San Francisco's Little-Known Public Spaces

"The Intercontinental terraces show the mixed results of a decades-old city policy that requires new commercial buildings in central San Francisco to provide publicly accessible open space. More than a dozen such spaces now exist, including lush street-side plazas and rooftop aeries with spellbinding views. Yet many are hard to find unless you're in the know. Others are more Scrooge-like than welcoming."

"The effort, which began in the 1980s, has added a network of pocket-size retreats to the Financial District's towers and traffic. Now that they're in place, though, the challenge is to weave them more fully into downtown life."

"Corporate plazas have been part of the downtown landscape since 1959, when the Crown Zellerbach Building at Bush and Market streets opened with a sunken plaza that opened up views. Time magazine praised it as spectacular. Soon after, the planning code was loosened to allow developers to build larger towers if they cleared away space on the ground."

"The result was corporate plateaus that often were no more than widened sidewalks. So in 1985, officials changed such spaces from a perk to a requirement. Builders had to provide 1 square foot of public space per 50 square feet of commercial space. Additional formulas spelled out the required seating and made it obligatory to have an informational plaque at street level stating the public hours. Buildings also had to 'provide toilet spaces open to the public.'"

"As a result of the 1985 plan, 13 spaces have been created; in some cases, developers were allowed to financially contribute to renovations of other parks and plazas."