The San Francisco Bay Area, long renowned for its cutting-edge cultural scene, is taking a giant leap forward with new and reinvented attractions that celebrate its scenic beauty and artistic innovation. Coming to fruition this year and beyond are stunning venues sure to add excitement to any meeting.
Some of the new developments are coinciding with major events taking place this year. Among them are summer-long festivities surrounding the America’s Cup yacht races and the completion in September of the San Francisco-Bay Bridge’s eastern span, anticipated to become the region’s newest architectural icon.
San Francisco
“Even people who know San Francisco well will be amazed by all the new things we have to offer,” says John Reyes, executive vice president-convention sales and services for the San Francisco Travel Association. “Our meeting planner advisors tell us what they most want are new and diverse venues—well, we’ve got them.”
Much of what is taking place in San Francisco is part of an ongoing transformation to the city’s Embarcadero waterfront, the location of such popular attractions such as AT&T Park, home to the World Series champion San Francisco Giants, and the Ferry Building Marketplace. The latest additions include a new home for the Exploratorium science museum and a sleek cruise ship terminal designed to do double duty as an event facility.
“There has been a determined vision to make the waterfront more user-friendly for visitors and locals alike,” Reyes says. “Even if you just stroll along the Embarcadero, you will experience wonderful examples of public art placed along the way.”
The upcoming America’s Cup is also casting a spotlight on the Embarcadero. The festivities will include yacht races from July to September as well as a series of performances by Sting and other headliners at a new 9,000-seat waterfront amphitheater.
“We’re anticipating that visitors, including meeting attendees, will want to check out the races and concerts,” Reyes says. “And we’re already seeing groups do theme parties and team-building competitions inspired by America’s Cup.”
Now under construction at Pier 27, the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal will serve as headquarters for the America’s Cup before opening as the city’s main cruise ship terminal in 2014. The wave-shaped structure with huge glass windows framing the bay will offer both indoor and outdoor spaces for receptions and other events.
Just last month, the Exploratorium moved from its Palace of Fine Arts location to Pier 15. The centerpiece of its new home is the two-level, mostly glass Bay Observatory, which houses the main exhibit galleries and is available for evening events. There are also spacious areas for outdoor events overlooking the bay as well as a 200-seat theater.
Other new venue enhancements are in store for the Moscone Convention Center, where a major expansion is in the planning stages, and the vibrant cultural attractions just steps from the facility. PageBreak
Among them is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), which is embarking on a major expansion that will triple its gallery space and provide a home for the Fisher Collection of modern and contemporary art. It will also add new features such as an outdoor sculpture garden, an innovative “white box” space for performance art and a terrace with panoramic city views. The expansion, set for completion in 2016, is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification.
Although it will close in June for the construction to take place, SFMOMA will offer a series of exhibitions at other nearby museums, including the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Asian Art Museum.
Located a few blocks from San Francisco’s Civic Center, the SFJAZZ Center opened earlier this year as a permanent home for the city’s celebrated SFJAZZ Festival and is also the West Coast’s first stand-alone facility designed expressly for jazz performances. The 35,000-square-foot structure offers a flexible performance theater that can be configured from 350 to 700 seats.
The center is available for special events, including conferences, special performances, product presentations and other occasions. Food and beverage operations are directed by Charles Phan, owner of San Francisco’s popular Slanted Door Restaurant, who manages the center’s on-site restaurant serving New Orleans-style fare.
A year after securing new space, the Museum of Craft and Design reopened last month in San Francisco’s Dogpatch district. Located in a converted industrial building, the museum features changing exhibitions on a broad range of contemporary works in mediums such as ceramics, glass, wood, clay, metals and textiles. The facility will be available for events later this year.
San Mateo County
Just south of San Francisco, San Mateo County encompasses a diverse landscape of coastal and bayside communities. The seaside enclave of Half Moon Bay offers an eclectic mix of highly regarded restaurants and art galleries such as Half Moon Bay Art Glass and the newly opened JLim Gallery.
