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San Francisco Architecture

83 facts about the Golden Gate Bridge for its 83rd birthday

It’s nice when the one you love can still surprise you.

The 11 most stunning staircases in San Francisco

Step up your game

An abridged history of the Transbay Transit Center over the years

A look back at eight decades of San Francisco’s fantastic—and frustrating—public transit leviathan.

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How the glass curtain wall was born

Architecture historians consider the Hallidie Building groundbreaking, with some calling it the most important modern building in San Francisco.

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130 Bush—the original skinny legend

This pin-thin tower in the Financial District has earned a cult following.

A guide to the work of Stanley Saitowitz, the Bay Area’s most polarizing designer

"I am much less interested in self-expression than in establishing opportunities that enable occupants to express themselves."

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A love letter to Glen Park’s Brutalist BART station

This unsung hero of "brooding grandeur" is the Bay Area’s most stunning transit station, period.

San Francisco’s most polarizing buildings 

Love ’em or loathe ’em, these structures won’t be ignored.

Why is the light on at the top of the Transamerica Pyramid every night?

Building "beacon" is rare sight

The history of the Twitter building

Mid-Market building got its start as a Depression-era furniture showcase.

A look at the Forest Hill Station

San Francisco’s oldest Muni station deserves a second look.

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These are the most beautiful interiors in San Francisco

It’s what’s on the inside that counts.

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San Francisco's most iconic buildings

These are the legends in a skyline in constant flux.

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How Postwar Icon Joseph Eichler Built a Suburb in the Middle of S.F.

The famed developer created affordable midcentury-modern designs smack dab in the heart of the city.

A brief history of the Beaux Arts courthouse in SoMa

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals building reads like a love letter to granite and marble.

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These are San Francisco’s most underrated buildings

Overlooked wonders that deserve a second look.

A guide to San Francisco’s many varieties of Victorians

This introduction will get you started on the city’s seemingly endless supply of buildings inspired during Queen Victoria’s reign.

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The history of Chinatown’s greatest landmarks

Block for block, no neighborhood has more stories.

Discover SF’s colorful Chinatown alleyways

Created as a way to ease the density of the neighborhood.

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San Francisco’s tallest towers, mapped

In order of height starting with the tallest, here are the SF structures that stand proud and tall.

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A look at the Richmond District's architectural history

These westside structures deserve a second glance.

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The best things to do in SF this winter

Explore the city’s architecture, art exhibits, and outdoor attractions.

Why does Washington DC hate this San Francisco building?

The National Civic Art Society calls the Seventh Street behemoth an eyesore in tirade on modern architecture.

Transamerica Pyramid sold for the first time ever

A landmark deal goes to a New York developer.

11 fascinating facts you didn’t know about the Painted Ladies

Lovely ladies, ready for the call.

45 true things about Beach Blanket Babylon before it closes after 45 years

After 45 years, Snow White’s camp journey will melt away.

The Bay Area’s 10 most important buildings of the past decade

These provocative structures have redefined our region in more ways than one.

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The most beautiful Bay Area libraries

Take a closer look at these bibliophilic beauties.

Salesforce Tower Halloween: It’s the Eye of Sauron again

All eyes on the skyline this All Hallow’s Eve.

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The coolest urban staircases in the city

Saturate your social media with these stunning steps.

This Studio Gang building is exactly what Mission Bay needs

The new building is called "Mission Rock Building F"—and the "F" is for fantastic.

450 Sutter, iconic Neo-Mayan skyscraper where you get your teeth cleaned, turns 90

"Shining like silk and lovely as old lace."

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An illustrated guide to SF architecture

Enjoy the city’s stylistic diversity, from Queen Anne to contemporary buildings.

KQED breaks ground on major renovations for its headquarters

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

New art installation will fill Grace Cathedral with heavenly light, music

"Visitors look upward through a slight atmospheric haze and are enveloped in a 100-foot-tall shifting curtain of light."

New A’s stadium at Oakland’s Howard Terminal clears Senate, moves closer to reality

Bonta’s bill wins unanimous vote.

Ferry Building to undergo two-year restoration

The building will not only get a fresh coat of paint, but also a new color.

Planning Commission approves new home on ruins of Largent House

Many remain angry about home’s demolition.

Chase Center has landed

"An amazing journey that hasn’t always been easy," says Rick Welts, president and CEO for the Golden State Warriors.