San Francisco is a city with a signature skyline. Buildings have unique "Building Tops" defining a unique and artistic design oriented city.
The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest and most recognizable skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline. The Transameric Tower
is located on 600 Montgomery Street. It was completed in 1972. The building has a structural height of 260 meters (853 feet) and contains
48 floors of retail and office space.
It is currently ranked as the 98th tallest building in the world. The design was a clever solution to achieving height while maintaining the
square foot zoning restrictions. It was also meant to be a semantic design indication of the power of those
who occupied the top floors.
The building is a tall, four-sided pyramid with two "wings" on opposite sides of the building.
The wing to the east of the building contains an elevator shaft, while the wing to the west contains a stairwell and a smoke tower.
The top 64.6 meters (212 feet) of the building is the spire. There are four cameras pointed in the four cardinal directions at
the top of this spire forming a virtual observation deck.
Four monitors in the lobby, whose direction and zoom can be controlled by visitors, display the cameras'
views 24 hours a day. An observation deck on the 27th floor was closed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and
replaced by the virtual observation deck. The top of the Transamerica Pyramid is covered with aluminum panels. During the holiday season,
Thanksgiving, and 4th of July, a bright, white light is lit on top of the pyramid.
The Transamerica Pyramid was the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi from 1972-1974 (surpassing the nearby 555 California Street), at which point it was surpassed by the Aon Center in Los Angeles, which was designed by Pereira's former business partner Charles Luckman.
William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry[1] who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Remarkably prolific, he worked out of Los Angeles, and was known for his love of science fiction and expensive cars, but mostly for his unmistakable style of architecture, which came to define the look of mid-20th century America.
San Francisco Landmarks lit up for Christmas. The Transamera tower has special lights durring holidays. SFBAYIMAGES.com Photography.
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