DESTINATION
SAN FRANCISCO
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is among several world-class museums in the city with rentable spaces.
An expanded Moscone Center welcomes groups to a transformed City by the Bay
O
ft associated with the Gold Rush of the mid-19th century, San Francisco will forever be impacted by that historic event. The California Gold Rush is commemorated in the state’s nickname, the Golden State, and is recalled in its 49ers football team name as well. The spirit of the Gold Rush brought change to the region, and it does not appear that the City by the Bay ever really demonstrated signs of letting up. The wealth and population that poured into the area, a once sleepy coastal settlement of 200, created a center of finance, commerce and industry that has been transforming itself through the present day. SalesForce Tower, for example, has risen over the city’s skyline above TransAmerica’s pyramid-shaped skyscraper, symbolizing an era in which San Francisco’s tech sector is propelling the city into its next boom phase. During the past decades, the tradeshow industry — indeed the way people meet — has transformed itself as well, and the trends have influenced convention centers that compete in the national and global markets. Understanding that a stateof-the-art convention center positively impacts tourism and the general economy, Joe D’Alessandro, President and CEO
FACILITIES & DESTINATIONS 2019-2020 WINTER
of the San Francisco Travel Association, gathered together leadership to get to work. Spearheading a public-private partnership, D’Alessandro independently convened a group of community, political and business leaders to develop the Moscone Center’s $550 million expansion, which debuted this January. The diverse needs of stakeholders were taken into account in its construction, while keeping the facility attractive to MICE groups. For instance, many residents did not want an imposing, overshadowing structure that came up to the property line, as many downtown office buildings are apt to do. Architects and convention center management needed to be sensitive to that concern, given their goal of maximizing the use of every square foot. Indeed, during the development of the original site of Moscone Center, residents preferred that the structure not impose itself on the community. As a result, most of the original structure was built below street level. Artfully designed escalators descend into the spacious halls below, with pedestrians unaware of the cavernous event spaces that lay beneath the surface. For the expansion, architects created terraces, setting back the structure from the 25
