Salesforce Park and Salesforce Transit Center Now Open

Photo Credit: BRV Corp

Salesforce Park and Salesforce Transit Center, a $2.2 billion project 20 years in the making has officially reopened to the public. The milestone occasion was highly anticipated by residents across the city but particularly here at 181 Fremont, the only residential building with direct access to the park by way of a private sky-bridge.

A significant convenience for residents of the East Cut neighborhood, five of the building’s six stories are devoted to San Francisco’s new transit hub, which services major bus lines in the area including Muni, AC Transit, Greyhound, and more. Bus service has not yet resumed at the Transit Center. Please check with your bus operator for a start date. Bus operations remain at the Temporary Transbay Terminal. With open skylights, an impressive public art display and a futuristic interior, the modern transportation center is an architectural marvel itself, but it’s the urban park in the sky on the sixth floor that really sets the structure apart.  

Photo Credit: BRV Corp

In an area where spacious greenery is highly coveted, the proposal to add park space to the rooftop of a one-million square-foot transit center was the kind of innovation the city yearned for. The landscaped 5.4-acre park is a community space for all, whether it’s a yoga class on your lunch break, enjoying a concert with friends or simply enjoying the fresh air.

With curved walkways lined with benches, picturesque fountains, various plant and flora in abundance, children’s play areas and even an amphitheater for events, there’s no shortage of things to appreciate and explore. Here’s a glance at some of the park’s most unique attributes:

Salesforce Park will play host to a variety of weekly events which including rotating food trucks, pop-up retail vendors and free performances and activities for all ages to encourage community engagement. Enjoy a Tai Chi class on the Central Lawn, a writing workshop on the Main Plaza or even a meditation class in the Amphitheater. Check the center’s website here for programming information, as it’s regularly updated. Along with the reopening is the start of gondola service, which takes people up two stories from the corner of Mission and Fremont.

To learn more about the brand-new, luxury condominiums for sale at 181 Fremont and life in SoMa and The East Cut, visit 181Fremont.com.

Photo Credit: BRV Corp

Summer in San Francisco

Summer 2019’s Can’t-Miss Events

The summer season in San Francisco is one of vibrancy and excitement. Living at 181 Fremont in SoMA affords you the luxury of not only an incredible living space that rises above the rest, but also a central location to dozens of attractions, celebrations and a community like no other. There’s no better time than now to enjoy the weather, interact with your neighbors and explore the city. Mark your calendars – here are some experiences you won’t want to miss this season.

Photo Credit Bill Weaver

2019 San Francisco Pride Festival

Saturday, June 29-Sunday, June 30

June is pride month for the LGBTQ community across the world and San Francisco just so happens to be home to the largest Pride Festival in the U.S. The 49th Annual SF Pride Celebration, hosted in the Civic Center Plaza, starts Saturday, June 29 and will conclude Sunday, June 30 with the famous parade of rainbow-clad attendees marching along Market St. More than 200 exhibitors, 20 stages and thousands of attendees are expected to fill the plaza as concerts, DJs, performances and speeches aim to inspire and unite the community.

Dockside Fireworks on the SS Jeremiah O’Brien

Thursday, July 4

There’s arguably no better place to celebrate Independence Day in the Bay Area than aboard a historic World War II Liberty Ship at Pier 45 in Fisherman’s Wharf. Enjoy complimentary hot dogs, soft drinks and popcorn as one of the nation’s premier fireworks shows sounds off over the SS Jeremiah O’Brien. Purchase tickets here.

Photo Credit Andrew Jorgensen/Outside Lands

Outside Lands Music Festival

Friday, Aug. 9-Sunday, Aug. 11

Outside Lands Music Festival is known for bringing the best of the best in today’s music scheme to Golden Gate Park each August, and this year is no exception. With headliners like Paul Simon, Twenty One Pilots, Childish Gambino, Blink-182, Kygo, Flume, Kacey Musgraves and Lil Wayne, the eclectic lineup is pleasing to any music buff. Not only can you catch the industry’s hottest acts, the festival will also host some of the best culinary vendors from the region, with 80 restaurants, 46 wineries, 31 breweries and 6 cocktail bars representing this year, nearly all from the Bay Area and northern California. Get the scoop from SF Chronicle on the full rundown of food & drink participants and head here for tickets.

