San Francisco Modern Architecture Landmarks

With its busy cable cars, multicultural neighborhoods and a blue, blue bay, San Francisco inspires passionate loyalty in those who love her. The artistic and business heart of Northern California, "The City" is beloved for the European flair of its turn-of-the-century Victorian houses and apartments, but also for the shiny, brash modern buildings in the financial district.

Transamerica Pyramid

• Like Paris' Eiffel Tower, San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid was not greeted with open arms when developers released plans for the uniquely pointed skyscraper in 1969. Architect William L. Pereira argued that the pyramid shape was ideal for a skyscraper in San Francisco's busy financial district as it allowed extra sunlight into the adjacent streets, but popular opinion was very much against him. Today the Pyramid is, at 853 feet tall, the best known building in the skyline of The City. The outer walls of the pyramid are covered with crushed quartz, making the building look like it is forever bathed in moonlight.

Transbay Center

• It isn't your ordinary train station. The Transbay Transit Center began as a visionary project to create a “Grand Central Station of the West,” set in a neighborhood as new and modern as the transportation hub. The enormous Transit Center connects San Francisco to outlying areas as well as the rest of the state by housing 11 transit systems including Greyhound, AC Transit, Amtrak, BART, SamTrans, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, Muni and the High Speed Rail from Los Angeles/Anaheim. The project, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, broke ground in 2013. In addition to uniting myriad transit lines in a five-story, steel-and-glass building, the project offers a 5.4-acre rooftop park in downtown San Francisco, designed by PWP Landscape Architecture.

555 California Street

• It entered the world in 1969 as the Bank of America Building, a 52-story skyscraper in The City's financial district, intended to house the home office of the prosperous Bank of America in fit accommodations. The modern structure's thousands of bay windows mirror the bay windows in San Francisco's renowned Victorian buildings. The skyscraper is covered in rich carnelian granite, as is the entire area around it: the nearby plaza and the adjoining sidewalks. In 1998, Bank of America moved its headquarters east and the building became known by its address: 555 California Street.

St. Regis

• San Francisco is not short on deliciously decadent hotels, but the St. Regis stands out in its location on Mission near the Yerba Buena Gardens because it represents a fusion of the old with the new. It is a 42-story skyscraper that neatly incorporated a historic San Francisco structure, the Williams Building, into the tower; the work was completed in 2005. The St. Regis Tower offers guest suites in the five-star St. Regis Hotel as well as 90 luxury condominiums, an underground garage and the Museum of the African Diaspora.

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Things to Do in San Francisco by Moscone Center

Moscone Center, located in the center of downtown San Francisco, plays host to dozens of conferences, expos and other business events throughout the year -- it's especially popular with technology companies. But whether you're in the area for work or for play, you'll find plenty of off-site diversions within just a few blocks. Shopping and dining options abound, as do more culturally elevated attractions.

Ride a Carousel

• The Yerba Buena Gardens are actually located on top of part of the Moscone Center complex. This multi-use complex has several components including a bowling alley, a skating rink, a playground and a fountain that doubles as a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. You'll also find a vintage carousel, originally erected in San Francisco in 1906 and lovingly restored and maintained by the nearby Children's Creativity Museum.

Visit a Museum

• Moscone Center is surrounded by world-class museums, from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art just to the northeast and the Contemporary Jewish Museum to the north, to smaller and more focused museums such as the Cartoon Art Museum and the Museum of the African Diaspora. Meanwhile, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts presents music and dance performances and installations, providing exhibition gallery space for a variety of innovative visual art.
• Catch a Movie

• If museums are too highbrow for what you're looking for, you can always catch a movie. Several theaters are located nearby, including the Sony Metreon and the Westfield Centre Cinemas. Both show first-run movies in theaters with stadium seating and similar modern comforts. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts screens more artistic and experimental film work regularly as well.

Eat a Tasty Treat

• Dining options are plentiful and varied around Moscone Center. If you like cream puffs, Beard Papa's -- the local outlet of a famed Japanese chain -- is nearby. If you crave a sophisticated tea lounge experience, head to Samovar in the Yerba Buena Gardens. For top-level fine dining, the Fifth Floor is dedicated to wedding haute cuisine with ecologically mindful practices from selecting sustainable food sources to recycling kitchen oil.

Shop Your Heart Out

• Just across the street from Moscone Center is the Westfield Shopping Center, anchored by a branch of Nordstrom's. Right next door is Bloomingdale's as well as smaller shops such as the Art of Shaving and Kate Spade. In the Metreon complex you'll also find an outlet for local press Chronicle Books full of colorful gifts.

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Bay Area Train Rides

The San Francisco Bay Area has BART, part monorail, part train, depending on what part of town you’re in. That’s short for Bay Area Rapid Transit. It also has AMTRAK and Caltrain, the latter a commuter service that runs from San Francisco all the way to Gilroy. These are certainly rideable and people do hop aboard just to see the sights. But for something more exciting, more vintage, it’s time to seek out the area's hidden railway gems. You might even find yourself being chased by bad guys, 1880s style.

