Secrets of San Francisco

A guide to San Francisco's privately-owned public open spaces Secrets of San Francisco All photos by Keith Baker In this guide, SPUR reveals one (or 68, to be precise) of San Francisco's best POPOS kept secrets: a rich network of privately-owned public open spaces scattered P-Privately throughout the city's downtown area. Use this guide to scope out a new spot O-owned to eat lunch, hold an informal meeting, or simply soak in some nature. Big or P-public small, park or "snippet," north or south of Market: know your city's POPOS and O-open swear to never eat lunch in your cube again! S-spaces SAN FRANCISCO'S PRIVATELY-OWNED PUBLIC OPEN SPACES* 1 Redwood Park 10 345 California 19 Citygroup Center 29 45 Fremont 39 211 Main 48 55 Second 2 505 Sansome 11 200 California 20 Trinity Alley 30 50 Beale 40 221 Main 49 560 Mission 3 Empire Park 12 150 CaliforniaCO 21 Crocker Galleria 31 77 Beale 41 301 Howard 50 555 Mission P RE ST WE 4 Embarcadero 13LLE 50JO California 22 One Post 32 201 Mission 42 199 Fremont 51 101 Second SC VA Center West 14 One CaliforniaLL 23 595 Market 33 123 Mission 43 100 First 52 Foundry Square OT PL BA TC 5 456 Montgomery 15 101 California 24 555/575 Market D 34 One Market 44 25 Jessie 53 235 Second FR RT A VI T 6 343 Sansome 16 100 Pine DW AY25 525ON Market 35 135 Main 45 Golden Gate 54 Marriott Courtyard OL OA BR S ALY T ES RO ST NN O DU 7 650 California ST 17 One Front/ 26 425 Market 36 160 Spear University 55 Marathon Plaza ST S W 8 600 California GO 444 Market 27 14 Fremont 37 180 Howard 46 49 Stevenson 56 611 Folsom L AN 9 555 California OD18 One Bush 28 333 Market 38 201 Spear 47 71 Stevenson *Several of these addresses DS IC AV E P PACI F include more than one POPOS. L T C T U C S ST OL GO LD T UM SONS OM JA CK D BU RU SA HO TH M VE T EE U NS MS ING TO SE WA SH M N T BA SL PL IL RC A D YS T E CLA RO 2 1 LS T 3 ER CIA 4 COMM S T TE NTOS CR AM E U SA 13 AR BA 34 T 6 12 S S S PE TT 11 T P 5 A R E RS D IN RY S 15 AV T AN G S FR IS 14 ST T NI AS SO T IF OR 10 ST 8 CAL 16 ON M 7 ME A TS IN 9 S S QU T T T M B K EA IN E O AR LE NT CY IN ES T S 33 N P GO T 36 T ST Y R G 17 31 EA S BE 28 M R 30 T AN E 35 LD SU R TA YS 32 EN R 26 Y 29 VE T S 37 PL T ST T 38 BUS H MA T DS 18 R CL 20 NS RK 27 WA 39 A 19 IO O UD 25 SS H 40 L 41 N MI L E AN P T HARL LN RS T T SUT TE S S Y T E SI AL 42 21 KE 46 S R 24 44 M A JE LI M E 23 47 43 48 45 FR T 22 PO ST S 49 EM ST O M 52 NT O N S E 50 WM ST OL IDEN LN T F MA O P N AS M T 51 M Created before 1985 A GO O RA YS T N 2 T F EAR N M ND A F GR G I N Created after 1985 E ER S S WO OT T Y T T 80 EP ST ST I- T A Light green shaded areas indicate S ES L SI M N MA A T 1 S S publiclyS provided open spaces. JE LD EH A T SO ST T N EN IN ST VE NA NT E N A I T I L PL - 8 S M Y ME LE UY T 0 W C G S T N 53 T S 1/4 mile R OF 30 YE A G SO N ES IN RI R T FR BA S S 54 BA S N AR TS EX A H B N Y L AM U LO ST E HU NA OP P HA D L UN ST N W O T T 56 E ONR AM P HO I- 80 TB AN 4T 55 Y EAS R H RN 0 B S ES L I- 8 T 3 P R T R DS IN OW C T D ON S T SPUR surveyed a total of 68 POPOS in downtown San Francisco. Of those 68 spaces — which include parks, plazas, terraces and snippets — 45 were created between 1959 and 1985. The remaining 23 were created under the requirements of the 1985 Downtown Plan, a set of zoning regulations adopted to control growth, and which included guidelines for the creation of more publicly accessible open space in downtown San Francisco. We hope you will use this guide to find your favorite POPOS. Share it widely with colleagues and friends! Created before 1985 Created after 1985 year Built SPUR Rating 1 Redwood PaRk 1972 Excellent 5 456 MonTgOmeRy ST. 1983 Fair This urban park, located at the foot of the Transamerica Pyramid, Some seating has been provided at the sidewalk level but is a wonderful surprise. Surrounded by Redwood trees and the main open space, an urban garden, cascades down into graced with luscious ferns, the park features a fountain