Smart Meetings

Like Rome, San Francisco is built on a series of hills (42, actually); hence the need for sturdy walking shoes and those anachronistic cable cars, the remnants of a once-worldwide system invented here in 1873 (outlasting both Seattle and New Zealand as sole survivor). If there’s not a view in front of you as you climb a hill, just turn your head and an unexpected glimpse of a towering bridge, or the bay, will stun you with its beauty. The climate is comfortably mild, with highs that seldom exceed 75 degrees or dip below 45.

Dining here is an art form. While Gold Rush miners flocked to San Francisco to chow down on oysters and eggs, today’s sophisticated diners feast on equally sophisticated fare prepared by an innovative breed of restaurateurs and chefs who, literally, seize the day when it comes to fresh, seasonal ingredients and artisanal products, which the Bay Area is amply prepared to provide.

Thousands of convention hotel rooms are located within walking distance, or a short cab ride, from The Moscone Center (moscone.com). Big and bold, Moscone delivers more than 1.2 million sq. ft. of space, with generous lobby and pre-function areas. Moscone North has 181,440 sq. ft. of exhibit space and 17 flexible meeting rooms; the larger Moscone South has 260,560 sq. ft. of column-free exhibit space.

With its construction, Moscone also became the impetus for the rebirth of the area, which now includes Yerba Buena Gardens and museums like SFMOMA, the Museum of the African Diaspora, and the upcoming Mexican Museum and Contemporary Jewish Museum.

    Located South of Market (SoMa) also, the San Francisco Design Center complex (sfvenues.com) has multiple venues for events, shows and meetings. Chief among them are the Concourse Exhibition Center, a converted railway station with more than 120,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, and the Galleria, a four-story atrium space with a professional stage and dance floor, which can hold up to 900 for banquets and 1,600 for receptions. Both have retractable skylights.

Named after San Francisco’s famed rock-music promoter, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (billgrahamcivic.com) offers seating up to 7,000 and 31,140 sq. ft. of meeting or exhibit space. It is centrally located in the Civic Center, a Beaux Arts collection of historic buildings that house City Hall, the Asian Art Museum, Davies Symphony Hall and the War Memorial Opera House.

Fort Mason Center (fortmason.org), a multibuilding National Historic Landmark, hugs San Francisco Bay in the Marina District. Two clear-span pavilions (the Herbst, with 30,000 sq. ft. and the Festival, with 50,000 sq. ft.) are the largest, although several smaller options are also available.

Mission Bay, San Francisco’s newest emerging neighborhood, is home to the city’s newest conference facility: the ARAMARK-managed Mission Bay Conference Center at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF; ahl-missionbay.com).

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Getting There

San Francisco International Airport (flysfo.com), just 14 miles from downtown, is served by 29 domestic and international airlines, including discounter Frontier Airlines.

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) connects the airport and downtown; other public transportation includes MUNI (sfmuni.com), which also operates the historic, vintage-car F-line.

Across the Bay, Oakland International Airport (oaklandairport.com) is served by 13 airlines, including Southwest and jetBlue. BART also links the airport to downtown San Francisco.

 

 

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Not To Be Missed

The de Young Museum The signature, nine-story observation tower (free to the public) allows a top-floor, 360-degree view of the park and cityscape. (thinker.org/deyoung/index.asp)

Ferry Building Marketplace (ferrybuildingmarketplace.com) 

Cupid’s is the monumental Claes Oldenburg sculpture. Referring to the bridge—and, of course, the idea of love and leaving one’s heart—the sculpture is also a paean to the city’s history, its bow suggesting the contours of a sailing ship’s prow, and its arrow, a mast. 

Crissy Field/The Presidio (crissyfield.org and presidio.gov)

Beach Blanket Babylon  the longest-running musical revue in theater history, features outrageous hats-cum-parade-floats, irreverent, topical humor and a good time right down to the last chorus. (BBB; beachblanketbabylon.com) 

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What's New?

Museum News | San Francisco's cultural scence continues to thrive with the openings and planned openings of fiv...

Frontier Airlines | Frontier Airlines [frontierairlines.com], the ever expanding, discount carrier, has added five fl...

New Website | The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau has a new web site: Alcatraz Cruises | Alcatraz Cruises (alcatrazcruises.com), operated by Hor...

Victoria’s No Longer a Secret | United Airlines has begun new direct daily service between San Francisco International Airport an...

Museum Meetings in San Francisco | Located near Moscone Center, the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco will open on June 8,...

San Francisco’s Stanford Court Transforms | The historic Stanford Court Hotel, on Nob Hill in San Francisco, is undergoing a sweeping $32-mil...

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