John King Exposes San Francisco’s “Pockets of Peace”

John King exposes San Francisco’s “Pockets of Peace.” John King, who handles the Chronicle‘s output regarding architecture and design, came out with a nice piece today exposing downtown San Francisco’s public spaces, many of which are remarkably hidden and little known. Thanks to the downtown plan, which stipulates the provision of privately owned and maintained but publicly accessibly open space to accommodate downtown’s working population, you do not need to live atop a prestigious hill or in the penthouse of a luxury condo tower to get a great view of downtown. The view from the rooftop open spaces may lack the majestic panorama of a penthouse view, but they make up for it by providing a chaotic in medias res perspective of downtown’s density. However, because the article focused on San Francisco, it neglected to mention one of my personal favorite examples of hidden downtown public space: the rooftop garden tucked behind the Kaiser Building in downtown Oakland.
[San Francisco Chronicle: Map, Article]