At midnight tonight San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Terminal permanently closes its doors to the public and becomes an official hardhat zone in order to be razed and make way for the rise of San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center.
While most eyes are on the terminal, however, we turn our attention to the big patch of green rendered above where the building that once housed Varnish, the lofts in which Boom Dizzle (AKA Baron Davis) once lived, and Zebulon all currently stand.
∙ All Aboard As San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal Nears Its Close [SocketSite]
∙ Transbay Center Plans: Revised, Refined, And Unveiled Today [SocketSite]
∙ As The Sun Sets Over San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal… [SocketSite]
∙ Boom Dizzle (AKA Baron Davis) Is In The His House (And SoMa) [SocketSite]
Is it too late to bring back the SOM design?
Well sheesh, I had heard that the Zebulon buildings were on the chopping block at least 5 years ago. But Toaster Oven and Osha Thai have moved in in that time, so I suppose it could still be a surprise for some reason. It’ll sure be the end of an era when Gasser’s and DV8 are razed.
ah, yeaaaaa.. think it’s a little late for SOM.
Great day for The City as we move forward with this awesome new terminal.
There is humbleness and timelessness I enjoy about the Pelli design. My initial vote was for SOM but I am totally content with the current approval and design. I’m sure the tower will be tweaked and modified as was the terminal. The future is bright.
The little buildings next to the big buildings looks fantastic
Progress!! Who’da thought it could happen in SF??
Wonderful new homeless camp! Can this city please respond to this out of control situation… perhaps give tents to all that will be arriving..
According to the sfgate commenters this seven-year “temporary” terminal has no bathrooms available to passengers. So it appears we’ll have passengers peeing on the terminal instead of the homeless doing so. Or maybe in addition to, once it becomes understood that certain alcoves are de facto open-air toilets. Glad I don’t live close by.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/07/BA1A1EOPR7.DTL
Delancey, the bathrooms at the old terminal were fully occupied by homeless people and their things and not really used by passengers anyway. (I have used the men’s room there a couple times but it’s never a pleasant experience — much better to go at the office before you leave.)
I walked by the other day and there is indeed an entire trailer dedicated to bathrooms for passengers.
This time-lapse film clearly demonstrates my biggest concern about the new park; it’s in the shade for most of the day. Won’t it be a cold, dark, windy place much of the time? Why create a grand outdoor space, instead of the grand indoor space that SOM suggested?
I was in Union Station is DC last week. It’s a bustling. busy place with shops, restaurants, and crowds of people marveling at the architecture. In short, close to what SOM suggested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLe704XBid4
^^^”it’s in the shade for most of the day. Won’t it be a cold, dark, windy place much of the time? ”
Agreed! This future park could be one of the great urban planning failures of all time. I would much rather see an SOM or Washington DC style station.
Yay! Another outdoor park to enjoy SF’s perennial wind and chill! Oh but it’s “green!”
“it’s in the shade for most of the day. Won’t it be a cold, dark, windy place much of the time? ”
I’m not saying it won’t be breezy there, but the time-lapse certainly doesn’t start anywhere near sunrise. It’s a complete guess, but I’d say the video starts around 2 PM.
The time-lapse was shot on 3/2/2010 beginning at 3:02pm.
i will take green out door space with or with out sunshine over an indoor venue any day of the week, particularly in the center of a major metropolitan area. great design. i cannot think of a another city that has 5 acres of outdoor space on top of a building in a major urban area.
one more point, the green space has a south exposure with little blockage from the south, ie, tall buildings are on the north side. maybe whoever posted the video shot could show something that was contemporary, ie now vs march.
^^^”it’s in the shade for most of the day.
No it isn’t.