spouting the middle recess of the building. Several small terraces with water several feet high, and figurative bronze sculptures. There benches, stairs, planters and a water feature extend down two are also grassy areas, wooden benches and a concrete stage. floors and end in a space with tables and chairs outside a deli. Take-out food services are nearby. Closed after office hours. It gets little sun and there is no signage anywhere indicating that it is a public space. Needed improvements: street-level signage 2 505 Sansome ST. 1980 Good A greenhouse in the lobby of this office building faces and 6 343 Sansome ST. 1990 Excellent connects to Redwood Park. Its two-story glass walls create an There are two open spaces here. Signs at a street entrance airy interior, featuring granite flooring, several paintings and eight and in an elevator guide visitors to the first: theview and sun tables, each with three to four chairs of beautiful modern design. terrace on the 15th floor. The terrace includes tables and chairs, Two food services are located within the building. Needed benches, olive trees and ledge seating along granite planters. improvements: exterior signage, more seating Joan Brown’s Four Seasons obelisk stands in center. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 3 emPiRe PaRk 1988 Good The other open space is on Leidesdorff Street, adjacent to the From the Commercial Street lunchtime mall the visitor enters building, which has been transformed into a lunchtime mall by this intimate urban garden, occupying the site of a demolished installing special pavement, bollards and elements to block off building. The design is symmetrical, with brick planter beds and the street, and moveable chairs and tables. Two food services sitting ledges along both sides and a fountain sculpture at the are on the building’s ground floor. Available 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. end of the central axis. Benches and tables with chairs complete Needed improvements: lettering on signage the furnishings of this enjoyable space. Needed improvements: Restroom availability. 7 650 california ST. 1965 Poor There are two largely barren plazas: one at the California Street 4 embaRcaDero cenTeR West 1989 Fair/Good front entrance, and one behind the building, with white concrete The first of the three open spaces here is the conversion of benches and large circular raised planters with edges suitable for Commercial Street between Sansome & Battery into an exclusive seating. Planters with boxwood and hydrangea are arranged on pedestrian walkway. There are small seating areas on the stone pavement. Needed improvements: benches, landscaping, second level and elaborate stairs flanked by narrow waterfalls signage that bring the second-story walkway to street level at mid-block. The second half of the street has two rows of trees in circular 8 600 california ST. 1990 Fair planters with ledges too low to sit on comfortably. Tables and This snippet has no amenities and no seating except the stairs, chairs that had been placed between trees have been removed. but it sports one of the densest assemblages of public art pieces Also gone are adjacent food services. downtown, including the Art Deco elevator doors on the loggia The second, at the Old Federal Reserve Bank building, consists wall at the main entrance, Bella Feldman’s sculpture inside the of the generous steps (snippets) to the historic building from both bank lobby, Kent Robert’s aqueduct/railroad trestle/elevated Battery and Sansome streets. highway on the stairway and Bruce Beasley’s bronze sculpture The third, on the south side of Sacramento between Sansome on top of the stairs, placed on granite cobblestones. Needed & Battery, is a two-level snippet, west of the office building. improvements: landscaping, seating Grey granite covers the ground level, steps and retaining wall with attached seating ledges.

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