In Redwood City, the crowning glory of the pedestrian-friendly downtown is the Fox Theater Redwood City, which reopened as a performing arts center in 2010. The Moorish-style theater dating from 1929 is a versatile venue that can handle anything from full-scale productions requiring sophisticated light and sound systems to catered dinners and intimate receptions in the Club Fox lounge.
Just across the street from the Fox, the San Mateo History Museum is a favorite venue choice of Anne LeClair, president and CEO of the San Mateo County/Silicon Valley CVB.PageBreak
“The History Museum, which has an outdoor plaza and the largest glass dome west of the Mississippi, is spectacular for receptions,” she says, adding that the museum and Fox Theater can be used in tandem for events. “You can have drinks in one location, then move across to the other.”
LeClair also recommends Barrango in South San Francisco, headquarters for a company that makes carousel horses and holiday displays.
“When you walk in, it’s like a miniature Disneyland with enchanting animated figures, giant lights and carousel animals—you have to see it to believe it,” she says. “I recently used it for a Rotary Club event where we had a dinner with a DJ and a comedian. They have a small stage.”
LeClair’s other favorite cultural venues include Filoli, a palatial historic estate in Woodside that is the scene of changing art exhibitions and a long-running summer festival called Jazz at Filoli; Stanford University’s Cantor Art Center, which boasts the largest Rodin sculpture collection outside of Paris; and the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, where attendees can test their landing skills at flight simulators and climb into the cockpit of a 747.
East Bay
Oakland’s vibrant artistic heritage, one that includes music, architecture and fine arts, are a big part of what visitors, including meeting attendees, will experience in the city, says Kim Bardakian, spokeswoman for Visit Oakland.
“Oakland is bursting with new arts-related activity,” she says, adding that because of such popular events as Art Murmur—an art gallery walk/festival held on the first Friday evening each month— the city was recently named one of the top 12 arts destinations in the country by ArtPlaceAmerica.org.
Oakland’s wealth of Art Deco structures includes two sumptuous former movie palaces, the Paramount Theater and Fox Theater, now serving as performing arts centers and venues for special events. Originally opened in 1931, the Paramount was rescued from a long period of decline in 1973 and now offers performances by the Oakland Symphony Orchestra as well as classic movie screenings.
Reopened in 2009, the Fox Theater underwent a massive restoration after four decades of neglect nearly destroyed the magnificent 1928 structure in Oakland’s burgeoning Uptown district. A popular venue for headline entertainment, the theater is also available for product launches, film screenings, receptions, meetings and sit-down dinners. The Fox accommodates up to 2,000 guests.
Meanwhile, the Oakland Museum of California recently emerged from a redesign of its three main galleries devoted to California history, art and natural sciences. The multilevel structure has terraced gardens and accommodates a wide range events.
In the Tri-Valley, Livermore’s historic Wente Vineyards is a major cultural lure, with atmospheric spaces such as wine caves, a barrel room and an event center with a terraced lawn. The venue also hosts a summer concert series with top-name performers.
Marin County
Just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, the charming bayside town of Sausalito draws art lovers to its many galleries and annual Sausalito Arts Festival.
A bit farther north, the area’s major arts venue is Marin Center, a performing arts center that is a highly versatile event venue hosting everything from trade shows to seminars. Its picturesque Lagoon Park adjoins an exhibit hall with space for over 100 booths, while its two theaters can accommodate events for up to 1,960 attendees.
In San Rafael, the Falkirk Cultural Center is a converted Victorian mansion with an art gallery and 11 acres of grounds. Its elegant interior and adjoining verandah accommodate up to 125 for a reception.
Long-time San Francisco resident Maria Lenhart enjoys the local arts scene, especially the American Conservatory Theater, the Asian Art Museum and the city’s eclectic mix of architecture.
