Rincon Center is a major and public complex of shops, restaurants, offices, and apartments in South of Market in Downtown San Francisco, California. It comprises an entire city block, bounded by Mission, Howard, Spear, and Steuart Streets. There are two buildings.
The interior features the renowned "History of California" mural, composed of 27 watercolor murals painted by the Russian immigrant muralist Anton Refregier, from 1941 to 1948 under the Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration. The murals, in the Social realism style, depict the history of California and San Francisco's role in it. As the murals were completed immediately following World War II, they generated fierce controversies. Refregier's detractors criticized his artistic style and questioned his political leanings. The controversy eventually reached the U.S. Congress, where critics called for the murals to be destroyed. The murals led to the preservation of the post office lobby as part of the Rincon Center development.
1980s expansion
In the 1980s the building was made available by the United States Postal Service for development acquisition. The property was eventually developed by a partnership headed by Perini Land & Development Company. The design of the late 1980s mixed-use Rincon Center was led by Scott Johnson of Pereira Associates, the firm founded by William Pereira, designer of the Transamerica Pyramid, the second-tallest building in San Francisco. A new 23-story mixed-use building was added on the south side of the block that contains a new post office, offices, and 320 apartments. In addition, two stories were added atop Underwood's original Rincon Annex building and a large atrium was cut into the interior. The complex was completed in 1988. The atrium has a food court on the lower level and balconies connected to office space on the upper levels. The atrium is topped by a long skylight and features the central and distinctive floor to skylight "Water Column" installation art work. It was designed by the contemporary artist Doug Hollis. The water feature is a continuous column of water drops, coming from an eight-foot by eight-foot acrylic glass box with some 4,000 holes in it placed at the ceiling level.
Murals history
leads free walking tours of the murals twice a month.
