The Transamerica Pyramid is synonymous with San Francisco as the Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars. Arguably one of the most recognized building in the city’s skyline, it graces postcards and street art and has an IMDB credit list any working actor would be proud of. Yet an air of mystery surrounds the 50-year-old landmark. Perhaps that’s because its futurist design was embroiled in controversy when it debuted in 1969, or because only a special few have made it to the very top of the building.

This now well-loved fixture of San Francisco rises from the city’s financial district and spans one whole block on Montgomery Street. The neighborhood was once the center of the city’s life and commerce, but in 2022, in the wake of the COVID pandemic, San Francisco’s downtown was deemed as the most empty in America. That may be changing as the historical landmark undergoes an extensive renovation aimed at revitalizing the building’s interior and the surrounding area.

You’re likely familiar with the Transamerica Pyramid’s iconic shape that defines the city’s skyline, but you may not know these 13 fascinating facts about the famous San Francisco building.

1. The Transamerica Pyramid was opened in 1972 as San Francisco’s tallest building and the 8th tallest in the world

The original design called for a height of over 1,000 feet. At the time, city ordinances for the area imposed a 65-foot height limit and the proposal was met with resistance. Modest compromise with opponents of the building whittled the height down to 853 feet by the time it was constructed.

Still, that was tall enough for the pyramid to spend 50 years as San Francisco’s tallest building. (Sutro Tower is taller, at 977 feet, but technically it’s a TV and radio tower, not a skyscraper.) The Salesforce Tower, which rises to 1,070 feet, usurped the tallest title in 2018. Today the Transamerica Pyramid is San Francisco’s second tallest building and number 68 on the world’s tallest buildings list. It has 48 floors of office space, while the last 212 feet is an uninhabited cone.

Utility Engineer Rafael Ramirez with the “crown jewel” of the Transamerica Pyramid, a halogen 6,000-watts beacon that can be seen throughout the Bay Area.

San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst N/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

2. At the very top lies the “crown jewel,” which you can occasionally spot throughout the Bay Area

The building is topped by a 32-pane, cathedral-style glass top, referred to as the “crown jewel.” Inside the room is a 6,000-watt light — the jewel itself — which is lit for holidays and other special occasions. The crown jewel room, about the size of a cubicle, is accessed by ascending steep steps and two steel ladders, but it’s not accessible to the public (it’s only been visited by a handful of people.)

One SF daredevil Brett Wise recounted his trip to the crown jewel to The Bold Italic, revealing he made it past the top floor thanks to a security guard friend who was about to quit.

3. The building’s interior and surrounding property is currently undergoing a $400 million redevelopment project

It cost $32 million to construct the building, which is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation by world-renowned architects Foster + Partners, with a team led by Pritzker Laureate Lord Norman Foster himself. The renovation won’t change the building’s exterior, but does promise a private bar and lounge on the uppermost 48th floor, new retail locations in the lobby and the surrounding blocks and an expansion of Redwood Park around the base of the building. The lobby will also receive a facelift, most notably by opening up the ceiling to expose the building’s lattice frame. During construction, the building and Redwood Park are only open to tenants and their guests, but organizers of the project promise “a dynamic new destination for the city” once complete.

The view from the very top of the Transamerica Pyramid, looking through wire-reinforced windows out over the edge of the financial district, the Embarcadero and the Bay Bridge.

San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst N/San Francisco Chronicle via Gett

4. An observation deck on the 27th floor was permanently closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks

There was once an observation deck on the 27th floor of the building, but it was permanently closed due to concerns of another 9/11-like event. The building may have even been an intended target of a foiled attack in 1995, known as the Bojinka plot.

5. Despite the name, the Transamerica Corporation is no longer even in the building

The Transamerica Pyramid got its name from its founding owners, the Transamerica Corporation, an insurance and financial services company that wanted to convey a sense of forward thinking and stability with its headquarters. Transamerica Corporation moved its headquarters to Baltimore, Maryland, but has kept the building’s iconic likeness as its logo, while touting its San Francisco roots on its website. And in turn, the company’s logo remains on the San Francisco building.

The building is now owned by SHVO, a real estate development and investment firm. Founder and CEO Michael Shvo purchased the building in 2020 in partnership with Deutsche Finance America for $650 million.

6. An elite, private club is coming to the Transamerica Building in 2023

Core, a members-only club (with membership fees of up to $100,000) has plans to expand its NYC and Miami locations to three floors of the Transamerica Pyramid, as first reported by the San Francisco Business Times.

