Since the Gold Rush, San Francisco has been reinventing itself through booms and busts. It is a city where the past, present and future meet. Nowhere is that more apparent today than in the city’s Financial District, which is evolving into a hub where business, culture and community intersect.
Last Thursday, the Transamerica Pyramid Centre unveiled its new public areas and an expanded Transamerica Redwood Park. This week, the first-of-its-kind entertainment zone in California will debut in the district. And next month, the Financial District will welcome a contemporary art museum.
The Financial District’s ongoing transformation includes new restaurants, bars, hotels, festivals and more. Below, find more information and details on what’s new and noteworthy in one of the largest and oldest financial districts in the Western United States.
When erected in 1972, the modernist Transamerica Pyramid instantly became a globally recognized San Francisco landmark. Now the icon has been transformed into a welcoming destination following the completion of the first phase of Transamerica Pyramid Centre’s $400 million renovation by owner and real estate development company SHVO. Previously closed to the public, the reimagined ground floor features a publicly accessible lobby with a reading area, exhibition space, a florist shop and a coffee bar from local favourite Sightglass Coffee. The Centre’s Transamerica Redwood Park, home to over 50 majestic redwood trees, has been restored and expanded and is an urban oasis in the heart of the city open to the public from dawn to dusk.
Paying homage to the district’s history as a magnet for artists and creatives, SHVO’s Pyramid Arts, a new arts programming initiative, will feature two public exhibitions each year. The arts program launched in September with an exhibit featuring more than 20 sculptures by French artist duo Les Lalanne. These sculptures will be exhibited in the Transamerica Redwood Park and inside the Transamerica Pyramid lobby through January 28.
Located in the Financial District’s historic Jackson Square, the Transamerica Pyramid Centre encompasses the Transamerica Pyramid, the park, and two adjacent building: Two and Three Transamerica. Before the neighbourhood became known as the “Wall Street of the West” and long before the Transamerica Pyramid was built, the area was a magnet for artists, writers and creatives. The Montgomery Block building, now the site of the Transamerica Pyramid, housed several artists and Beat writers. One block away, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo took up residence in a studio while Rivera completed murals at the San Francisco Stock Exchange and the San Francisco Art Institute.
This October, the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ICA SF) will move into The Cube, at 345 Montgomery St. The ICA SF, which opened in 2022 in the Dogpatch neighbourhood, will more than double its exhibition space in the new location and remain free to visit. The reopening is set for Oct. 25, when ICA SF will debut a group show curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, “The Poetics of Dimensions,” a solo project from Bay Area ceramicist Maryam Yousif, and a solo project from sculptor, Kathleen Ryan.
Independent artists and curators have also found inspiration in the neighbourhood. In recent years, Jackson Square has attracted San Francisco art galleries, including Rebecca Camacho Presents, Gallery Wendi Norris and Scott Richards Contemporary Art.
Brought to life by the Gold Rush, the Financial District encompasses parts of the old Barbary Coast, which was once filled with dance halls, bars and jazz clubs. In a fitting nod to its past, the district is the site of the first entertainment zone in California. On Front Street, between California and Sacramento streets, brick-and-mortar establishments received permits through recently approved state legislation to sell alcoholic beverages for outdoor consumption on the street during special events and programs.
Two historic alleyways at the crossroads of the Transamerica Pyramid, Embarcadero Centre, Chinatown and the Financial District were transformed into the Landing at Leidesdorff. Launched in fall 2023, the pedestrian-friendly space offers a variety of programming, including outdoor dining and cocktails, live music, and cultural programs. The Landing features a pair of new murals honouring the rich history of Captain William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr., a founding father of San Francisco and one of the most prominent Black and biracial citizens of early California. His successful business ventures made him one of the first Black millionaires in America.