Photo Credit Dashiell Merrick-Kamm

Sunday Streets SoMA

Sunday, Aug. 18

In a city as populous as San Francisco, vehicle congestion can make neighborhoods difficult to navigate. In partnership with the city and the department of public health, local nonprofit Livable City hosts an annual season of “Sunday Streets” events across various neighborhoods in San Francisco, where one to four miles of typically congested streets are shut down and transformed into community spaces. Small businesses, volunteers, sponsors and residents of the host neighborhoods come together to offer free activities that encourage physical activity, foster community building and inspire people to think differently about their streets as public spaces. SoMA’s Sunday Streets event will be held on Folsom Street from Essex to 10th Street.

San Francisco Giants Games at Oracle Park

You’d be striking out if you didn’t catch a San Francisco Giants game at Oracle Park this summer. The Giants will host teams from San Diego to New York this season, and there’s nothing like a summer night in the park with a beer in hand, the bay in the background and the roar of the crowd around you. If the eight-time World Series champs don’t entice you enough, the top-notch food at the park certainly will. The cuisine options are so plentiful you could try a new bite every inning, from sushi to salads to burritos and everything in between. Check out Eater SF’s guide to the park’s provisions here and purchase tickets here.

Photo Credit Amanda Lynn Photography

Farmers Market at the Ferry Building

Every Tuesday (10am – 2pm), Thursday (10am – 2pm) and Saturday (8am – 2pm)

There’s just something about a summer morning at the farmers market, with the crisp air ripe with the smell of fresh fruit and artisan treats. The nonprofit Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) hosts a farmers market at the Ferry Building every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as a forum for people to learn about food and agriculture. The market is celebrated as one of the best in the country, with nearly 40,000 shoppers visiting each week and over 100 vendors offering the freshest fruits, vegetables, flowers, meats, eggs, herbs and more from local farmers, many of whom are certified organic.

SFMOMA Exhibits Opening Summer 2019

If it’s art you’re in search of this summer, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), just a ten-minute walk from 181 Fremont, has you covered with plenty of exhibits to check out this season.

  • From May 19 to Sept. 2, the “Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again” exhibit will feature a dozen works of Warhol’s, unique to the museum, spread across three floors to display the iconic artist’s growth and evolution over his career. Fun fact: this exhibit is the U.S.’s first organized Warhol retrospective since the late 1980s.
  • Oakland-based photographer April Dawn Alison lived in the public as a man but in private as a female until she died in 2008. Upon her death, an archive of over 9,000 Polaroid self-portraits from the 1960s-1980s were found, a long-term exploration into the enigma of Alison’s double life. From July 6 through Dec. 1, the thousands of photos will be featured in an exhibit where visitors can see the many faces and styles of both Alison and the age in which she lived.
  • Explore the “art of mistakes” at the “Don’t!” photography exhibit, which runs from July 20 to Dec. 1 and explores the shifting definitions of “good” and “bad” photography over time as tastes and aesthetics evolved. Images from artists like Man Ray, Lisette Model, Florence Henri, and John Gossage are featured to illustrate how “failed” photos led to rules and parameters that persist to this day.

Our dedicated concierge here at 181 Fremont, David Mertens, is an expert on all things art, culture, dining and entertainment in San Francisco. Allow him to customize your perfect summer outing in the city.

To learn more about the brand-new, luxury condominiums for sale at 181 Fremont and life in SoMa, visit 181Fremont.com.

