Curbed SF - Salesforce Tower: Everything you need to know about San Francisco’s tallest buildingLove where you live2019-06-13T11:37:11-07:00http://sf.curbed.com/rss/stream/165673352019-06-13T11:37:11-07:002019-06-13T11:37:11-07:00Salesforce Tower’s new top-floor tour dates sell out in record time
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<img alt="Salesforce Tower tours open" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jKUXgo2z0jLWCK0DTlcIv7Y_KYk=/213x0:3658x2584/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64000353/shutterstock_1108759433__1_.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Salesforce Tower towers above the rest. | Photo by Shutterstock</figcaption>
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<p>Alas.</p> <p id="xfL5cU">Update: They’re booked out completely. </p>
<p id="ldemqs">“In record time, all Salesforce Tower Ohana Floor tours for the community are full through January 2020, notes the <a href="https://salesforcetowertours.com/">Salesforce Tower tours site</a>. “Later this winter, we will be adding additional dates in 2020 for you to sign up.”</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="fMD91G">
<p id="xkdYqm">When Salesforce Tower opened the top floor (nee Ohana Floor) of its 1,070-foot tall high-rise <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2019/2/5/18212154/salesforce-tower-free-public-tour-info-times-dates">to the public in February</a>, bookings filled up fast. So much so that tours sold out until August in mere hours. </p>
<p id="AviIGM">Today a new batch of free public tours have opened until January 2020.</p>
<p id="4o3OpR">Tours, which will happen the last Saturday of each month, will start August 24 through January 25. Visitors can grab a spot at the official <a href="https://salesforcetowertours.com/">Salesforce Tower tours site</a>. </p>
<p id="qf33CI">What can you expect to see? A lot. Located on the 61st floor of the Bay Area’s tallest office building, Salesforce’s Ohana Floor is a two-story space with a kitchen, bars, conference rooms, foliage, stylized bathrooms, and 360-degree views of the bay. </p>
<h5 id="3XaGNf">How long are tours?</h5>
<p id="w1aRVK">One hour.</p>
<h5 id="vLlRy1">How many people can attend a tour?</h5>
<p id="yZ281t">Up to five per party.</p>
<h5 id="YJBkZI">How many tours will be offered per tour day?</h5>
<p id="LI24Nk">Four tours will be offered each day.</p>
<h5 id="IySb53">Are walk-ins allowed?</h5>
<p id="E2XHQB">Absolutely not.</p>
<h5 id="sfid-2819911019">I’m running late! Can I still attend?</h5>
<p id="sfid-2819911021">Tours have a 20 minute cut-off post scheduled start time. If you are over 20 minutes late, you are out of luck.</p>
<h5 id="3ApFVG">Is there a wait list?</h5>
<p id="9HWic6">Yes. Click the “notify me” button below on the Salesforce Tower tour site.</p>
<h5 id="bUGx6y">What should I bring?</h5>
<p id="MjhySB">A government issued ID (e.g., drivers license, ID card, or a passport) is required for entrance. </p>
<h5 id="J3MT6A">Can I rent the top floor for a private party?</h5>
<p id="uEQ9FD">The space is <em>not</em> available to rent for private events. However, the company says that if an organization wants to book the top floor—and that organization focuses on humanitarian or social causes, education, or the environment—it can submit a formal request <a href="http://salesforce.com/company/ohana-floors/">here</a>. </p>
<h5 id="qqOR2X">Will Salesforce Park be open?</h5>
<p id="Z5Xdlg">Yes, both the rooftop park and the Transbay Transit Center will <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2019/6/11/18661715/mission-district-site-parcel-building-affordable-housing-breed">reopen July 1</a>. No reservation needed. Just show up. </p>
<aside id="J4X7d4"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"sf-curbed"}'></div></aside>
https://sf.curbed.com/2019/6/13/18677679/salesforce-tower-free-public-tour-info-dates-timesBrock Keeling2018-08-08T12:56:40-07:002018-08-08T12:56:40-07:00What to expect at the Salesforce Park rooftop party [Update]
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OUSv2PVnc2D948Qnas23Ih7C4Tk=/0x496:3366x3021/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60477853/IMG_5487.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption>Photos by Brock Keeling</figcaption>