7. The design was almost universally hated when it was unveiled in 1969

The Transamerica Pyramid wasn’t always as loved as it is today. When the design by futurist architect William Pereira debuted in 1969, The San Francisco Chronicle’s architecture criticized deemed it “authentic architectural butchery.” Residents protested the construction by wearing dunce caps to poke fun at its pointed shape. San Francisco’s Mayor Joseph Alioto was one of his most ardent defenders. He predicted its success as a landmark and played a key role in winning approval for construction from SF’s Board of Supervisors.

8. It’s one of the most photographed buildings in the world, with strong Hollywood ties

Not only was the designer from Los Angeles, but according to FoundSF, the Transamerica Corporation had ties to United Artists, which gave its headquarters an in for prime Hollywood placement. The building makes cameos in several films, such as the 1978 remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” where it becomes a visual motif. A computer-generated timelapse depicting the construction of the building gets a scene in the 2007 film “Zodiac.” And you’d have a hard time finding montages of San Francisco that don’t feature the iconic skyscraper.

View of the Transamerica Pyramid, Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower and Alcatraz in San Francisco, Calif.

Jeremy Duguid Photography/Getty Images

9. Its futurist design has many features that have withstood the test of time

The Transamerica Pyramid has more than 3,000 windows that are designed to pivot so they can be washed from the inside. The two “shoulders” of the pyramid, located right below the cone, are more than just cool to look at, according to the building manager: one acts as an elevator shaft and the other is for ventilation. The pyramid shape also has benefits: it reduces obstruction to views for any building in Transamerica’s shadow and allows for more natural light and airflow on the surrounding city streets than classic rectangular buildings. In a birds-eye view facing north, the building even acts as San Francisco’s own sundial.

10. San Francisco’s most famous cocktail was invented where the Transamerica Pyramid stands today

Before the Transamerica Pyramid was built, its location was home to the city’s swankiest building, the Montgomery Block, which housed the renowned saloon the Bank Exchange, where the Pisco Punch was invented. It quickly became one of San Francisco’s most iconic cocktails. The saloon closed in 1920 and the Montgomery Block was torn down in 1959. Today, historical plaques surround the building, including one for the Pisco Punch.

11. Sunken ships were excavated around the base of the pyramid during construction

San Francisco’s waterfront used to be much closer to Montgomery Street than it is today, so when construction began, sunken ships dating back to the 1849 California Gold Rush were discovered around where the Transamerica Pyramid now stands. A historical plaque outside the building honors the whaling vessel Niantic, which was excavated from this location.

12. Crushed white quartz on the building’s facade gives it its light color

It will be blasted clean during the renovations.

13. The building shook for more than a minute and swayed a foot during the Loma Prieta earthquake, but emerged damage free

The Transamerica Pyramid is built to withstand earthquakes thanks to its bottom-heavy design and concrete and steel foundations that reach 52 feet deep. In 1989 it received its hardest test yet when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake rattled the city. Though the building swayed more than a foot (as it was designed to do), no one was injured and no damage was sustained.

This story was edited by Hearst National Editor Kristina Moy; you can contact her at kristina.moy@hearst.com.

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Foster + Partners Begins Work on San Francisco’s Iconic Transamerica Pyramid Renovation

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The Transamerica Pyramid, a landmark in the skyline of San Francisco, is undergoing a revitalization project led by Foster + Partners and luxury real estate developers SHVO. Built in 1972, the 48-story Brutalist-style project was designed by American architect William Pereira, and was the tallest building in San Francisco for nearly half a century. The renovation will be the largest in the building’s 50-year history, will also see the expansion and upgrade of the adjacent Three Transamerica (545 Sansome).

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Foster + Partners’ design seeks to restore the site’s historic Redwood Park, tying Two Transamerica (505 Sansome Street) and Three Transamerica (545 Sansome Street) with the landmark through a series of interventions at ground level. The project creates a vibrant new destination in the heart of the city, while honoring its unique heritage and cultural significance. The offices are reimagined as living spaces, emphasizing comfort, hospitality, and flexibility. Taking into account the importance of the “return to the office post-pandemic”, two glass-wrapped floors are allocated in the middle of the tower, dedicated to wellness, a lounge, and conferencing facilities. In addition, the top floor below the spire further promotes the notion of leisure with a private bar and lounge.

© dbox / Foster + Partners

The iconic Redwood Park consists of approximately 50 100-ft-tall mature redwood trees planted back in 1974. The landscape will also be upgraded and complimented with additional greenery. Mark Twain Street, the alleyway from Sansome Street, will also be lined with plum blossom trees all the way up to the base of the pyramid, where curated cafes, shops, and restaurants are allocated.

