The Jackson Square neighborhood in San Francisco is abuzz with activity on a recent Saturday afternoon. A local Latin band performs on a stage under a canopy of redwoods and string lights. Passersby wander through an outdoor installation of bronze-cast sculptures. Friends mingle outside a French café and wine bar that is hosting its annual kitchenware sidewalk sale.
Towering above everyone is the Transamerica Pyramid, the city’s second-tallest building (after the Salesforce Tower, which opened in 2018) and arguably its most recognizable: The 853-foot-high white skyscraper gradually narrows into a pyramid-shaped tip.
Developer Michael Shvo’s eponymously named company purchased the iconic building and surrounding property in 2020 for $650 million.
When Shvo visited San Francisco as a child on a family trip, he was fascinated by it. “I came home and drew a picture of myself next to the pyramid—this bold, futuristic shape that had fully captivated my imagination,” he recalls.
The Transamerica Pyramid is flanked by a calming redwood park, where the soaring conifers are interspersed with interesting sculptures.
Courtesy of Transamerica Pyramid
Decades later, the real-life version of that childhood sketch came true: Shvo’s company completed the first phase of an ambitious renovation project of the Transamerica Pyramid in September 2024, which Shvo says is helping to jump-start a downtown revival.
A July visit to explore the neighborhood was my first time back in downtown San Francisco since the COVID-19 pandemic. The atmosphere in Jackson Square? Lively. The sidewalks? Busy. The restaurants? Full. In this historic three-block stretch—and surrounding Financial District and Chinatown streets—the so-called doom loop narrative couldn’t seem further from reality here.
In fact, real-estate prices in the Jackson Square neighborhood are now at a 10-year high. That’s fueled by several notable, above-market sales. Besides the pyramid complex, office and retail buildings valued at up to $100 million were purchased by Jony Ive, the former Apple executive and iPhone designer.
Luxury brands, including Ralph Lauren and Paul Smith, have unveiled flagship stores down the street. Nearby, the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco recently relocated from the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood to The Cube, a new development in the Financial District. Even the Ferry Building’s retail complex reported its best first quarter on record earlier this year.
But back to Transamerica.
After buying it, Shvo invested another $400 million in renovating the pyramid, the attached redwood park (dozens of redwood trees were transplanted from the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1974 and now stand more than 100 feet tall), and two adjacent buildings at 505 and 545 Sansome Street, the latter housing the chic Cafe Sebastian, which opened in November.
In total, more than $1 billion was spent on revitalizing the Transamerica Pyramid Center campus. The four-year restoration project debuted to the public last fall, and now the area is a cohesive destination. Best of all, much of it is open to the community.
One of the current exhibits at the Transamerica Pyramid is a collection of furniture by midcentury masters Ray and Charles Eames.
Courtesy of Eames Institute
In May, the pyramid unveiled a striking ground-floor exhibition space. A 14-by-16-inch metal cylinder time capsule that had been buried exactly 50 years earlier was unearthed in 2024 from beneath six feet of concrete, and the contents of the capsule are now on display. They offer a rare glimpse into San Francisco life during the era of bell-bottoms and disco.
For furniture and interior design fans, a second exhibit features a rotating collection of the seminal work of Ray and Charles Eames in their final decade of collaboration.
John Krizek, a public relations staffer for Transamerica when it was being constructed in the early 1970s and the creator of the time capsule, says that there was initially significant backlash against the tower’s design. “One of the big concerns when the building was proposed was what it would do to Jackson Square . . . and whether we were going to ruin the neighborhood,” the now 93-year-old notes.
More than $1 billion has been spent on a four-year overhaul of the Transamerica Pyramid Center.
Photo by Nathan Kuczmarski/Unsplash
In fact, the unusual structure compelled San Franciscans to protest. Pundits decried the building as “an inhuman creation” and “architectural butchery.” There was even a lawsuit filed by nearby residents. All of that lore is now part of the building’s permanent exhibit.
Over time, what was considered by many to be an aesthetic eyesore is now perceived as iconic. Perceptions changed. “I think the community, the neighbors, the businesses have embraced it. I mean, it’s a point of pride for the whole neighborhood,” adds Krizek.
Perhaps, then, the pyramid is a microcosm of San Francisco itself. The City by the Bay is in a constant state of rebranding and reinvention. At the very least, the grand project has set a new premise for downtown: If you make one of the most recognizable buildings in the city work at street level, maybe the streets around it start working again too.
“Our vision wasn’t just to modernize an office tower. It was to reintroduce the heart of the city to the public,” says Shvo. “[It’s] a place where anyone can experience public art, live music, culinary innovation, and the calm of a redwood grove.”
Grab a table at nearby French bistro Verjus.
Courtesy of Verjus
Where to eat in Jackson Square
A bevy of new eating and imbibing options is sprouting up on the block (or surrounding blocks). The pyramid lobby, with chic, low-slung couches and columns embedded with quartz, houses a café serving locally owned Sightglass Coffee. Next door, Cafe Sebastian, an American-style bistro, cooks seasonal dishes and artisanal pastries. Opening this fall is Ama, a Japanese-Italian restaurant and bar with a 1970s-style hi-fi lounge that will be adjacent to Cafe Sebastian.
While not officially part of the Transamerica complex, Verjus, a lauded French-inspired wine bar, reopened on Washington Street in November after a four-year closure. And there’s also Maison Nico, a French bakery and deli on Montgomery Street (with arguably the city’s best croissant) that was introduced to the area in 2022.
A couple of blocks over on Pine is the family-owned Crustacean, a San Francisco institution that has cooked up fusion Vietnamese fare for more than 30 years. It debuted its new location in July. Says Monique An, the restaurant’s second-generation general manager, “This city has always served us from the beginning, and we are excited to be able to help in its renaissance.”
Rest your head at the effortlessly chic Jay Hotel, with design-forward rooms and an attractive Third Floor Lounge and terrace.
Photo by Garrett Rowland/Courtesy of the Jay Hotel
Where to stay in Jackson Square
On the accommodations front, The Jay Hotel, a 360-key luxury Marriott property, opened in late 2023 in the heart of the neighborhood. A few more blocks away, the Four Seasons San Francisco at Embarcadero was a mid-COVID debut too.