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<p>Food trucks, pop-up shops, live music, and views galore</p> <p id="aNVHiy">The day before the rest of the Pelli Clark Pelli-designed Transbay Transit Center opens for business—the $2.3 billion center was officially renamed the Salesforce Transit Center after the tech company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-gets-naming-rights-to-san-francisco-transit-center-2017-7">invested $110 million</a> into the project—there will be a <a href="http://salesforcetransitcenter.com/">neighborhood block party</a> to welcome the city’s new elevated linear park. </p>
<p id="LMEHA7">The Salesforce Park <em>fete</em> will happen Saturday, August 11 from noon to 4 p.m. and stretch out across the entire 5.4-acre roof. Revelers will get the chance to explore the entirety of the rooftop park and the rest of the Transbay Transit Center below.</p>
<p id="JxNh21">Here’s <a href="https://sf.funcheap.com/city-guide/rooftop-park/">what to expect</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li id="eYkmkw">
<strong>Rooftop Park:</strong> In addition to live music, arts and crafts, there will be food trucks hauled up to the roof. Highlights here will include winding footpaths, botanical gardens with varieties of trees like Chilean wine palms and Chinese elms. You can also see the lineup of office towers bounding the park, like Slack and Instagram, who are some of the biggest names in tech. Also, there’s a Ned Kahn-designed fountain triggered by passing buses. <a href="https://twitter.com/BrockKeeling/status/1027269820947914752">Behold</a>. (Psst: You can also play in the water!)</li>
<li id="0MQKcD">
<strong>Bus Deck:</strong> Here you will see where the buses roll out. You can meet transit operators, check out the new stops, and see where most people will be spending their time at the new center. </li>
<li id="Ap5WFE">
<strong>Grand Hall: </strong> Look for pop-up shops, more live music, and—best of all—the massive and jaw-dropping new interiors, featuring one of the tallest escalators in the city. Don’t miss the skylight showstopper, which allows diffused sunlight to fill the entire space. It is, in a word, glorious.</li>
</ul>
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<p id="0m1mLz">No word yet if the aerial tram (<a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/4/24/17276398/salesforce-park-gondola-lift-funicular-transbay">rechristened the Salesforce gondola</a>) will be open for rides. The tram is designed to whisk up to 20 people from the street up to the rooftop park.</p>
<p id="NTlWVL">The Transbay Transit Center will serve several bus lines, including AC Transit, Muni, Golden Gate Transit, and Greyhound. At some point in the future—fingers crossed—it will also be the terminus station for the <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/9/19/16331308/high-speed-rail-california">California High-Speed Rail</a>, which will connect Northern and Southern California.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Salesforce Park fountain, triggered by passing buses, in action. <a href="https://t.co/EOpiugldFH">pic.twitter.com/EOpiugldFH</a></p>— Brock Keeling (@BrockKeeling) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrockKeeling/status/1027269820947914752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2018</a>
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<p id="NqzpWf">The big opening of the city’s newest behemoth is almost here. You can also <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1282440471859455/">RSVP via the official Facebook invite</a>. </p>
<aside id="C2anzD"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Transbay Transit Center and Salesforce Park opening in August [Updated]","url":"https://sf.curbed.com/2018/7/10/17555130/transbay-transit-center-open-august-salesforce-park-when-date"},{"title":"Everything you need to know about the Transbay Transit Center ","url":"https://sf.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15822390/transbay-transit-center-san-francisco-sf"}]}'></div></aside><aside id="gbWZGf"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"sf-curbed"}'></div></aside>
https://sf.curbed.com/2018/7/24/17608644/salesforce-park-rooftop-opening-party-date-when-timeBrock Keeling2018-07-13T09:37:34-07:002018-07-13T09:37:34-07:00Transbay Transit Center and Salesforce Park opening in August [Updated]
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cIb6Qz73oQb6uNNpxiHERwURWzQ=/0x0:4032x3024/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60323005/IMG_4014.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Brock Keeling</figcaption>