Related Article

San Francisco’s Iconic Transamerica Pyramid for Sale © Foster + Partners

The Foster team, known for the sensitivity of its juxtapositions of historic and modern structures, conceived a design highly responsive not only to Pereira’s spectacular original architecture, but to the nature of downtown San Francisco: not a generic redo of a 1970’s tower, but a unique project intended to celebrate a unique modern building, making the most of its exclamation point on the skyline and its presence on the street, uniting the two to become a place like no other. — Paul Goldberger, SHVO advisor for Transamerica Pyramid Center

© Foster + Partners

In 2019, the Transamerica Pyramid was listed for sale, selling for $600 million. The project is set to be completed by the middle of 2023

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In the Oakland Hills, not far from Skyline Boulevard, stands an unmarked stone pyramid looking over San Francisco. It’s just up the hill from a small, battered white cabin. Nearby, a stone funeral pyre collects eucalyptus leaves by a bench with one of the best views in the Bay Area. These obscurities were all built by one eccentric man over a century ago — a poet, adventurer, scoundrel and celebrity of his time who went by the name of Joaquin Miller.

Cincinnatus Heine Miller was born in either 1837 or 1841. Miller’s exact birth date, birth place and even birth name are unclear, largely due to Miller being a very unreliable narrator to his own story. Miller gave at least three different birth dates to reporters over the years, to which the Oakland Tribune wrote, “Just why he did this no-one ever knew. He loved controversy.” As for his birthplace, Miller once said he was born somewhere in Indiana, “in a covered wagon, pointing west.”

Joaquin Miller.

Wikimedia Commons

Before he built his strange empire in Oakland, Miller lived an extraordinary life with far too many bizarre adventures for this story. But in summary: As a child Miller moved to Oregon and then made his way to California during the Gold Rush. There, he was involved in numerous battles with Native Americans. After getting struck in the cheek with an arrow in a conflict, Miller claims he sided with the Native Americans and was run out of town. It’s written that after battle Miller did indeed live alongside the Wintu tribe in Northern California, and even fathered a daughter, Cali-Shasta, also known as Lily of the Shasta, with a Native woman. In 1859, Miller was arrested and jailed for stealing a horse in Shasta County, where he claims he was broken out of jail by his bride.

In Idaho in the 1860s, Miller was elected as a judge in Grant County. In Alaska he lost two toes to frostbite. In New York he married a third wife. Between working as cook, a judge, a newspaper editor, Pony Express rider and poet, Miller also found the time to join mercenary William Walker on his invasion of Nicaragua, where Miller’s friend somehow became dictator.

Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, California.

Andrew Chamings

In San Francisco, Miller befriended California’s first poet laureate Ina Coolbrith, who soon became his mentor. It was Coolbrith who convinced Miller to change his name, suggesting that “Joaquin” sounded far more literary and romantic than “Cincinnatus.”

Miller’s flamboyant poetry was universally rejected by publishers in San Francisco, so the adventurer moved to London to try his luck. It was there, in 1871, he penned his most lasting work, “Songs of the Sierras.”

And I have said, and I say it ever
As the years go on and the world goes over
‘Twere better to be content and clever
In the tending of cattle and the tossing of clover.

The 220-page book of poetry honoring the American West and its distant mysteries was an immediate hit in London literary circles. Almost overnight Miller was anointed as the great interpreter of the new world. The poet attended dinner parties with Lord Tennyson and was celebrated is a brilliant, if eccentric, bard and frontiersman from across the pond. He was given the nickname “Poet of the Sierras.”

Joaquin Millier with daughter Juanita at “The Hights,” Oakland, California.

Archival / Unknown

Despite his newfound fame, back in America Miller’s work continued to be derided for being histrionic. As the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in a profile on Miller in 1871, “Californians incline towards prose and solid facts, instead of poetry and fleeting fancies.” The paper did celebrate the Miller’s singularity, though, writing, “Joaquin Miller was riding his bare-backed steed with imaginary stirrups, up and down the Sierras and bathing his elastic imagination in the rays of the setting sun.”

Gold Rush poet Bret Harte, who received countless unsolicited manuscripts from Miller, wrote that the ambitious poet’s verse exhibited “a certain theatrical tendency and feverish exultation, which would be better kept under restraint.”

Miller’s writing was so bombastic that most of his diaries and memoirs are considered untrustworthy, making his life story confusing and, in places almost mythical, as he likely intended. What we do know is that after all of the above wanderings, wars and wives, in 1886 Miller settled on the lush 70 acres of land at the foot of the Oakland Hills he probably deliberately missed “The Hights.”

Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, California.

