Before standing in line to take the Cable Car up Powell Street, first cross the street and take a quick look at the ceiling upstairs in the San Francisco Shopping Center (Westfield Mall). Enter via the East Entrance and make your way upstairs. This building used to be the Emporium Department Store and the original ceiling has been completely restored and kept intact as the focal point of the new addition to this mall, which is now the largest mall west+ of the Mississippi. It hardly seems possible because it’s so hidden and doesn’t look anything like a mall from the outside. I watched this new wing take shape over the years it took to restore and transform, and you can see in the photos below that it was probably a contractor’s nightmare, but what a beautiful piece of architecture … and well worth saving.