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<p>Longest-ever Muni delay finally resolved</p> <p id="U0FHRN">Update: Earlier this week, the Transbay Joint Powers Association [TJPA] would not quite confirm the reported August 12 opening date, preferring to wait until it was time for an official announcement.</p>
<p id="3dLc3E">Friday morning the word came out: The public will get its first look inside the new multi-billion dollar terminal on August 11, when TJPA hosts a “neighborhood block party” event to mark the completion of the eight-year-long process. </p>
<p id="3Uhrf4">Regular service in the new structure will kick off on August 12, with rooftop park, connector bridge, shopping, gondola, and of course Muni bus service and all.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="D1odDu">
<p id="hZIDq7">After years of waiting and months of delays, we have a date: The new Transbay Transit Center, complete with its 5.4 acre rooftop park and dynamite views of the ever-changing South Beach skyline, will open to the public on August 12.</p>
<p id="jHrw6A">That’s what <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em> urban design critic <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-s-long-awaited-Salesforce-Transit-Center-13061363.php?t=9568317cdf">John King reports</a>. The Transbay Joint Powers Association was not immediately able to confirm the date when asked, but it’s a day that’s been floated as a potential opener <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/6/1/17416152/transbay-transit-center-open-july-sf-salesforce">in the past</a>.</p>
<aside id="NCuax8"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"sf-curbed"}'></div></aside><p id="0Sx3Wc">The latest <a href="http://www.tjpa.org/uploads/2017/05/Transbay_Update-7-05-18.pdf">weekly construction update</a> released by TJPA on July 5 assures the public, “The Transit Center is nearing completion. The ground level Muni Plaza (between Beale Street and Fremont Street) is now open, with the Grand Hall, Bus Deck, and Roof Park opening this summer.”</p>
<p id="CHMW83">The city <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/6/1/17416152/transbay-transit-center-open-july-sf-salesforce">hoped to have</a> construction on the long-in-the-making transit hub finalized last December, with public access and Muni service to follow some weeks later. </p>
<p id="UgGUqD">But labor shortages and other delays pushed that date back, and back, and back, to the point that the most recent July target date was at least the fifth one in 2018.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ki-mbP-is1HESFSwl1gOCrvpHOk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11669869/IMG_4025.JPG">
<cite>Photo by Brock Keeling</cite>
<figcaption>Salesforce Park as seen on May 17.</figcaption>
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<p id="PoQnMy">It now appears that contractors will make that deadline at least, leaving a few weeks for finishing touches and to train bus drivers how to navigate the facility. </p>
<p id="SnyLuk">Of course, it will be many years more until the building has train service, making it something of a long-term work in progress. But at least curious passersby will finally be able to scope out the view—and the ever-increasing foliage—from up top.</p>
<ul>
<li id="4HSSk4">
<a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-s-long-awaited-Salesforce-Transit-Center-13061363.php?t=9568317cdf">Transit Center Opening Date</a> [SF Gate]</li>
<li id="EKddZ0">
<a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/6/1/17416152/transbay-transit-center-open-july-sf-salesforce">Transit Center Opening Delayed</a> [Curbed SF]</li>
<li id="cLXPap">
<a href="http://www.tjpa.org/uploads/2017/05/Transbay_Update-7-05-18.pdf">Transbay Update, 7/5/18</a> [TJPA]</li>
</ul>
<p id="V5NvwG"></p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2018/7/10/17555130/transbay-transit-center-open-august-salesforce-park-when-dateAdam Brinklow2018-05-16T14:11:41-07:002018-05-16T14:11:41-07:00Sneak peek: Light installation atop Salesforce Tower
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QNA8ewl9rFoKACnm7cwwUkoQPL0=/62x0:4718x3492/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59758907/shutterstock_1086322652.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/san-francisco-california-usa-8-may-1086322652?src=Sz6zvaFrJMbT7kBFlsmvbw-1-1">Zenstrata/Shutterstock</a></figcaption>
