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Axios
16-05-2025
- General
- Axios
Time capsule turns Transamerica Pyramid into a portal to the past
The Transamerica Pyramid Center unveiled a new exhibition this week showcasing artifacts from a time capsule buried in 1974. State of play: It takes people back in time to a window of San Francisco long left behind. Driving the news: When it opened in 1972, the Transamerica Pyramid was seen as a symbol of the city's growth. To commemorate the event, a team put together a time capsule and buried it 6 feet beneath the Pyramid's annex with a plaque instructing it to remain untouched for 50 years. Over time, the capsule was forgotten. But in 2024, as the Pyramid finished its first phase of renovation, a tip based on a treasure hunt book and an old map led to its rediscovery. Zoom in: The 14-by-16-inch steel capsule— contained a range of mementos marking the history that led to the pyramid's development. That timeline dates as far back as the Gold Rush, when the site sat along the San Francisco waterfront. It was later occupied by the Montgomery Block, a famous artist enclave. Relics of that time include a copy of the book "Ark of Empire: San Francisco's Montgomery Block," by Idwal Jones, and shreds of redwood logs used in the 1850s as an earthquake-proof foundation for the building. Other items revolved around the Pyramid's construction, ranging from Polaroids and newspaper clippings to the recipe for Pisco Punch, a signature cocktail invented at the original Bank Exchange Saloon. Friction point: Not everyone in the 1970s was happy about the Pyramid's radical design, which faced protests and petitions to shut it down. Flashback: "It was cloak and dagger," said 92-year-old John Krizek, the Transamerica Corp. employee who conceptualized the capsule. Because they knew an appeal would be filed as soon as they got permits approved for the project, they intentionally went to City Hall during lunch and hustled the employees into an impromptu groundbreaking ceremony with a signed-off note that's now in the exhibition, Krizek told Axios. In the capsule is also a sign with a cartoon of two ancient Egyptians arguing while pyramids are erected behind them. It was dispatched as a counterpoint to a protest against the Pyramid, according to Krizek. The intrigue: To combat the negative attention, Krizek and his team spent one morning making up little slogans, typing them up and shipping them off to the nearby fortune cookie factory. One such slogan was "People who protest the Pyramid seek cheap publicity." "I barely got back a basket of these things in time to pass out at that demonstration," he said. "We turned that whole protest into a party." What they're saying: Krizek, who now lives in Arizona, had not returned to San Francisco for almost a dozen years prior to the Transamerica Pyramid's reopening last fall. "I don't know of a square block in the western United States that reeks with so much history and significance as that piece of ground, and I feel it's important for people to remember that," he added. What's next: The exhibition opens to the public on Sunday.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Transamerica Pyramid's rediscovered time capsule opened
SAN FRANCISCO - A new exhibit has been unveiled at a San Francisco landmark. A time capsule from the Transamerica Pyramid from some 50 years ago has been unearthed from 6-feet underground. The time capsule exhibition at 600 Montgomery Street commemorates the long-lost artifact originally placed below the historic Bank Exchange Saloon in 1974. What lies inside is reflective of the building's controversial nature when it was conceived and eventually built. There are front pages of newspapers, fliers protesting the building's construction, vintage advertisements and handwritten letters, both for and against, the construction of the Transamerica Pyramid. In addition, Polaroid photos and the original recipe for the Pisco Punch cocktail are included. The cocktail actually dates back to the 1830s, was popular during the Gold Rush, and was served at the Bank Exchange and Billiard Saloon, where the Transamerica Pyramid now stands. Last year, we reported on the pyramid's extensive and costly renovation. The time capsule had been long forgotten, but during the renovations was rediscovered. Speaking at Tuesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie called the historic building a symbol of growth and ambition. He called it, "A marker of a city that believed in its future. Through moments of prosperity and periods of challenge the Pyramid has remained. I see it now, not just as a symbol of bold design, but of resilience for this neighborhood and for our city." According to a press release for the event, John Krizek, the 93-year-old "visionary" behind the time capsule, who was also an original spokesperson for the Transamerica Company, was in conversation with others at the event. This time capsule unveiling is part of the Transamerica Pyramid Center's cultural activation following the $1 billion renovation project. The exhibit at the Annex at Transamerica Pyramid Center opens to the public this Sunday, May 18. The exhibit's hours are daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fast Company
15-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
An unearthed time capsule beneath the Transamerica Pyramid shows a glimpse of San Francisco's past
