Transamerica Pyramid (San Francisco, California)

 office building, skyscraper, high-rise, 1972_construction

The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest and most recognizable skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline.

Built on the location of the historic Montgomery Block, it has a structural height of 260 meters (853 feet) and contains 48 stories of retail and office space. Construction began in 1969 and finished in 1972. Although it no longer houses the headquarters of the Transamerica Corporation, it is still strongly associated with the company and is depicted in the company's logo. The building itself is evocative of San Francisco and has become one of the many symbols of the city. Designed by architect William Pereira, it faced considerable opposition during its planning and construction, and was sometimes referred to by detractors as "Pereira's Prick". In 1999, Transamerica was acquired by Dutch insurance company AEGON. When most of Transamerica was later sold to GE Capital, AEGON retained the building.

The building itself is a tall, four-sided pyramid with two "wings" on opposite sides of the building. The wing to the east of the building contains an elevator shaft, while the wing to the west contains a stairwell and a smoke tower. The top 64.6 meters (212 feet) of the building is the spire. There are four cameras pointed in the four cardinal directions at the top of this spire. An observation deck in the building was closed after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Four monitors in the lobby display the cameras' views 24 hours a day. The top of the Transamerica pyramid is covered with aluminum panels and during the Christmas Holiday Season, a bright, white light is lit on top of the pyramid.

The Transamerica Pyramid was the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi from 1972-1974, at which point it was surpassed, somewhat ironically, by the Aon Center in Los Angeles - designed by Pereira's former business partner Charles Luckman.

The building is considered to have been the target of a terrorist attack, involving the hijacking of airplanes as part of Oplan Bojinka, which was foiled in 1995.

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