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<p>Jim Campbell’s light show will make its official debut next week</p> <p id="AhJ81i">Before the May 22 unveiling of the <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/2/16/17021040/salesforce-tower-lights-top-led-art">light installation</a> on the tip of Salesforce Tower—a permanent multi-million dollar LED video piece by <a href="http://www.jimcampbell.tv/">Jim Campbell</a>—check out a preview of what’s in store. </p>
<p id="b9levI">Over the last couple of weeks, the installation’s practice run has enticed, delighted, and perplexed many wondering what on earth is happening on top of the city’s tallest high-rise. So far the scene shows a montage of joggers, pedestrians, and <a href="https://brandfolder.com/salesforce">clouds</a>.</p>
<p id="7HQiKU">Campbells’s work can be seen on the top six floors of the structure covered in roughly 11,000 LED lights. According to <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Jim-Campbell-light-installation-Salesforce-Tower-12870568.php">SFGate</a>, Campbell placed cameras around the city “that will take photos around the city during the day and these will be displayed on the building’s crown at night.”</p>
<p id="fpfukP">The work is reportedly visible from 20 miles away.</p>
<p id="uvdT7E">To whet your appetite, here are some choice Instagram shots showing what’s to come. </p>
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<p id="JLtxuV">Neat.</p>
<p id="0eL2v6">Campbell, who lives and works in San Francisco, has electronic artwork featured in permanent collections in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).</p>
<p id="1ErFXp">His piece isn’t the only whimsical design element for the tower. A <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/4/24/17276398/salesforce-park-gondola-lift-funicular-transbay">gondola lift</a>, found at the corner of Mission and Fremont Streets, is also in the works. </p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Af9yYc8G5K6fOkAggw-O10VnXD4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10853015/shutterstock_1086322652.jpg">
<cite>Photo by <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shutterstock.com%2Fimage-photo%2Fsan-francisco-california-usa-8-may-1086322652%3Fsrc%3DSz6zvaFrJMbT7kBFlsmvbw-1-1&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fsf.curbed.com%2F2018%2F5%2F16%2F17362582%2Flights-art-salesforce-tower-on-top-tip" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Zenstrata/Shutterstock</a></cite>
</figure>
<aside id="grX6A8"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"sf-curbed"}'></div></aside><ul>
<li id="B95dWZ">
<a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Jim-Campbell-light-installation-Salesforce-Tower-12870568.php">Visible 20 miles away: Salesforce Tower art lights up the SF skyline during testing</a> [SFGate]</li>
<li id="DcaeIX">
<a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2018/4/24/17276398/salesforce-park-gondola-lift-funicular-transbay">What’s up with the gondola at Salesforce Park?</a> [Curbed SF]</li>
</ul>
https://sf.curbed.com/2018/5/16/17362582/lights-art-salesforce-tower-on-top-tipBrock Keeling2018-03-12T09:40:44-07:002018-03-12T09:40:44-07:00Transbay Terminal will be finished by June, promises contractor
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8SYxCFgM-8VEThPCoNl7wanqWMc=/112x0:1889x1333/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58997643/TransbayTerminalConstruction_PChang_1339.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The Transbay Transit Center in 2017. | Patricia Chang</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“We’re 95, 96 percent of the way there”</p> <p id="J3hLDa">When Curbed SF <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15822390/transbay-transit-center-san-francisco-sf">visited the in-progress Transbay Transit Center</a> in 2017, the site’s senior construction manager Dennis Turchon estimated that the mammoth project would be mostly finished by December of that year, with bus service rolling out sometime in March of this year.</p>
<p id="ohLwRp">Well, it’s March now, but the terminal is not complete. <a href="http://www.sfexaminer.com/repeated-delays-transbay-transit-center-contractor-promises-june-completion/"><em>San Francisco Examiner</em></a> reports that just this year those laboring to complete the multi-billion project have given the city four separate finish dates, with the most recent being June 15.</p>
