Musings on Art Deco and Modernism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Albert Pissis was one of San Francisco's most respected architects from the Gilded Age to the post-fire building boom. To me, he is also one of the era's more quietly fascinating figures in local architecture, described after his death as having been a man of "dominating will power," "naturally reserved," but frank in expressing his opinion, even to "the… Continue reading The mystery of the Gilded Age architect and his artist brother
The demolition of the front of the Transbay Terminal began today, with the repetitive swinging of the wrecking ball, which the contractors call "Big Red." The Transbay Joint Powers Authority, in one of the oddest press releases I have ever seen, heralded the news, saying that the wreckers Evans Brothers, Inc. "dropped the historic first wrecking ball on the front… Continue reading Wrecking ball starts demo of Transbay Terminal
With the looming demolition of the Transbay Terminal approaching next month, one might expect to see the inevitable stories about the building's better days in the local press. Sadly, the Sunday piece by Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle does not do the building justice. Too many have judged the 1939 building's architectural merits by… Continue reading The Transbay Terminal Will be Missed
Timothy Pflueger Blog 