Here on the right is a detail of that building and the arched windows. It looks like the arches are bisected horizontally by a floor, so what would have been a super splendid upper floor, is probably less so. This building at street level has a really interesting huge carving over the arched entryway, of a parchment scroll, unrolled and saying "Pacific Gas and Electric Company" with supporting sculptural elements.
The building right next store (to the left) was named the Matson Building and was the headquarters of a shipping company, but is now also owned by PG&E. After the 1989 earthquake, the two buildings were extensively renovated and structurally joined together in an earthquake retrofit. The upper windows have that interesting two-light sort of Arabic/Venetian treatment, and the building has nice friezes of a ceramic, faux "sgraffito" technique. Notice the dolphins and tridents. Both of these beaux-art buildings date from soon after 1906 when the entire city was destroyed by the Great Earthquake. A few SF high-rises date from the mid 60's but most of them are from the very late 70s and the 80's - we got a late start. Another high-rise building boom is going on right now. These two older buildings are about 18 stories tall and are about 4 blocks from the Ferry Building on the SF Bay. On the other side of the block, behind these two buildings, on Mission Street, PG&E now has a 34 story high-rise. They have the entire block for their company headquarters and administrative functions. My bill always comes on time... month after month after month after month!
And I should just say that this is Bellakara, I have a private writing journal here where I make notes and I was logged in. So if I accidentally leave a reply without changing accounts, you'll know it was me.
I think those dolphins and tridents are probably at about the 14th story level. San Francisco has an unusual street pattern that changes orientation along Market Street and that here and there allows long views of the facades of certain buildings, and that was the case with this photo, where I used a telephoto from about a block away. The beautiful detailing was part of a philosophy at the time called the City Beautiful Movement, where classicizing elements in architecture were believed by devotees of the style to promote harmony and morality in the citizens. Disillusionment after World War 1 tended to end Victorian ideologies like this, and the Beaux-Art / City Beautiful ideology died out.
Like most conservative tendencies, it's about how things ought to be, rather than the realities of how things actually are. Even though one cannot see something because it is either not actually there, or just out of sight for some reason or other, it is supposed to somehow promote goodness - kind of like faith is supposed to do. Looks good on paper or in theory.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-16 07:45 pm (UTC)
It looks like the arches are bisected horizontally by a floor, so what would have been a super splendid upper floor, is probably less so. This building at street level has a really interesting huge carving over the arched entryway, of a parchment scroll, unrolled and saying "Pacific Gas and Electric Company" with supporting sculptural elements.The building right next store (to the left) was named the Matson Building and was the headquarters of a shipping company, but is now also owned by PG&E. After the 1989 earthquake, the two buildings were extensively renovated and structurally joined together in an earthquake retrofit. The upper windows have that interesting two-light sort of Arabic/Venetian treatment, and the building has nice friezes of a ceramic, faux "sgraffito" technique. Notice the dolphins and tridents. Both of these beaux-art buildings date from soon after 1906 when the entire city was destroyed by the Great Earthquake. A few SF high-rises date from the mid 60's but most of them are from the very late 70s and the 80's - we got a late start. Another high-rise building boom is going on right now. These two older buildings are about 18 stories tall and are about 4 blocks from the Ferry Building on the SF Bay. On the other side of the block, behind these two buildings, on Mission Street, PG&E now has a 34 story high-rise. They have the entire block for their company headquarters and administrative functions. My bill always comes on time... month after month after month after month!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-16 09:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-16 09:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-16 10:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-16 10:17 pm (UTC)I think those dolphins and tridents are probably at about the 14th story level. San Francisco has an unusual street pattern that changes orientation along Market Street and that here and there allows long views of the facades of certain buildings, and that was the case with this photo, where I used a telephoto from about a block away. The beautiful detailing was part of a philosophy at the time called the City Beautiful Movement, where classicizing elements in architecture were believed by devotees of the style to promote harmony and morality in the citizens. Disillusionment after World War 1 tended to end Victorian ideologies like this, and the Beaux-Art / City Beautiful ideology died out.
Like most conservative tendencies, it's about how things ought to be, rather than the realities of how things actually are. Even though one cannot see something because it is either not actually there, or just out of sight for some reason or other, it is supposed to somehow promote goodness - kind of like faith is supposed to do. Looks good on paper or in theory.