San Francisco | Transamerica Pyramid

The TransAmerica Pyramid is an architectural beauty and a sight to behold. I used to work in the Financial District and I would often meander to Chinatown and North Beach. Not ever did I not look up, day or night, and not appreciate the wonderment of the building against a majestic sky.

The Transamerica Pyramid is located at at 600 Montgomery Street between Clay and Washington Streets in the Financial District. It is a 48-story futurist building and the second-tallest skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline. The building was designed by architect William Periera and completed in 1972.

The building is a four-sided pyramid with a structural height of 853 feet. The top 212 feet (65 m) of the building is the spire. There are four cameras pointed in the four cardinal directions at the top of this spire forming the "Transamerica Virtual Observation Deck." The building's façade is covered in crushed quartz, giving the building its light color. The top of the Transamerica Pyramid is covered with aluminum panels. For Christmas, Independence Day and the anniversary of 9/11, the top of the pyramid is lit at night and is called the “Crown Jewel.