SF's Pyramid Defies Expectations
Forty years ago, an unusual proposal for a pyramid-shaped skyscraper caused outrage across San Francisco. Today, it is recognized as a worthy addition to the skyline. John King looks at the building's transformation from eyesore to icon.
King cites the numerous complaints about the towers design when it was proposed 40 years ago:
"Progressive Architecture rolled out a string of adjectives: "insensitive, inappropriate, incongruous." Newsweek bemoaned a tower that would be "wrong in any city" but "particularly wrong in ... easily wounded San Francisco."
None of the slings dislodged the support of the player who mattered most, Mayor Alioto. Not only did he back Transamerica because of the jobs that would be created, he very publicly touted the unorthodox design."
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Published on Tuesday, January 5, 2010 in
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