<p id="LNnvD9">“We’re 95, 96 percent of the way there,” Jes Pedersen, CEO of construction company Webcor, told the Transbay Joint Powers Authority board at a meeting on Thursday, swearing to the June 15 date when put on the spot by board members.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QimOLdwAn7i7pvDaQnGx0NnqpPU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8726129/TransbayTerminalConstruction_PChang_1352.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="UND1sw">“June is when it will be life/safety ready,” Pedersen added, meaning that the building will be complete enough that the building inspection deems it fit for everyday human use. “I’m not sure what that means for actual use of the facility, but we’ll turn it over at that point.” </p>
<p id="ZDRuCS">Board member Ed Reiskin (director of transit at SFMTA) noted during the hearing, “With each month that goes by two or three weeks of [schedule] slippage happens...which suggests that each month we’re only getting a week of work done.”</p>
<p id="rhNVOJ">And board member Jeff Gee (a city councilperson from Redwood City representing the peninsula on the board) pointedly asked Pedersen, “Can we tell everyone we’re going to commit to the June 15 date? The financial consequences magnify every time this schedule moves.”</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tLisjYgxvJfq-Imh34usy6KzcLA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8726339/TransbayTerminalConstruction_PChang_0224.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="Ghdr5Z">Salvador Llamas, COO of AC Transit, testified that “AC Transit is ready to move in today,” but complained that “the completion date continues to be a moving target, has not been realistic, and lacks transparency” </p>
<p id="IXrNsx">However, the big hold-up has been the electrical work in the terminal. Project Manager Ron Alameida told the board that roughly half of the 700 workers currently on the site are electricians and that the building got power for the first time last week.</p>
<p id="MZYP97">“There’s been an erosion of confidence in what we’ve been tracking,” said Alameida, adding that “a string of key milestones around electrical have not been met” but assuring the board that most of the electrical work will soon be complete.</p>
<p id="sib0xA">Alameida also said that “aside from the drag point of the electrical” that other work on the terminal is progressing reliably and promised to schedule a new operating date for buses in the weeks to come.</p>
<ul>
<li id="ffxnwD">
<a href="http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=29&clip_id=29975">TJPA Board Meeting</a> [SF Gov TV]</li>
<li id="Xet1gF">
<a href="http://www.sfexaminer.com/repeated-delays-transbay-transit-center-contractor-promises-june-completion/">Contractor Promises Transbay Completion</a> [Examiner]</li>
<li id="la5KwK">
<a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15822390/transbay-transit-center-san-francisco-sf">Transbay Transit Center: Everything To Know</a> [Curbed SF]</li>
</ul>
<p id="4RmfPt"></p>
<p id="L2RXRn"></p>
<p id="cBmeyR"></p>
<p id="QGvITZ"></p>
<p id="X18odo"></p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2018/3/12/17109630/transbay-transit-center-finished-completion-date-open-whenAdam Brinklow2018-01-09T11:13:03-08:002018-01-09T11:13:03-08:00Salesforce Tower, underwhelming by design, opens for business
<figure>
<img alt="Aerial view of San Francisco" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Dz3nvvVNyUwDYM6m0Vk-4rSmnoo=/510x0:4905x3296/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58264067/825795424.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Noted skyscraper comes with San Francisco’s lack of “visual swagger”</p> <p id="Zj2yFh">The most impressive part of the Pelli Clarke Pelli-designed <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/12/20/16803294/salesforce-tower-everything-size-design-shape-san-francisco">Salesforce Tower</a>, now officially <a href="https://twitter.com/Benioff/status/950432620801748992">open for business</a>, is the experience at street level. A structure of this magnitude and unabashed girth, encompassing an entire block, gives passersby pause for appreciation and shock.</p>
<p id="0CLgO5">As for being a memorable work of innovative and daring design from afar (like the <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/building/429/transamerica">Transamerica Pyramid</a> or the <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2018/1/8/16862310/ohio-basket-building-sold-longaberger">Longaberger basket</a>), this SoMa tower is merely an affable, gentle giant. Neither flashy nor cocky, the looming tower of note seems almost embarrassed of its prominence—and that’s by design. </p>
