When arriving to the city of San Francisco, my eyes
started to wander to the tall skyscrapers towering over the city. We had several
hours to kill before the tour at 11 a.m., so we decided to go our own route. We
walked through the streets of Chinatown. It was as if we entered into a whole
different country. Vendors and shops were at every corner, and lanterns
surrounding the sky. After walking through Chinatown, we reached an angled
sidewalk that not only gave me a super calf workout but a beautiful view of the
city. We reached the Coit Tower at last! The cylinder like tower held a
beautiful Diego Rivera like mural that helped me envision the life of a working
farmer. I appreciated the beauty and time the various artists took to complete
the piece. After visiting the Coit Tower we walked through China Town once
again to reach our next destination.
We then met our tour guide Mr. Rick
Evans at Galleria Park Hotel. He took us three floors up to the roof of the
hotel, without a clue to where we were going, the glass doors revealed a
beautiful garden perfect for a lounging area. Turns out we were standing in a
privately owned public open space also known as (POPOS). POPOS are open spaces
given to the community from branches or companies that must provide an open
space to the public in order to establish their companies where they desire.
The catch is that most of these “public spaces” aren’t even public. Majority of
the POPOS are purposefully hidden so that the companies don’t have to keep up
with maintenance fees. In total there are 68 POPOS in San Francisco. Across
from the “secret garden” stood five buildings, one of them included one that
could hardly stand any longer. Mr. Evans compared all five buildings,
explaining their differences and similarities. The very last building to the
right was a beautiful red brick building that looked roughly modern; the next
one over was painted a rusted green. The building on the left was under
construction, which was once a beautiful glass building made by Willis Polk.
This building though didn’t look so beautiful with a black net covering the
hidden results so far. The last two buildings were a cream color, looking the
oldest. The differences though caught me by surprise. Rick told us to look up
and examine the different edges on the roof. These top edges are called
“cornices”. Never before have I taken the time to really examine a full
building from top to bottom. As I was admiring each cornice, I couldn’t help
but think how much time it must have taken to construct each cornice in detail.
Each cornice was different, which included drapery from clay, copper and even
terracotta. After examining each building we walked through a connected food
court by walking down a series of stairs, leading to the next POPO. We stopped
to gaze at the following buildings surrounding the sky. The cornices there were
just as beautiful; some including sculpted saints towering over the city. When
in this POPO I noticed the unleveled buildings. Rick explained that in order to
build a taller building next to an existing one, you would have to buy “Air
Rights” from your neighbor.
We then took an elevator down to
Wells Fargo bank. I loved how even before I walked into the building I was
surrounded by beautiful walls that held carved faces and animals. When walking
up a series of stairs, there stood a carved squirrel at the edge of the staircase.
This little critter represents security for your money, just as it secures its
nuts. When entering the bank, my eyes became glazed with such beauty I was
gazing at. I have never seen such a beautiful bank! It was nothing like a bank
I am used to, the floor was marble, the ceiling a crisp, gold color, and the
lights, dim and warm. The bank felt welcoming without closure; it was an open
space, made for trust. We then walked through a hallway that lead to an amazing
row of elevators. The ceiling was breathtaking! It had warm tones and colors
that felt comforting. The ceiling mural included Jewish and Arabic stars, birds
and plants. Even the floor was amazing! The hallway floor included marble of 5
different colors. Mr. Evans pointed out a footprint from a captain that once
worked there for 50 years! The man would stand in one place, leading the guests
to the following elevators.
After
exiting the Sutter building, we walked to the Crown Zellerbach Paper Company
Building. This building was very modern and gorgeous; it’s almost hard to
believe that it was built in 1959. The whole building was made of glass,
standing on four concrete pillars. Everything from the glass to the outer tiles
was imported from Italy! The building across the street though didn’t look so
modern. The Shell Building was built in 1929, 30 years prior to its neighbor.
The Shell Building was one of its last built, until modernization came along.
It was amazing to take a picture from the modern building and looking into the
reflection and seeing the past! It’s amazing how much architecture has changed
over the years!
This
trip to San Francisco helped me really appreciate the beauty in such buildings
we tend to just pass by and not pay attention to. I would really like to thank
our tour guide Mr. Rick Evans for teaching us all that he knows! I have learned
so much about architecture and plan to share it with friends and family.
Thanks for reading,
Bethany Vidales
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