When San Francisco’s gorgeous Transbay Transportation Center and 5.4-acre rooftop park made its debut last year, thousands of people poured in on a sunny summer day.
On Monday morning, not so much.
Nearly 10 months after the discovery of two broken girders and the sudden closure, the $2.16 billion old Transbay Transit Terminal replacement station reopened under a foggy sky at 6 AM on Monday morning.
The number of media staff and park employees surpassed the first batch of park visitors. There are two teachers and two students in the yoga class at 7:30 in the morning.
Things improved as the morning progressed. By mid-afternoon, there were already strollers on site, and couples and families were enjoying the dense grassland on the green hills. But for the officials in charge of this often problematic complex, it is important for Transbay to restart operations.
"I am very happy that we are able to return the park and the center to the public," said Mark Zabaneh, executive director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, which developed and operated the complex, which gave me a sigh of relief. "This is a long shutdown, but something must be done."
The official name is Salesforce Transit Center. After the software company purchased the naming rights for 20 years, the complex was only open for 44 days before being evacuated due to security issues. Since then, the girders have been repaired, and a thorough inspection by the structural engineer determined that there are no other potential hazards waiting to appear.
The forced interruption also allowed the transportation authority to remove the project from its to-do list-architectural details were postponed when they rushed to make the center open as scheduled on August 10 last year.
All elevators are now working, providing park visitors with at least 10 ways to reach the park. An alley-like passage is illuminated by James Carpenter's art installation, now beckoning a stroller looking for a shortcut between Minna and Natoma streets. Traffic lights have been installed so that customers can navigate the three-block-long center on the ground.
The park’s granite decomposition path — which decomposed too much under the heavy footsteps of continued crowds last August — is now durable concrete. Monday also marked the debut of the cable car, which offers a free 40-second ride from Mission Street to the park.
The first climb included a pair of community residents: Michelle Lee and her 3-year-old son Eric. They lived in a nearby tower and were regular visitors before the center closed on September 27.
"The park is great and quiet-it's a safe, open space for him to run and play," Li said. She and Eric arrived shortly after the opening at 6 a.m., although she admitted that the visit at dawn was more than expectation: "We are jet lag. We flew from London yesterday and we got up at 3:30 a.m. Up"
In addition to the cable car ride and newly paved roads, the most noticeable changes are the lush flowers and shrubs in the park, and everything is green.
Leave it to yourself and the gardener, the roof landscape designed by PWP Landscape Architecture flourishes. The lavender flowerbed is full of fragrance, and flocks of birds of paradise are blooming in groups. The maple trees are dense and the leaves are delicate. Ivy began to cover the concrete walls with elevators and future restaurants.
At the east end of the transportation center, above Beale Street, the walking trail passes dozens of giant rhubarb trees, a fern with huge leaves and a prehistoric atmosphere. Last September, they were almost invisible. They are now more than 5 feet high.
"The wet weather did work miracles," said Ashley Langworthy of Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, which is responsible for planning most of the center's suppliers and scheduled activities. "We thought we had to pull them out, and then they were all right."
What is still missing is the reason for the existence of the center: transportation.
According to Transbay officials, bus services to and from the third floor of the center may not resume before August. The various ceilings and wall panels are disorganized and need to be removed for structural inspection. In addition, AC Transit bus drivers hired since last summer need to be familiar with the route.
Until then, the bus will continue to use the temporary terminal in an open block on Beale and Howard Street. As for commuter trains and high-speed rails that should have entered the already built underground hall, this connection will take at least ten years.
At the same time, for the locals, there are many places worth seeing.
"People started to feel at home here-they felt comfortable from day one," said Michael Levine, who left his job at the San Francisco Mint on Monday, in part to return to the forest roof scene. "I live near Golden Gate Park, so I know the park. But this park is really great."
John King is an urban design critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
John King is an urban design critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and is responsible for evaluating everything from Salesforce Tower to public spaces and homeless navigation centers. As a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of two books on San Francisco architecture, King joined The Chronicle in 1992 and reported on City Hall before creating his current position in 2001. He spent the spring of 2018 as a Mellon researcher in urban landscape research in Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.