The SFO Open House gala

On December 3rd, 2000, the San Francisco International Airport and United Airlines held an open house at the new SFO International Terminal, and the city showed up to see the huge project and have a good time.

Visitors were not disappointed!

Turns out we weren't the only ones to think of parking for free (or at most $1) in Millbrae and taking the Caltrain-SFO shuttle, though. It was a jolly crowd, and the shuttles were SRO.

The structure draws the eye, a co-equal effort from the architect and engineer. Triangular, foot-ball shaped trusses form a huge span over the center of the departure hall.   Click on the photo for a larger detail, which will come up in its own window.

The Queen of the airport(?) had this fantastic hat... a feathery, steely fantasia of San Francisco in the clouds.

The much-vaunted western wall was there, and intercepting the late afternoon sun, or what was coming through the thin clouds. It would have been nicer with more coming in, actually. This is an architectural detail that looks better on paper or in concept than in reality, I'm afraid.

Art, and plenty of it! This piece, "Gateway," had 5,263 more of these 3"x3" pieces, and the artist hanging out nearby. (Click on the photo to see Ik-Joong Kang, and some more of his work.)

One of several SF Airport Museum exhibits was of automata. This "Lunar Dandy" was a hoot.

With a cold dragging on me, I only had energy for one of the two long wings from the main hall. "Balmy Alley" is a giant mosaic over one of the many gate lounges. Its artist was there, too, and we picked up a couple of the color-your-own black and whites, and Jeanette got them autographed.

And music, with themes from various international destinations, such as Beijing.

And Brazil! These Carnival dancers and drummers caught folks' attention.

I didn't catch the name of this mural, but it's a powerful image, with wooden sculptures incorporated at the corners. Just a bit of the work, to encourage you to find it and see for yourself.

Back in the departure hall, I noticed that the many islands of ticket counters are see-through, with a pair of mirrors infinity sensation. Interesting, but more likely to add confusion to an already confusing place, for travellers, I'm afraid.   The Glide Memorial Church choir (in purple, far left of the linked version) was rocking on the main stage, and filling the big hall with their fine sound.

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Tom von Alten      tva_∂t_fortboise_⋅_org

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Monday, 04-Dec-2000 00:04:31 MST
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