr. Morris Herzstein 1922 Bronze by Haig Patagian * Haig Patigian is noted for his classical works, which are especially numerous in public venues in San Francisco, California. Patigian was born in Van, Armenia, which at that time was under Turkish rule. Haig was the son of Avedis and Marine Patigian. His parents, teachers in a missionary school, wanted their two sons to find freedom in the growing United States. When Patigian’s Continue Reading

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