With the current residential and commercial building boom taking place in San Francisco we decided to head down to the Financial District to check out the street art. Mind you we did not go looking for the usual type we post. The Financial District is all about big bucks, big budgets, big building and big ideas. All that means another type of street art – architecture, sculptures and privately owned public space. This is one place where power and creativity come together to create street art that last lifetimes, spans generations and give a sense of stability and continuity.

On this jaunt we focused on sculptures. The Financial District probably has the largest concentration of sculptures in San Francisco. They are on the street, gracing privately owned public space, in office building lobbies and tucked away within buildings. Frequently the sculptures are commissioned when the buildings are in the design phase to enhance the ascetics and comply with a city art building requirement. The artists who create them are not household names, despite the fact their art may be scattered around the globe. Sculptures take time to create, can be expensive to make given many are metallurgic or use other materials that are not readily accessible and may require an investment or access to specialized equipment and facilities to produce.

We found sculptures we have enjoyed for years and a lower number than expected of new ones, given the proliferation of new buildings. A very small cross section is shown to highlight the different sizes, styles and placement. The large sculptures along the Embarcaderro are not shown since that art has high visibility amongst San Francisco visitors and residents. Hopefully you will find enough here to entice you to wander though the area. Sunday is best for viewing since the area is fairly deserted and parking is free. Unfortunately some sculptures like the ones in the Pyramid privately owned public Redwood Park are locked on the week-end.

The art is shown in a proposed circular walk where you begin and end at Sydney Walton Park on Front St at Jackson. The walk ends in the park where there is more art than shown. The Benny Bufano sculpture is an ideal ending sculpture. He was a quintessential San Francisco artist who created almost two dozen sculptures that are reflective of our city culture and scattered by public buildings and parks around the City. A grocery store is across from the park to pick up picnic fare where hopefully you will hear the famous Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill jabber in the trees.

If you want to know more details about these sculptures and others you may want to visit Art and Architecture SF. They document sculptures around the city, including some of these with links to the artists pages. The Embarcadero Center has an extensive collection. You can go to their site for a self guided tour. Embarcadero Center Art Program