It's almost over for the Transbay Terminal. You can still visit this week, but don't expect access to the hidden bits, like the curvaceous Cuddles Bar. Databong's outstanding images tell the story. Built at the end of the Depression and the beginning of WWII, it was as austere and utilitarian as the Bay Bridge for which it was the terminus. Inside, there are no traces of decorative tile or reliefs or even an interesting paint job, especially if you compare it to the contemporaneous Rincon Post Office down the block. It's bleak. What really sealed this building's fate is the disappearance of the immense upper entry hall that spanned the width of the building and rose over the height of the windows. In the 1950's the track level was extended into entrance hall to accommodate Greyhound (see the train in the upper level, above) dividing it in half horizontally and obliterating any potential for grandeur. So much for adaptive reuse. After all, it was completely lacking in fish-scale shingles, stained glass and bay windows- or even slightly subversive WPA murals.
· Goodbye Transbay Terminal [Timothy Pflueger]
· Transbay Terminal [Databong, via Flickr]
· Rincon Center [Wikipedia]
· Historical Album [Transbay Center]
· Transbay Terminal: Not Always Useless, Ugly, Old and Smelly [Curbed SF Archive]
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