101 California Street, Modernist skyscraper in Financial District, San Francisco, United States
101 California Street is a 48-floor cylindrical tower in the Financial District with a seven-story glass lobby. The plaza at its base features granite surfaces, flower beds, and a fountain that creates a public gathering space.
The building was designed by architect Philip Johnson and completed in 1982. Its construction marked an important moment in the city's vertical development during that era.
The cylindrical tower shows how office buildings looked during the 1980s in America, with its clean lines and extensive use of glass throughout. Its design became a model for how modern corporate buildings could blend into the city skyline.
The plaza at the base is accessible to the public and offers a good view of the tower's cylindrical form and scale. You can walk around the granite surfaces and landscaped areas to appreciate the building's design from ground level.
This was one of the first office towers in California to achieve LEED Platinum certification for environmental performance. The building demonstrated sustainable practices that were uncommon in large-scale construction during that period.
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