LANDING AT LEIDESDORFF

SITELAB led the design and engagement of Landing at Leidesdorff, a collaboration with Downtown SF Partnership and the City of San Francisco that transforms two underutilized historic alleyways at Commercial and Leidesdorff into a new downtown destination.

After the release of the Downtown SF Public Realm Action Plan (PRAP), SITELAB and Downtown SF Partnership (DSFP) continued their collaboration to implement the PRAP’s first pilot project in coordination with the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), Office of Mayor London N. Breed, and local stakeholders.

Sitting between the Transamerica Pyramid, Embarcadero Center, and Chinatown, Landing at Leidesdorff is “where old meets new”. The overall concept of place is inspired by the street’s namesake, Captain William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr., known as the “African founding father of California”, and that SF’s original shoreline from the 1850s once ran through what is now the eastern end of Commercial St. Extending from the original shoreline was the Long Wharf, which served as a central place to unload goods coming into San Francisco during the Gold Rush and ran from Montgomery St into the bay, where the Ferry Building stands atop the modern shoreline today.

Funded through a $385,000 economic recovery grant to DSFP from the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development and Office of Mayor London N. Breed, Landing at Leidesdorff is one of the key initiatives outlined in in the Mayor's Roadmap to San Francisco's Future to create new points of interest that attract visitors and encourage gatherings in public spaces. The reimagined space helps elevate downtown SF’s prominence as a prime location for gathering and recreation for workers, locals, and tourists.

SITELAB was the design lead, which included designing and executing a ground mural that alludes to the historic wharf's wood plank pattern extending from the historic shoreline and  overlaid with a love letter to San Francisco — a stanza from “The Cool, Grey City of Love” by San Francisco’s 19th Century Bohemian poet, George Sterling. Asphalt Impressions, a Sacramento-based construction company specializing in decorative asphalt, installed the mural. 

The power of Landing at Leidesdorff is in the collective building up the place. It features additional public realm enhancements and ongoing programming, including:

• Weekly programs that invite workers, locals, and visitors to experience a more vibrant day and night downtown  

• A new wall mural, created by Twin Walls Mural Company and commissioned by ACED (Arts, Celebrate, Elevate Downtown), celebrating Captain Leidesdorff's life and the legacy 

• Expanded outdoor dining seating for participating restaurants such as Heartwood, Wayfare Tavern, Tlaloc Sabor Mexicano and MIXT to utilize the new street closure at the intersection 

• Newly installed string lighting, tables and chairs, lounge chairs and plantings

• Live music in public spaces starting with Downtown Street Jams, a series of pop-up music activations during high traffic times to make downtown more inviting to both workers and visitors and future cultural and arts-based events

• Hosts events during the annual “Let’s Glow SF” projection art festival 

• Regular cleaning, power washing and safety presence provided by the Downtown SF Partnership’s ambassadors

SITELAB also played a key role in coalescing a group of hyperlocal stakeholders and in supporting implementation to bring the vision to life.

Community Engagement

Building on the success of the Landing at Leidesdorff, SITELAB created a conceptual design for the second PRAP pilot with Downtown San Francisco Partnership at the cable car turnaround at California and Market Street as a “Downtown Gateway”. Implementation is work in progress.

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