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TransAmerica Pyramid

Commercial and Office Buildings

The TransAmerica Pyramid is an office tower at 600 Montgomery Street in San Francisco, designed by the architect William Pereira and completed in 1972 as the headquarters of the Transamerica Corporation. Its distinctive tapering pyramidal form, unusual among American skyscrapers of its era, was intended to admit more light and air to the street below than a conventional flat-sided tower of the same floor area, and two narrow wings partway up its shaft, one holding an elevator machine room and the other a smoke tower, break the otherwise unbroken taper. At 48 stories it was the tallest building in San Francisco for decades and remains one of the city's most recognizable landmarks, despite Transamerica itself no longer occupying the building.

Facts
Building Type
Skyscraper 1
Location
600 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 1
Completed Year
1972 1
Height (m)
260 1
Classification
Standing Status
Standing 1
Building Type
Building Type (category)
Skyscraper 1
Connections

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In Style

Source Transamerica Pyramid, Wikipedia

Uses Element

Source Transamerica Pyramid, Wikipedia
Source Transamerica Pyramid, Wikipedia
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Source Transamerica Pyramid, WikipediaLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
The Transamerica Pyramid (locally known in some communities as “Big Pointy") is a pyramid-shaped 48-story modernist skyscraper in San Francisco, California, United States, and the second tallest building in the San Francisco skyline.
Sources
1. Transamerica Pyramid, Wikipedia
  • Lead
    pyramid-shaped 48-story modernist skyscraper
  • Location section
    Located at 600 Montgomery Street between Clay and Washington Streets in the city's Financial District
  • Lead, completion
    completed in 1972
  • Lead, height
    the building stands at 853 feet (260 m)
  • Lead section
    The Transamerica Pyramid (locally known in some communities as "Big Pointy") is a pyramid-shaped 48-story modernist skyscraper in San Francisco, California, United States, and the second tallest building in the San Francisco skyline.
  • Uses Element: Concrete, Article body
    The four-story base contains 16,000 cubic yards (12,000 m3) of concrete and over 300 miles (480 km) of steel rebar.
  • Uses Element: Aluminum, Article body
    The top of the Transamerica Pyramid is covered with aluminum panels.
  • In Group: Skyscrapers and Office Towers, Lead paragraph
    The Transamerica Pyramid (locally known in some communities as “Big Pointy") is a pyramid-shaped 48-story modernist skyscraper in San Francisco, California, United States, and the second tallest building in the San Francisco skyline.
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