San Francisco Zoo – Little Puffer

• The Little Puffer might be just a pint-sized version of the steam locomotives that crossed the continent nearly a century ago but it puffs out clouds of steam just like the big boys. Historians believe that the train once chugged away at Santa Cruz Beach. In 1925 it became a part of the Herbert Fleishhacker Zoo in Golden Gate Park and puffed its way around the third-of-a-mile track several times each day. After being in storage between 1978 and 1997, the Little Puffer was completely restored, thanks to mostly private donations. Once again it’s “puffing away” on a daily basis, except during rainy weather or when down for a bit of maintenance.

Oakland Area Fun Trains

• In the East Bay, the Oakland Zoo has its own Outback Express Adventure Train ride that runs through a recreated Australian landscape. Clack along on this miniature steam train replica and get a look at bouncing wallaroos and long-necked emus. The departure point is in the rides area to the right of the main gates. Other rides include a Sky Ride that takes you up and over the zoo to a nearby hill, an Endangered Species Carousel, a Tiger Coaster and a Red Baron airplane ride. Most rides, except for the Sky Ride, are geared towards the little ones. Adults and children both fit on the train. The train runs daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day when the zoo is closed. Children’s Fairyland in the heart of downtown Oakland has the Jolly Trolly, a cartoon-style train that’s been running since 1954. Its boldly colored mini-cars journey through a tunnel and into Old West Junction. The train is a tight squeeze for some adults but small children must be accompanied for the ride. Park hours vary throughout the year.

Tilden Park Trains -- Berkeley

• On the northern end of the Oakland-Berkeley Hills is Tilden Park. It’s home to the Redwood Valley Railway, located on the southern end of the park off Grizzly Peak Boulevard. The railway is open weekends year-round and on some holidays, weather permitting. Guests ride in open-air box cars on the scaled-down steam train. Golden Gate Live Steamers is also in Tilden Park but these are more like oversized, fully functional model trains. Some are big enough to ride on and rides are offered most Sundays. Golden Gate Live Steamers is near the Redwood Valley Railway.

Vintage South Bay Trains

• Niles Canyon Railway gives rides on both diesel and steam-powered trains from stations in Niles and Fremont, mostly on weekends. During the holiday season, the railway features the Train of Lights, an evening ride enhanced by Christmas lights and even Santa and his reindeer perched atop one of the train cars. Rides take about an hour and cover 13 miles round-trip. The onsite museum tracks the history of railroading in the Niles Canyon area going back to the mid-1800s. Niles Canyon was also known as a movie-making hotspot for westerns during the 1910s and 1920s. Even Charlie Chaplin came to town to be immortalized on film. If you’re an old western movie buff, you may recognize some of the scenery, sans most of the buildings of course.

Roaring Camp Railroads – Felton

• San Jose is on the southern end of the Bay Area. From here, follow Highway 17 south for 31 miles and you’ll come to Felton, a sleepy town in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Roaring Camp Railroads is a surprise hiding among the trees. It's a recreated old-time village that regularly hosts Civil War reenactments, holiday events and rides on vintage steam trains dating back to the 1800s. The Redwood Forest Steam Train ride is a little more than an hour’s journey through the Santa Cruz Mountains and includes a couple of twisty wooden trestles. Every summer Roaring Camp puts on the Great Train Robberies show where guests find out just what it was like to have outlaws try and take over your train. The good guys are there, of course, to fight back. Another option is the Santa Cruz Beach Train, taking you from the mountains to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. It’s a three-hour ride round-trip but if you like, hop off and enjoy the boardwalk and catch another train going back. Other special train rides include the Headless Horseman on Halloween, the Chanukah Train and the Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train.

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How to Travel Alone in San Francisco

San Francisco is a great city for a solo vacation or business trip. It is a very friendly city with lots of outdoor attractions that make it easy to meet people. When traveling solo, a great way to make friends for the trip is to stay at a youth hostel. San Francisco has numerous youth hostels and they are full of travelers from all over the world.

Things You'll Need

• Camera

Tips

1. Stay in a youth hostel. The AYH hostels in San Francisco are wonderful. They are clean, well organized and full of international travelers. You will meet people from all over the world, if you stay in a hostel.
2. Travel safely. Do not give out personal information to new people you meet on your trip. Lock up your valuables and do not wear anything expensive that may attract the wrong kind of attention when you are exploring the city.
3. Visit outdoor attractions like the Fisherman's Wharf and outdoor parks to mingle with tourists and residents of San Francisco. Check out the Farmer's Markets too.
4. Walk through the different neighborhoods of the city. San Francisco's neighborhoods each have a distinct culture. The Haight is a great spot to visit if you like music and book stores. Chinatown is a great place for lunch and shopping. North Beach offers the City Lights bookstore and great Italian food. Explore as many neighborhoods as possible to get a feel for the real San Francisco.
5. Stop rushing around at least for a bit and enjoy the scenery. San Francisco is a beautiful city. Find a bench along the bay or in a park and enjoy the view. You will meet people as they sit near you and start up a conversation.

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