San Francisco’s Top 10 : Architectural Highlights – Top 10 Public Art Sites

1. Transamerica Pyramid

   Hated
   by many at first, the Pyramid is now loved as an icon of the city.
   Recalling pyramids of ancient cultures, to some it is a symbol of the
   mysticism that has always played a part in the San Francisco mentality.
   At 853 ft (260 m), it is the tallest building in the city, but its shape
   keeps it from casting a shadow on the neighborhood.

   • 600 Montgomery St

   
   

   
   
   

   Transamerica Pyramid

2. Bank of America

   This
   52-story structure was the first skyscraper to be erected in the city,
   in 1972. The color was a mistake – the granite that faces it was
   supposed to be pink, not brown, but by the time delivery was made, it
   was too late.

   • 555 California St

3. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

   Quoting Renaissance architecture in thoroughly modern ways, SFMOMA
   has established itself as the city’s premier Post-Modern effort. The
   interior has a flexibility and functionality that works perfectly with
   the collections displayed.

   
   

   
   
   

   San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

4. Coit Tower

   Perched
   on Telegraph Hill, this Art Deco sentinel takes the form of a giant
   fluted column. Reminiscent of Renaissance towers, the column is
   63-meters tall and is perforated around the top with arched openings and
   windows, which visitors can reach by elevator for stunning views of the
   city .

5. Palace of Fine Arts

   This
   bit of Neo-Classical fluff was designed by Bernard Maybeck for the
   Pan-Pacific Exposition of 1915. It is patterned on an 18th-century
   engraving by Giovanni Piranesi entitled The Isle of the Dead .

   
   

   
   
   

   Palace of Fine Arts

6. Civic Center

   Centered
   on the City Hall that would do any state proud, the core buildings are
   in a grand Beaux-Arts style; and befitting the city that started the
   Gold Rush, gilt is everywhere .

7. Haas-Lilienthal House

   This
   Queen Anne-style mansion, built in 1886, is one of the few Victorian
   beauties in the city that accepts callers. It’s a wonderful glimpse into
   the way of life among San Francisco’s upper-middle classes from about
   1890 to 1920. Outside, it features gables, a turret, and patterned
   embellishments; inside, you can see parlors, a dining room, one of six
   bedrooms, and the ballroom.

   • 2007 Franklin St

   • 415 441 3004

   • Open noon–3pm Sat & Wed, 11am–4pm Sun

   • Adm

   
   

   
   
   

   Haas-Lilienthal House

8. Grace Cathedral

   Executed
   in the medieval French Gothic style, echoing in particular Notre Dame
   in Paris, yet accomplished using steel-reinforced concrete. It is the
   third largest Episcopal church in the US .

9. Folk Art International

   Dating
   from 1948, this is the city’s only building by Frank Lloyd Wright. The
   sweeping spiral ramp predates that at Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New
   York.

   • 140 Maiden Lane

   • 415 392 9999

   • Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sat

   • Free

   • 
     www.folkartintl.com
     

10. St. Mary’s Cathedral

    Critics
    abound who are ready to dismiss this parabolic form, but the soaring
    curves take the attention upward, in much the same fashion that tracery
    and peaked vaulting do in Gothic cathedrals .

Top 10 Public Art Sites