Andrew Chamings

Miller wanted to create a true bohemian retreat there. He built his wooden home, that still stands today, as a tiny artist’s salon. He named it “The Abbey,” but if you take a walk around the structure today you’ll seen it’s little more than a tiny, albeit charming, Victorian cottage.

As described in a 1953 biography of Miller, the aptly named “Splendid Poseur,” the building consisted of “a single small room with a porch … visitors often said that the room looked like an unfinished museum.” On the walls of the main room hung artifacts of Miller’s adventures, including bear claws, Mexican saddles, sheep horns and “weapons of all sort.”

“Wherever there was a vacant spot, Joaquin had tacked up photographs of actresses and of himself, magazine and newspaper clippings concerning himself,” biographer MM Marberry wrote.

Inside that shrine to adventure and ego, some of the best-known artists of the time visited. Mark Twain, Gertrude Stein, John Muir, Walt Whitman and Jack London are all said to have spent time in “The Hights” with Miller.

In the hills above the property, Miller planted cypress, pine, olive and eucalyptus trees. (Alongside Miller’s trees, one redwood on the property, off a trail, is reportedly the largest redwood in the East Bay, though the exact location of this “sentinel” tree isn’t shared by the parks department.)

Miller lived in Oakland with his ailing mother and daughter, Juanita, who would play the lyre, turning her father’s verse into song. He spent his days watching over San Francisco, drinking whiskey, building strange monuments and writing. He loved the land so much he decided it would be where he would finally end his travels and see out the rest of his days.

To cement this dream he built a pyre atop the hill, on which he asked friends to burn his body when the time came.

Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, California.

Andrew Chamings

The unmarked stone pyramid built by Miller on Lookout Point is actually a monument to Moses, symbolizing Miller’s reverence for the Ten Commandments. (His three wives, children born out of wedlock, horse thievery, the Native Americans and Nicaraguans slain in battle and pin-ups inside his cabin walls maybe reveal a different, less morally pure, life.)

When Miller died in 1913, his body was not set aflame on the pyre as requested. Weeks later members of the notorious Bohemian Club, of which Miller was a member, believedly honored the request by torching his urn in the stone pyre. The raucous ceremony was the talk of the town. Hundreds attended the event in the hills, including actors, writers and curious Oaklanders. Coolbrith’s ode to her friend, “Vale, Joaquin,” was played aloud as a band. According to the Tribune, “movie men” attempted to shoot some footage of the event for a picture, as opportunists attempted to grab fistfuls of the now twice-burned ashes of the folk hero. Miller’s wife Abigail watched the chaotic scene with some glee, telling the paper, “How Joaquin would have enjoyed this! He loved flames.”

After Miller’s death, the land was acquired by the City of Oakland in 1919. The 500-acre park, road and school that bear that his name today are arguably better known than his literary output, which has faded in appreciation compared the the greats that spent time at his retreat. In 1941, the Art Deco 2,000-seat Woodminster Amphitheater was opened and dedicated by Juanita Miller, who had a special reserved seat there during her lifetime.

Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, California.

Andrew Chamings

Alongside the pyre, the pyramid and the Abbey, Miller also built monuments on the property to explorer and senator General John C. Frémont, and poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. A statue of Miller on horseback facing the setting sun was dedicated by Juanita in the 1940s.

Next time you’re in the Oakland Hills and see the name Joaquin Miller, venture off Highway 13 and into the woods to find the strange, scattered monuments built by one of California’s most curious men. Miller, a fraud and a hero, may have been captured best by editor Louis Untermeyer, who wrote in 1930:

“Miller shouted platitudes at the top of his voice. His lines boomed with the pomposity of a brass band; floods, fires, hurricanes, extravagantly blazing sunsets, the thunder of a herd of buffaloes — all were unmercifully piled up. And yet, even in its most blatant fortissimos, Miller’s poetry occasionally captured the grandeur of his surroundings, the spread of the Sierras, the lavish energy of the Western World.”

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Owner Michael Shvo and his partners have hired world-renowned architect Norman Foster to redesign the iconic tower’s interiors and plan to invest $250 million to renovate the 1972 building and expand its Redwood Park. The owners also plan to roughly double the size of neighboring 545 Sansome St. and add a new facade to create a modern office building at the cost of around $150 million.

The plans amount to not only the largest investment in downtown San Francisco since the pandemic began, but one of the largest building redesigns in the city’s history — and to one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks.

“We want to make this place a focal center of downtown, and make sure people come here not only to work,” said Shvo. “It will not only transform the interior of the building but the landscape and the exterior and bring life to the entire site.”

