Downtown San Francisco
Check Out SF’s Wild New “Banana” Bench at Union Square
Artsy Fartsy, Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Fun & Games Union Square’s cable car turnaround just got a little more… a-peeling. The second of four rotating public art installations has landed, and it’s a bright yellow banana sculpture that doubles as a bench. Curb-A-Peel officially debuted Friday, August 29, 2025 at the Cable Car Turnaround Arts, right at Powell & more...
SF Testing Bringing Uber/Lyft Back onto Market Street
Bay Area Updates, Downtown San Francisco, Transportation Starting Monday, August 26, San Francisco will quietly roll out a test program bringing Uber Black, Lyft Black, and Waymo back to Market Street for the first time since the city banned most car traffic in 2020. The pilot will allow limited pickups and drop-offs at seven designated spots along Market more...
New Rooftop Concert Venue Coming to Downtown SF?
Bay Area Updates, Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Wow Empire, the independent SF-based record label behind artists like Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B, is planning a rooftop concert venue on top of its new headquarters in the Financial District. The label bought the historic One Montgomery building (at Post Street) for $22.5 million and just filed a proposal with more...
A Rare “Free Week” at SF’s Asian Art Museum (July 23-Aug. 4)
Downtown San Francisco, Freebies, Museums / Cultural Institutions, Only in San Francisco From Wednesday, July 25 through Monday, August 4 (extended!), the Asian Art Museum is offering a rare week of free admission while its third-floor galleries are temporarily closed. Normally $20 for adults, this is a rare opportunity to explore two full floors of stunning art at no cost – including more more...
New 120-Foot Glass Artwork Just Debuted at SF’s Chinatown Muni Station
Artsy Fartsy, Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Transportation A new glass art installation is now on view at San Francisco’s Chinatown-Rose Pak Muni Station. Created by New York-based artist Tomie Arai, the 700-square-foot piece called Arrival spans the station’s parapet façade along Stockton and Washington streets. The large-scale glass mural blends historical and contemporary imagery tied to Chinatown’s past, more...
SF’s Brand New Outdoor Movie Nights in Union Square
Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Free Movie Screenings, Outdoorsy, San Francisco Free outdoor movies are back in Union Square for 2025, but with a new name. Starting August 16, 2025, a new series called Cinema on the Square will bring three nights of outdoor films to the plaza, filling the gap left by Sundown Cinema (which ended its 20-year run and won’t more...
Rare Max Ernst Sculptures Hide Amongst Redwoods at SF’s Transamerica Pyramid
Artsy Fartsy, Downtown San Francisco, Outdoorsy, Parks & Beaches A small forest of redwoods in downtown San Francisco just got a lot weirder—in the best way. A new outdoor exhibition at the Transamerica Pyramid’s Redwood Park brings twelve fantastical bronze sculptures by legendary Surrealist Max Ernst into public view, many for the first time. Tucked between skyscrapers, the sculptures more...
SF’s Secret Garden Oasis, Kapwa Gardens, Closing After 5 Years
Downtown San Francisco, Goodbye, Housing After five years of serving as a vibrant outdoor gathering space in the heart of SoMa, San Francisco’s Kapwa Gardens is officially shutting down at the end of the month. Tucked into a transformed parking lot at 967 Mission Street, the Filipino-led garden opened in 2021 as a response to the more...
SF’s Long-Awaited Mexican Museum May Lose Prime Downtown Site
Artsy Fartsy, Downtown San Francisco, Getting Help The Mexican Museum’s long-delayed move into a 60,000-square-foot home near Yerba Buena Gardens is once again in jeopardy. Originally envisioned as a permanent space to showcase a 16,500-piece collection and anchor San Francisco’s Latino and Mexican-American artistic legacy, the museum missed a key fundraising deadline tied to city grant funds. more...
45-ft Statue of Giant Naked Woman Now Coming to SF’s Embarcadero
Artsy Fartsy, Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco Thanks to San Francisco Examiner for sharing the details that San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza will soon be home to “R-Evolution,” a 45-foot-tall sculpture by Marco Cochrane that was originally planned for Union Square. City officials relocated the installation after concerns that its weight could damage Union Square’s granite tiles. A Monument more...
Downtown SF’s Big Free Summer Concerts Are Back
Downtown San Francisco, Fairs & Festivals, Festival Updates Get ready for another round of free outdoor concerts in the heart of San Francisco. Starting June 14, 2025 the city’s free concert series is back for its second year, bringing live music to downtown plazas all summer long. The first show kicks off with Back 2 Baysics, a daytime event more...
SF’s Downtown Hoedown: New Country-Themed Monthly Block Party (May 1)
Block Party, Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Fairs & Festivals Dust off your boots — a brand-new monthly street party is launching in downtown San Francisco. Starting May 1, 2025, Downtown Hoedown will take over Front Street on the first Thursday of each month through October. It’s part of the expanding Downtown First Thursdays (DFT) series, and it’s free and open more...
New Pop-Ups Opening in SF’s Empty Union Square Storefronts
Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Support the Bay More pop-ups and permanent shops coming to Union Square thanks to “Vacant to Vibrant” program. Downtown SF’s major storefront revival program, Vacant to Vibrant, is picking up steam with a fresh batch of pop-ups and permanent small businesses landing in Union Square and beyond. The program, launched in 2023 by the more...
SF’s Legendary $5 Strip Club Buffet is Back
Bars, Downtown San Francisco, Eat & Drink, San Francisco Thanks to SF Gate for sharing that one of the city’s most unexpected—and weirdly legendary—lunch deals is officially back: the $5 all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at the Gold Club in SoMa. Yes, that Gold Club. The gentleman’s club at 650 Howard Street is reviving its ultra-affordable lunchtime tradition after a five-year hiatus, more...
SF Debuts its First Bold New “Modular” Parklet
Brand New, Downtown San Francisco, Only in San Francisco, Outdoor Dining SF New Deal, the nonprofit behind some of the city’s most creative small business support programs, just launched a brand new kind of parklet—and you can be the first to check it out. Their brand new “Building Blocks” modular parklet model has officially landed at Excelsior Coffee (4495 Mission St), and more...
