Transamerica Pyramid Skyscraper
The Transamerica Pyramid is San Francisco’s most original and tallest skyscraper. The idea for the building was born in 1968, when Transamerica president John R. Beckett noticed that the trees in the city park – unlike the surrounding box-shaped buildings – allowed light to penetrate through the slender trunks all the way to the asphalt. Wanting to achieve a similar effect, a pyramid shape unconventional for skyscrapers was invented. The result: the shadow of the resulting building does not overshadow the surrounding space, but only a thin line of clockwise circles the surrounding neighborhoods, playing the role of a kind of giant sundial. The originality of the form of the building is noted in many architectural reference books. This idea was realized by the architectural firm William L. Pereira & Associates. (Transamerica Pyramid, www.transamerica.com).
.On the first floor of the Transamerica skyscraper, an observatory is open, offering various views taken from the top of the Pyramid. For some reason there is no observation deck on the upper floors of the skyscraper, only video cameras, online video of which can be viewed here – www.sfgate.com/liveviews