A Fine Art Collection Like No Other at 181 Fremont

Get to Know Renowned
Art Advisor Holly Baxter

181 Fremont is highly regarded for its display of some of the most illustrious contemporary art pieces you’ll find in any residential building in San Francisco. To earn such a stellar reputation, one of the most sought-after art curators in the country, Holly Baxter, has been commissioned to procure the collection 181 Fremont.

 

Holly Baxter & Associates LLC is a curatorial and advisory firm that aims to bridge relationships between institutions and artists. Holly has facilitated numerous individuals, corporate and institutional collections throughout her near 20-year career.

 

We sat down with Holly to learn more about her expertise and the impact that art can make on the refinement of a home.

 

How would you describe the art collection that you’ve curated for 181 Fremont?

My intention in curating the extraordinary contemporary collection at 181 Fremont is to acquire works that enhance the building’s stunning architecture and aesthetic. Thoughtfully-selected, sophisticated works from across the globe that are intellectually and conceptually bold as well as technically accomplished to mirror the resplendent interiors that define 181 Fremont, and to further contribute to residents’ unparalleled fine living experience.

How do you go about selecting artwork?

The first step is to use aesthetics and the prospective 181 homeowners as a starting point and responding to the architecture and interior design’s refined elegance and sophistication. The next step is to select contemporary art that follows those intellectually and conceptually bold guidelines and then, lastly, to choose works by renowned international artists who are actively practicing and whose works are in permanent collections of major museums and important private collections. The artworks are all selected in collaboration with the interior designers and the Jay Paul Company team.

 

If you had to pick a favorite piece now on display at 181 Fremont, what would it be?

I love all of them. One in particular that I was thrilled to find is Shahzia Sikander’s The Six Singing Spheres #6, in the lobby. It resonates perfectly with the lobby’s gold dome, the shape and form of the room, and the poetic nature of its design by ODADA.

Shahzia Sikander, “The Six Singing Spheres #6”

 

What role does fine art play in home décor?

Art breathes life into a home and makes it human. Art is the aesthetic and spiritual soul of the home.  It should inspire and resonate with the home and with the heart and mind of the homeowner.  

 

What would you say are the most unique aspects of the art community in San Francisco? Any up-and-coming artists we should know about?

One of the most unique aspects of the San Francisco art scene is the Minnesota Street Project. It was founded and run by art collectors and philanthropists Deborah and Andy Rappaport and it uses their for-profit art storage facility to subsidize economically sustainable spaces for art galleries, artists and related nonprofits. The Rappaports want to ensure that the rising rents in San Francisco do not drive out the galleries, artists and non-profits from the city. As was noted recently in the Observer, “they have almost single-handedly created a sustainable environment where an arts community can thrive”. MSP has been a huge success and has attracted top San Francisco galleries as well as international galleries and exhibitions to their art building in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The New York Times described it as the most exciting new art district in America. 

As for up-and-coming artists, I very much like the work of Erica Deeman, who shows with Anthony Meier gallery. I am also a fan of Bay Area artists Liam Everett and Trevor Paglen, both represented by the Altman Siegel gallery. We have a Trevor Paglen photograph at 181 Fremont now, and it’s stunning. 

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If you’re interested in requesting Holly Baxter’s services, you can reach her at holly@hollybaxterandassociates.com, on her website at www.hollybaxterandassociates.com, or on her Instagram @hollylbaxter.

We will be hosting a special pop-up art exhibit this summer, so stay tuned for details! For more on 181 Fremont, brand-new luxury condominiums in SoMa, San Francisco, please contact our sales team.

 

 

Angel Otero, “Prelude to a Kiss”

 

 

 

Candida Höfer, Edificio Basurto Ciudad de México

 

 

 

Eva Rothschild, “Bright Eyes”

 

 

 

Joel Shapiro, “Untitled”

 

 

 

Tara Donavan, “Composition (Cards)”

 

 

 

Trevor Paglen, “UFO-F4 in Geosynchronous Orbit”