Like other famous structures of similar dimensions, the 48-story Transamerica Pyramid, a revolutionary '70s modernist skyscraper and San Francisco icon, has a bit of history buried beneath its ground floor. A recently unearthed time capsule, buried in 1974 and discovered during a recent round of renovations, offers a picture of San Francisco's past. The site of the structure—then a parking lot—was initially part of the original shoreline of the city that reeked of historical significance, from the city's growth as a shipping and banking capital. The capsule even contains a recipe for Pisco Punch, a cocktail that was invented at the nearby Bank Exchange Saloon, site of the city's original stock exchange. Part of an exhibit in the building lobby opening May 18, the time capsule's contents are timeless: pictures of the building's steel frame beginning to stretch skyward, or vintage news clippings and images of the city after its last '60s flowering. But within the cylindrical steel capsule, which looks a bit like a large propane tank, there's also a narrative about building in America, and how that's radically changed in the last 50 years. The battle over the permitting and construction of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco from 1969 to 1972 offers a flashback to a different time in development, real estate, and construction. The tower was proposed and built in just three years, a sprint compared to the time it takes today to build a signature part of a city skyline. Construction alone for the One World Trade in New York City took eight years; the Comcast Tech Center in Philadelphia, which had issues with cracks in some of the steel frame, took five years; and the St. Regis in Chicago took four years. An analysis of high-rise buildings by Construction Physics found building speeds decreased significantly over the past century, in many cases extending the time it takes to finish by roughly 50%. Buildings are more complex and require more permitting today, including complicated environmental review processes. This time-consuming process of development has led to backlash against what opponents call stifling building regulations. It has also led to more engagement from architects around code reform issues including elevator rules and exit stairs, and the formation of the abundance agenda, a center-left push by pundits like Ezra Klein to get the nation building fast again. 'The pace of the approval and the construction here is unbelievable,' says developer Michael Shvo, who paid $650 million to acquire the Transamerica Pyramid in 2020, at the depths of the COVID office freeze.. 'The Mayor was very determined to get this thing approved, and Transamerica was very determined to get a building built, and with all the controversy, once they got the green light, they ran as fast as possible. They built it in two years, we couldn't do that today.' A more humane debate Transamerica was then a massive business conglomerate with interests in banking, financial services, and insurance. According to former public relations staffer John Krizek, who worked for Transamerica during the pyramid's construction and ultimately created the time capsule, the back-and-forth between protestors and developers at the time was more humane, more respectable, and more amusing. The conversation around the Transamerica Pyramid was, at the time, a larger debate about images, architecture, and aesthetics. The tower was not just a unique shape, but would tower above the skyline. It was to be the city's tallest building, and wouldn't be surpassed until 2018's Salesforce Tower. Artists and community members protested the building for aesthetic reasons, and general distrust of large corporations. Posters passed around the city at the time proclaimed 'San Francisco Gets the Shaft' or 'Artists Against the Icicle.' The city's then planning director called the pyramid, designed by architect William Pereira, 'inhumane.' During early street protests in front of the company's office, Transamerica execs sent secretaries to bring ice tea to the protestors lining up outside. During another protest, Krizek and his colleagues printed up fake fortune cookies at a nearby Chinatown bakery, frantically stuffing messages like 'Transamerica–Not a square outfit' or 'People who protest pyramid seek Che-ops publicity.' Krizek recalled that the company was determined to break ground in December 1969. The building plan was announced in January of that year, and there was a tax break worth approximately $750,000 expiring at the end of December. Since Krizek and his coworkers knew that as soon as the company was given approval to build, there would be an appeal, they planned to move fast and break ground before paperwork was filed. To head off any challenges, they staged a tractor and truck near the site and sent someone to pick up the approval during the midday lunch break; they were able to get a time-stamped photo of someone digging at site while those opposing the project saw their appeal delayed as staffer enjoyed their lunch. 'The emotions around this building, I've never seen this for any other building in the world,' says Shvo. 'The debates today are more practical; this structure will block my view or cast a shadow. You can't say that about this building, it was a pyramid designed to let the light down to the street level. It didn't block views, the only thing people could complain about was this idea of the Manhattanization of San Francisco.' Originally, Pereira's design was meant for a new building for ABC in New York City. The network passed on the project, deeming the design too futuristic, and went with another architect's vision. Today, the Transamerica Pyramid stands as an icon in San Francisco, with 80% of the space leased in a challenging office market. The building ABC picked instead? It's since been demolished.
