555 California St.
Oct 13, 2023 11:47:38 #
Oct 13, 2023 12:15:33 #
Oct 13, 2023 12:59:25 #
I was there! Well, maybe not that particular night 
This shot is full of mood and meaning and questions. Another high-impact photo, Phil, well worth studying and absorbing.
This shot is full of mood and meaning and questions. Another high-impact photo, Phil, well worth studying and absorbing.Oct 13, 2023 14:15:04 #
Oct 13, 2023 14:55:05 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
I was there! Well, maybe not that particular night This shot is full of mood and meaning and questions. Another high-impact photo, Phil, well worth studying and absorbing.
This shot is full of mood and meaning and questions. Another high-impact photo, Phil, well worth studying and absorbing.I sort of guessed you were! I was living in SF and teaching in Berkeley at the time this monster was rising above the city. I watched it on my daily commute as it was being built. It marked what columnist Herb Caen called the beginning of the "Manhattanization" of the San Francisco skyline. I did not like it! But I was fascinated with the way the building interfaced with humanity at the street level. I made several attempts to capture those ground level elements without ever risking falling over backwards trying to photograph a giant, black tower as it shot straight up into the sky. I was especially interested in the way those steps died into the sloping sidewalk of California St. The building is now in scale with the current SF skyline....and so it goes.
Thanks for your always thoughtful comments my friend.
Oct 13, 2023 15:22:33 #
rockdog wrote:
The steps make a fascinating photo by themselves....I was especially interested in the way those steps died into the sloping sidewalk of California St. ...
You know what? I had a senior moment! I didn't live in SF until summer of 1971 (naval base at Treasure Island, after boot camp and personnelman training school).
Oct 13, 2023 15:57:27 #
\\
The steps, the cylindrical flower kiosk....the black granite "bankers' heart", they all spoke to me.
The view of San Francisco's growing skyline from T I must have been wonderful. I was still making my commute vie the Bay Bridge when you were there.
Looking back makes me wish I had given those steps much more time. They are still there but with a bunch of hand rails.
Linda From Maine wrote:
The steps make a fascinating photo by themselves.
You know what? I had a senior moment! I didn't live in SF until summer of 1971 (naval base at Treasure Island, after boot camp and personnelman training school).
You know what? I had a senior moment! I didn't live in SF until summer of 1971 (naval base at Treasure Island, after boot camp and personnelman training school).
The steps, the cylindrical flower kiosk....the black granite "bankers' heart", they all spoke to me.
The view of San Francisco's growing skyline from T I must have been wonderful. I was still making my commute vie the Bay Bridge when you were there.
Looking back makes me wish I had given those steps much more time. They are still there but with a bunch of hand rails.
Oct 13, 2023 16:03:11 #
rockdog wrote:
Another engaging shot. You must have done a lot of night-time roaming \\
The steps, the cylindrical flower kiosk....the black granite "bankers' heart", they all spoke to me.
The view of San Francisco's growing skyline from T I must have been wonderful. I was still making my commute vie the Bay Bridge when you were there.
Looking back makes me wish I had given those steps much more time. They are still there but with a bunch of hand rails.
The steps, the cylindrical flower kiosk....the black granite "bankers' heart", they all spoke to me.
The view of San Francisco's growing skyline from T I must have been wonderful. I was still making my commute vie the Bay Bridge when you were there.
Looking back makes me wish I had given those steps much more time. They are still there but with a bunch of hand rails.
Oct 13, 2023 16:12:38 #
Oct 13, 2023 16:36:10 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
Another engaging shot. You must have done a lot of night-time roaming
My willingness and ability to be out and about at night was far more likely fifty years ago,
Oct 13, 2023 16:36:37 #
Oct 13, 2023 17:08:50 #
I worked at 171 Second St. and 221 California during that period. Couldn't get me down there now even with a platoon of Marines. 
Oct 13, 2023 17:21:57 #
Oct 13, 2023 18:32:11 #
Oct 14, 2023 00:33:30 #
Curmudgeon wrote:
I worked at 171 Second St. and 221 California during that period. Couldn't get me down there now even with a platoon of Marines.
Fifty years of change in the Bay Area make it easy to understand why you made a move Jack.
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