The San Francisco Arts Council board of directors has voted to remove the controversial Armand Vaillancourt-designed concrete fountain at Embarcadero Plaza.
On Monday, November 3, the board voted 8-5 to demolish the Brutalist Vaillancourt Fountain to make way for the redevelopment of the square.
The Recreation and Parks Department reportedly plans to spend about $4.4 million to hire a demolition consultant to dismantle the fountain and store the pieces for three years. The department said the fountain had previously fallen into disrepair and was considered a safety hazard — two arguments that critics doubted.
On Sunday, November 2, the non-profit Cultural Landscape Foundation, which has been working to protect the monument, disputed what it called an immediate safety risk.
“Over the years, [Arts] “The council deliberately decided not to properly maintain these artworks, and now they have voted to pardon and pardon themselves and extend the Recreation and Parks Department’s poor management decisions,” Cultural Landscape Foundation President Charles Birnbaum said in a statement.
San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department spokesperson Tamara xd told reporters san francisco standard: “People regularly break through fences, pass through netting, climb inside the 10-ton corroded arms to wreak havoc, and even sleep inside the fountain structure, which was designed by independent engineers and [the Department of Building Inspection] Confirmed risk of collapse. “
Atton added, “Add in the dangers of asbestos and lead, and it’s hard to imagine a clearer public safety concern.”
The removal of the fountain and the reconstruction of the square have been the focus of controversy; this The Art Newspaper Previous reports said city officials were said to have discussed redeveloping the square about a decade before those plans were made public in 2024. The plans do not appear to include plazas or public art assets that the city is legally responsible for maintaining. However, city officials say that’s simply not true.