<p id="6j2kQI">Per esteemed <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Salesforce-Tower-underwhelming-despite-its-size-12483018.php?t=011bad259f"><em>San Francisco Chronicle </em>urban design critic John King</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p id="JyIJhO">If there’s a downside to such efforts to fit it, it’s that in the process, Pelli Clarke Pelli sacrificed the exuberance that make the best tall towers memorable. Think of the Chrysler Building in New York or Chicago’s John Hancock tower: One has the giddy feel of the jazz age while the other embodies the muscular brawn of the industrial Midwest. Both, though, are symbols of their cities.</p>
<p id="sb4QpN">In San Francisco there is Timothy Pflueger’s 140 New Montgomery St., the old Pacific Telephone Building, a chiseled cliff complete with terra-cotta eagles up high. Transamerica Pyramid isn’t nearly so compelling inch-for-inch, but its steep relentless ascent is unforgettable.</p>
<p id="1y3LxJ">Salesforce Tower, at least for now, falls short of those other peaks. It is what it is — a signature building done by a firm that works on four continents, hired by a developer of similarly wide reach.</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="4tewky">This unimpeachable timid mindset when it comes to building design is so very San Francisco. Proposals that elicit gasps are quickly shot down. Blueprints that thrill are rendered bloodless via planning process. Too many cooks in the Carrera marble kitchen</p>
<p id="UFGcCY">For example, this <a href="http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2017/12/detailed-plans-for-a-pair-of-modern-soma-towers-revealed.html">swooping SoMa duo</a> will most likely get the axe for <a href="http://hoodline.com/2018/01/offices-apartments-planned-for-372-million-soma-development">something staid</a>. And one look at <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/neighborhood/1639/mission-bay">Mission Bay</a>, a neighborhood that could’ve been an architectural wonder of the west coast, shows the end result of the city’s chronic fear of audaciousness. </p>
<div> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Salesforce Tower lobby." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DPnWZSjKp-YbAftPqwzbt7lBmlo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10004649/IMG_1460.jpg">
<cite>Photos by Brock Keeling</cite>
<figcaption>Salesforce Tower lobby.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p id="ugC0Fx">However, it’s important to remember that <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/12/20/16803294/salesforce-tower-everything-size-design-shape-san-francisco">Salesforce Tower</a> and its nascent surrounding neighborhood are still works in progress. The crowning <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/5/4/15551324/salesforce-tower-led-art-sf">11,000-LED element</a>, conceived by artist <a href="http://www.jimcampbell.tv/">Jim Campbell</a>, won’t illuminate until spring. Same goes for the plaza at Mission and Fremont. And the 100,000 square feet of retail space in Salesforce Park, slated to open later this year, are <a href="http://news.theregistrysf.com/colliers-international-launches-marketing-campaign-retail-portion-salesforce-transit-center-san-francisco/">still in the works</a>.</p>
<p id="zY2enB">This isn’t to say one won’t come to <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/12/21/16802990/salesforce-tower-review-2017-critics-architecture">appreciate the tower.</a> <em>Au contraire</em>. “[W]hile it won’t ever gain visual swagger,” adds King, “you might come to like it more than you expect.”</p>
<p id="coFUbc">Above all, Salesforce Tower symbolizes what San Francisco needs more of today: dense, vertical growth. </p>
<div><div class="c-image-grid c-image-grid__odd c-image-grid__odd-first-wide">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/A6hrjqs4kvcCYUmgQbaOslOITqo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10004651/IMG_1465.JPG">
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9YKJJe518IhL_xgIbKqFbMVYqFo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10004659/IMG_1469.JPG">
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xX5r7W_xBPHwt59oTDpEf3RwUTE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10004665/IMG_1470.JPG">
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<aside id="vQpJpG"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"sf-curbed"}'></div></aside><ul>
<li id="UYYnXm">
