S.F. City Officials Put a Bull’s-Eye on the Vaillancourt Fountain
San Francisco Recreation & Parks seems determined to demolish the Lawrence Halprin-designed Embarcadero Plaza with its iconic fountain by Canadian sculptor Armand Vaillancourt. In its place a new $32 million park would be constructed in a public-private partnership with the real estate development firm BXP, which owns the adjacent four-block-long Embarcadero Center, a mixed-use development with four towers.
On July 8 the city hosted a “community meeting,” which, in a surprising lack of transparency, was neither live-streamed nor recorded. This seems to go against the city's own Public Space Stewardship Guide, which states (p. 34): "Government entities entering into partnerships with private organizations sometimes encounter community push-back, as residents may fear that such an arrangement will privatize a public space, project or resource. This is an understandable concern. Community engagement and transparency are essential components to the success of a public/private partnership arrangement."
In the meeting, S.F. Rec & Parks project manager Eoanna Goodwin shared a PowerPoint presentation about the proposed new park during which she announced the “hard news” that the “structural restoration” of the fountain to its “full glory” would cost $29 million, which was over the city’s budget. Goodwin told the audience: “Typically, on these projects we’ll have multiple [design] options. We did look into keeping the fountain on site. But once we also took in all the site’s constraints, including the budget constraints, it’s not possible to have it on the site with our current budget.”
Supporters of the site and the media took this to be a clear message that the Halprin/Vaillancourt creation was doomed. However, other city officials later walked that back saying no final decision had been made and that the San Francisco Art Commission, which has jurisdiction over the site, had not weighed in; this hasn’t assuaged the site’s many supporters.
The community meeting was attended by concerned advocates including well organized members of the Northern California chapter of Docomomo, S.F. Heritage, and the city’s skate boarding community. In addition, Vaillancourt’s daughter Oceania, a San Francisco resident who lives two blocks from the fountain, spoke out during a Q&A session. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, she said: “My dad asked me to help him.” ... “I just can’t imagine the fountain not being there,” she said through tears. “I just hope we can gather the community and hopefully change the decision of removing the fountain.”
Following the meeting, The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) requested a copy of the eight-page $29 million construction estimate. The seemingly-thorough laundry list of costs lacks context; notably it does not include and/or reference any actual design documents that guided the estimator’s assumptions. And the stated unit costs and soft costs have not been independently examined or confirmed. For example, the demolition and construction of a new pool basin totals more than $4.5 million, which is more than fifteen percent of the total budget. Can the existing pool basin be rehabilitated? Are the mark ups (design contingency, design fees soft cost, etc.) of fifteen percent to 27 percent in line with industry standards?
The estimate comes on the heels, as previously reported, of the city’s release of a 122-page report by the architecture, planning, and conservation firm Page & Turnbull, which detailed the current state of the fountain; it notes that while the fountain “exhibits a range of deterioration that must be addressed for it to continue to be enjoyed safely. ... [it] does not appear to have yet deteriorated beyond repair.”
Along with assessing the fountain’s physical condition and prospect for rehabilitation, it also addresses its significance: “Page & Turnbull has evaluated Vaillancourt Fountain for historic eligibility as an individual object in a Historic Resources Report (HRR), which was submitted to RPD on May 15, 2025. The HRR has not yet been reviewed by the San Francisco Planning Department. The findings of the HRR conclude that Vaillancourt Fountain is eligible for listing in the National Register [of Historic Places] and California Register.”
S.F. Rec & Parks’ Goodwin did say there would be another “community meeting” to about design issues and the S.F. Arts Commission, according to SFist, is expected to address the site’s future this fall.
The question before city officials—and the general public—is whether a private investment-driven agenda will be allowed to erase the city’s historically and culturally significant, site-specific public art.
The “Arts” section of the City of San Francisco’s General Plan states: “In the design of the physical environment, artistic values should be recognized as an element to be considered as well as function, cost, and environmental impact. The talent and perspective of artists should be integrated into the planning, designing and building of San Francisco to promote the highest artistic standards for the City.” It also states that the responsibility to “Protect, maintain and preserve existing art work in the City Collection and art required by ordinance” rests with the S.F. Arts Commission.
The art commission’s own policy states: “It is the objective of the Commission to acquire works of art of the highest quality. Acquisition by the City and County of San Francisco implies a commitment to the preservation, protection and display of the artwork for the public benefit.”
Advocates, no doubt, will be looking to the S.F. Arts Commission to “protect, maintain and preserve” this remarkable and irreplaceable site-specific artistic expression unique to the City of San Francisco.
What you can do to help
Fill out the city’s survey by July 29 and urge that Embarcadero Plaza and the Vaillancourt Fountain be rehabilitated and not destroyed.
