PICTURES OF THE WEEK
NEW YORK - THURSDAY SEPT 13!: Everything you need to know about New York’s primary election
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Are you down with POPOS?
Or, the amazing Privately Operated Public Open Spaces in SF.
I’ve visited the Salesforce Park a few times since it opened, and I really like it!
It sits on top of the Salesforce Transit Center. Soon you can take a gondola to the top (which seems like a decadent sort of overkill!), but for now you can use the 10 escalators and elevators to the park.
By the way, Salesforce doesn’t own either the park or the tower - they just have the naming rights. The tower is owned by Boston Properties. The park is owned by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority.
The park is a pleasant blend of strollable paths (there are rolling hills, slightly bending walkways, and protected nooks), botanical gardens (with examples of plants from “mediterranean climates” around the world) , art (I’m fond of the bus fountain), gathering areas (there is a little plaza area where they seem to hold most of their events) and food (a little bar and some carts near the plaza). On the lower levels, there are also a few vending machines for drinks, but there are also vending machines for electronics and drug store items a traveler may find useful. (The vending machines in the Greyhound waiting room were the most extensive!) More retail and food seems to be opening soon. The lighting at night seems really well thought out, warm and not too bright (park is open until 9PM).
This park seems like it would be a great place to relax after work before one’s ride home, or a great place to have lunch. You can see the parallels to the High Line, and I hope more mixed use parks like this are made.
This public urban park stands in stark contrast to the Privately Owned Public Open Spaces (with the terrible acronym POPOS) that exist in downtown SF. As the guy in this video explains, all of the recent construction in the financial district requires them to provide a park or lobby with art for the public to use.
Here is the official map of SF POPOS, but I think this list is a bit more user friendly. (Not in SF? This is the list of POPOS in NYC.)
While some of these are really lovely, quite a few of them seem to be treated with contempt by the buildings they are situated in. A combination of hours that seems restrictive, requiring sign in from security, putting signage in obscure locations, having uncomfortable seating and little shade are tactics that some buildings use to obscure accessing the POPOS. It’s a shame: they could create a lot of social and economic benefit. Maybe this new parke will change things?
Anyhow, next time you need co-working space, consider heading down to the Financial District and using a POPOS - free wifi at the one at LinkedIn!
Speaking of POPOS, I got to go see Lawrence Argent’s Venus last week too. It is 9 stories tall, twists and mirror finished, so it makes you question if your eyes are working correctly.
The plaza has several sculptures of Lawrence Argent, many are in the form of large marble pieces with elements of other famous statues in them. Many of the forms are warped similarly to his Venus.
This raw rock with embedded sculpture allows you to appreciate the natural form of the rock, as well as the skill and craftsmanship needed to create the sculptural elements.
I like this one in particular.