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Salesforce-Tower-underwhelming-despite-its-size-12483018.php?t=011bad259f">Salesforce Tower: underwhelming despite its size</a> [SF Chronicle]</li>
<li id="uEWSFc">
<a href="https://www.curbed.com/2018/1/8/16862310/ohio-basket-building-sold-longaberger">Iconic basket building finally sold for $1.2M</a> [Curbed]</li>
<li id="wxZmcp">
<a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/5/4/15551324/salesforce-tower-led-art-sf">Salesforce Tower: the LED art that may go on top</a> [Curbed SF]</li>
</ul>
https://sf.curbed.com/2018/1/9/16869192/salesforce-tower-opens-reviewBrock Keeling2017-12-19T09:07:50-08:002017-12-19T09:07:50-08:00Jokesters propose fountain on top of Salesforce Tower
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DWsiEILFv45XEW3R7XpE89mZYDM=/0x0:2048x1536/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58039163/38610720266_a2ecf6a397_k.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mlevel/38610720266/">Steven Miller</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>No comment</p> <p id="r3vuFh">The 1,070-foot-tall <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/4/7/15220566/salesforce-tower-top-sf-beam-tallest">Salesforce Tower</a> will soon open for business as San Francisco’s tallest building. It seems that a few local wisenheimers have an opinion about its silhouette.</p>
<p id="udjxC7">Most notably, San Francisco rapscallion Micah Byrness launched a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/www-monarchsf-com-install-a-majestic-artistic-fountain-on-top-of-the-salesforce-tower/c?source_location=petition_show">Change.org</a> petition last week proposing the city finish off the rising landmark with a special decorative fountain on the roof.</p>
<p id="3mA1R8">Why a fountain? Well, it’s subtle but it appears that Byrnes wants to make an insinuation about the building’s design:</p>
<blockquote><p id="srggiK">The San Francisco skyline has been forever changed by the large erect Salesforce Tower thrusting up into the heavens. [...] I propose an artistic fountain at the tip of the tower (above the shaft). To conserve water we will build two large spherical water tanks at the base that will collect and recycle the water as it flows down the shaft of the building.</p></blockquote>
<p id="KJCayT">And yes, there’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZQKjvmRbtc">even an animation</a> illustrating his concept. </p>
<div id="HJaMxe"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EZQKjvmRbtc?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="8hy7ro">As of Tuesday morning, Byrnes has roughly <a href="https://www.change.org/p/www-monarchsf-com-install-a-majestic-artistic-fountain-on-top-of-the-salesforce-tower/c?source_location=petition_show">250 signatures</a>. What do people see in his design? Be careful who you ask:</p>
<blockquote>
<p id="v6w2GC">“I’d love to see the tower get the happy ending it deserves.” -Shane Duryea</p>
<p id="adMbmv">“All of architecture has been leading to this beautiful climax.” -Daniel Smith</p>
<p id="etRvLR">“If I have to look at it every day then it should [do] something.” -Julian Baca</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="c0CBAt">For the record, Salesforce Tower <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/obelisk">architect Cesar Pelli says</a> that the shape of the building is meant to evoke “the simple, timeless form of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/obelisk">obelisk,</a>” likening the tower to ancient monoliths.</p>
<p id="R2zScq">But some San Franciscans can’t help but see something a bit more organic in its design. <em>SF Weekly</em> <a href="http://www.sfweekly.com/culture/proposal-to-turn-the-salesforce-tower-into-a-real-gusher-advances/">called it</a> “overtly phallic,” among other colorful terms.</p>
<p id="1qbRDu">Some folks, it seems, just can’t contain themselves on the topic. But at least they’re getting it out of their systems.</p>
<ul>
<li id="2Lrr9K">
<a href="https://www.change.org/u/589852070">Install a Fountain On Salesforce Tower</a> [Change.org]</li>
<li id="EJpsQ9"><a href="https://www.change.org/p/www-monarchsf-com-install-a-majestic-artistic-fountain-on-top-of-the-salesforce-tower/c?source_location=petition_show">Fountain Petition Comments</a></li>
<li id="1PTYSQ">
<a href="http://pcparch.com/project/transbay-tower">Salesforce Tower</a> [PCP]</li>
<li id="c5fShZ">
<a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/4/7/15220566/salesforce-tower-top-sf-beam-tallest">San Francisco’s tallest building, the Salesforce Tower, puts final beam in place</a> [Curbed SF]</li>
