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Transamerica Pyramid
The iconic and quintessential San Francisco structure -- the Transamerica Pyramid -- owes its unusual design to Transamerica president John R. Beckett. He was inspired by a forest -- where trees let in light below -- and envisioned a structure that would rise above the city yet not block out light and air.
Applying the vision to practice was architect William Pereira who also had a short career as film director and producer.
At 853 feet in height, the Transamerica Pyramid (built in 1972) is the tallest building in San Francisco and was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi. Its stature as tallest is being challenged by various skyscraper projects in the SoMa/South of Market area.