Tourists and residents often take pictures of the 853-foot Pyramid from afar, but the site itself is sleepy, particularly since the pandemic began. “When you come to the site, there’s not much to do there,” Shvo said. “We want to change that.”

A rendering of the new Mark Twain Street with cherry blossom trees and new shops.

Foster + Partners

Mark Twain Street, now a barren alley connected to Redwood Park, would get rows of cherry blossom trees and new shops under the plan. Open space would be expanded around the block. On the ground floor of the Pyramid, Shvo hopes to bring into multiple restaurants, a bookstore and flower shop — all open to the public.

The renovations are expected to take a year to complete. The city has approved a temporary construction barricade, and work is scheduled to begin this week. The expansion of 545 Sansome St. — which is being rebranded 3 Transamerica — to 100,000 square feet of office space would follow and require additional city approvals.

Shvo sees the pandemic as a temporary era, and that people’s reluctance to leave the house can be overcome by making compelling destinations. And he’s bullish on the future of downtown.

“I believe, long-term, San Francisco is one of the most important cities for business in the United States,” Shvo said. “I don’t believe everyone is moving out and I don’t believe everyone is working from home.”

Shvo has partnered with luxury hotel and condo companies like Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons on other projects, and he’s taking a similar hospitality approach to the workplace.

“I strongly believe the office experience should be at the same level as luxury residential and hospitality,” Shvo said. “In the last two years, we’ve made our homes into our offices, now it’s time to make our offices feel like our homes.”

A rendering of the 48th floor tenants bar and lounge at the Transamerica Pyramid.

Foster + Partners

A vacant 48th floor penthouse space would be turned into a bar and lounge exclusively for office tenants at the cost of $201,836, according to a building permit filed this month that is awaiting city approval. Upper floors would include conference rooms, a spa and gym. Office tenants would be able to order food and beverages to their desks.

Separately, New York’s high-end Core club has leased three bottom floors in the Pyramid to build a luxury, members-only facility with three restaurants and three bars.

Shvo said he ran a design competition with world-renowned architects before selecting Foster, who designed Apple Park, the Bay Area’s most valuable property, and London’s Gherkin Building.

Foster has a history of reimagining prominent historic buildings, including designing a new glass dome atop the Reichstag, Germany’s lower house of parliament. He also designed the Manhattan headquarters of Hearst, owner of The Chronicle, a glassy diagonal grid constructed in 2003 atop a six-story structure built in 1927.

The architect has been expanding his work in San Francisco, designing a 1,066-foot tower proposed on the site of the former PG&E garage that would exceed the height of the Pyramid. Another super-tall tower, Oceanwide Center, is stalled after its Chinese owner’s financial turmoil.

The Pyramid design approach seeks to enhance and reveal the tower’s historic elements. For instance, the current lobby ceiling blocks the building’s lattice-like structure, which Shvo wants to restore.

A rendering of the renovated lobby.

Foster + Partners

Shvo and his partners are only the second owners of the tower, after buying it in 2020 for $650 million from Transamerica Corp.’s parent, Aegon. The group, which includes Germany’s biggest pension fund, Bayerische Versorgungskammer, beat out over 40 other bidders.

“They thought we would be the best steward of their brand,” he said of Aegon.

Aegon had previously proposed redevelopment of 545 Sansome St. but hadn’t received approval. Shvo’s plans will result in the relocation of 37-year-old Vietnamese restaurant Sai’s from the site. The developer is currently assisting the restaurant in finding a space nearby.

Shvo said the prospect of renovations has already paid off, with multiple leases over $100 per square foot annually, some of the highest in the country. Shvo declined to identify the tenants.

“We’re really seeing tenants are willing to pay an almost unlimited premium for quality product,” Shvo said. “Tenants today want top-of-the-line product. They want to be in the best buildings.”

Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf

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The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco.

iStock / Getty Images

SAN FRANCISCO – The Transamerica Pyramid, one of San Francisco’s most iconic buildings, sold for $ 650 million eight months after a sales agreement was signed.

New York investor Michael Shvo, Deutsche Finance America and other investors bought the building from Aegon AEG, -0.75%,
Owner of the insurance company of the same name, Transamerica Corp., reported the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday.

The building, the second tallest in the city, had never been sold before.

The price was initially over $ 700 million, but the deal was delayed amid the coronavirus pandemic that disrupted the real estate market and sent most office workers home.

The new owners, including Germany’s largest pension fund, the Bavarian Pension Fund, are planning to renovate the building, which has been an unmistakable part of the San Francisco skyline since it was built in 1972.

The transaction also includes two nearby buildings, 505 Sansome St. and 545 Sansome St., which are a potential development location. The three buildings have a total area of ​​around 760,000 square meters.

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