</ul>
<p id="1fl7Et"></p>
https://sf.curbed.com/2017/12/19/16792934/fountain-salesforce-tower-petitionAdam Brinklow2017-07-14T13:26:31-07:002017-07-14T13:26:31-07:00SFMTA director slams Salesforce Transit Center naming as ‘distasteful’
<figure>
<img alt="Aeiral shot of Transbay Center." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EbHU_Chx947i5GnPmzuDYftpqC0=/0x0:2000x1500/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55718943/TransbayTerminalConstruction_PChang_0093.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photos by <a href="http://www.patriciachangphotography.com/">Patricia Chang</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Shots fired</p> <p id="JCIvIs">As expected, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) made the <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/7/11/15953852/salesforce-transbay-transit-center-san-francisco-sf#comments">christening of the Salesforce Transit Center</a> official. This means that both the <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/4/7/15220566/salesforce-tower-top-sf-beam-tallest">looming tower of note</a> and the <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15822390/transbay-transit-center-san-francisco-sf">transit hub/elevated park</a> are now named after the San Francisco-based tech company. </p>
<p id="SdzuDJ">The 25-year sponsorship, worth a crisp $110 million, means that Salesforce will get to splash its moniker or logo on 177 signs throughout the space. The company will also change the name of the impending facility, formerly known as the Transbay Transit Center, to the Salesforce Transit Center.</p>
<p id="sCVKtT">But not everyone is pleased.</p>
<p id="o2BkOt">SFMTA director and TJPA board member Ed Reiskin said after Thursday’s decree, “I find it distasteful, philosophically, but I get it, logically—every dollar we get privately helps us fulfill our public mission.”</p>
<div><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xGfktQpXm4XoQAICiDclScIDQLQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8854345/TransbayTerminalConstruction_PChang_1292.jpg">
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZFFV1i7EyUhQ1Lb3-XyFMokr3Jw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8854349/TransbayTerminalConstruction_PChang_1301.jpg">
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<p id="SbOAph">Though originally budgeted at $1.9 billion, the final price tag for the center will end up <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15822390/transbay-transit-center-san-francisco-sf">just under $2.26 billion</a>.</p>
<p id="x2vA7I">One thing Salesforce won’t be able to control is exactly the when the park opens and closes. “I can’t support that Salesforce has a say over public hours in a public park. That is completely unreasonable,” said Supervisor Jane Kim, according to the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Salesforce-gets-naming-rights-to-new-S-F-transit-11287318.php"><em>San Francisco Chronicle</em></a>. “I don’t think any amount of money should give them that right.” </p>
<p id="drsl3B">However, as <a href="http://sfist.com/2017/07/14/salesforce_transit_center_is_now_of.php">SFist</a> points out, “it sounds like Salesforce gets its wish, which is closing the park down at 9 p.m. in summer and fall, and at 8 p.m. from November to April.”</p>
<p id="bgfuTA">Expect the new transit center and park to open sometime in 2018. </p>
<p id="ZWBavK"></p>
<ul>
<li id="IUrPmC">
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Salesforce-gets-naming-rights-to-new-S-F-transit-11287318.php">Salesforce gets naming rights to new SF transit center</a> [SF Chronicle]</li>
<li id="73KD8M">
<a href="http://sfist.com/2017/07/14/salesforce_transit_center_is_now_of.php">'Salesforce Transit Center' Is Now Officially A Thing; SFMTA Head Calls It 'Distasteful'</a> [SFist]</li>
<li id="x083qe">
<a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/7/11/15953852/salesforce-transbay-transit-center-san-francisco-sf#comments">Salesforce purchases exclusive naming rights to Transbay Transit Center</a> [Curbed SF]</li>
<li id="1wL0s5">
<a href="https://sf.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15822390/transbay-transit-center-san-francisco-sf">Transbay Transit Center: Everything you need to know about it</a> [Curbed SF]</li>
</ul>
https://sf.curbed.com/2017/7/14/15974308/salesforce-transbay-transit-park-sf-namingBrock Keeling