The slow demolition of the Jack Tar Hotel on Van Ness and Geary has been an entertaining spectacle over the last few months...
...at times looking like monumental abstract sculpture...
...with colorful accents from big machinery.
The 1960 Mid-Century Modern hotel felt a bit out of place from its very inception, and many people despised the structure, even after it had been painted beige in the 1980s and renamed the Cathedral City Hotel.
Longtime San Franciscan Bay Area residents all seem to have interesting stories of experiences there, from Werner Erhard's EST weekends in the 1970s to salsa dancing in the ballroom over the decades.
The block will soon house the new California Pacific Medical Center, which will have interesting stories of its own.
Some buildings will not be missed! There sure are a lot of cranes down your way. But then we have a monster crane here in the Mission too, just blocks from 24th St.
ReplyDeleteDear Jan: I feel like I'm living in Brasilia during the construction phase these days.
ReplyDeleteAnd a note from your friend Catherine Cusic via FB about her most interesting memory of the Jack Tar: "I remember when the oligarchs of el salvador used to meet there and the police were all over us with horses..."
One bit of ugly gone! Yaaaaay!
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