Only in San Francisco could a post office prove so controversial. This art-deco landmark is lined with vibrant Works Project Administration murals of SF history, begun by Russian-born painter Anton Refregier in 1941 – but WWII and political squabbles ensued. After 92 changes to satisfy censors, Refregier concluded these murals in 1948 with War & Peace, pointedly contrasting Nazi book-burning scenes with postwar promises of 'freedom from fear/want/of worship/speech.' Initially denounced by McCarthyists, Refregier's masterpiece is now a National Landmark.
San Francisco Murals at Rincon Annex Post Office
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.04 MILES
When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…
3.35 MILES
Was it the fall of 1966 or the winter of ’67? As the Haight saying goes, if you can remember the Summer of Love, you probably weren’t here. The fog was…
0.77 MILES
If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…
0.8 MILES
No one could have predicted the cultural force City Lights would become when it first opened in 1953. Sure, it had a proletarian ethos suggested by its…
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
0.62 MILES
When the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art expanded in 2016, it was a mind-boggling feat that nearly tripled the institution's size to accommodate a…
0.96 MILES
If you want to really see San Francisco, head to Coit Tower, a 1933 art deco beaut designed by Arthur Brown, Jr. and Henry Howard that sits high up on…
4.79 MILES
Few cities boast a structure so iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge, commemorated in everything from films like The Maltese Falcon to not one but two emojis…
2.91 MILES
Welcome to San Francisco's sunny side, the land of street ball and Mayan-pyramid playgrounds, semiprofessional tanning and taco picnics. Although the…
Nearby attractions
0.22 MILES
Hedonism is alive and well at this transit hub turned gourmet emporium, where foodies happily miss their ferries over Sonoma oysters and bubbly, SF craft…
0.23 MILES
The plaza across from the Ferry Building isn't much to look at – the Vaillancourt Fountain has run dry, the walkways sag and the pavers are cracked. But…
0.26 MILES
If there was a time that Salesforce employees could have a night on the town without thinking about work, that time is over. The top nine stories of the…
4. Diego Rivera's Allegory of California Fresco
0.41 MILES
Hidden inside San Francisco's Stock Exchange tower is a priceless treasure: Diego Rivera's 1930–31 Allegory of California fresco. Spanning a two-story…
0.43 MILES
Enjoy knockout vistas of the Financial District and Transamerica Pyramid from atop a slender art deco skyscraper. Take the elevator to the 15th floor.
0.5 MILES
Gold miners needed somewhere to stash and send cash, so Wells Fargo opened in this location in 1852. Today this storefront museum covers gold rush–era…
7. Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company Building
0.52 MILES
Recently renovated and gilt to the hilt indoors, this 1925 building made architect Timothy Pflueger’s reputation with its black-marble deco lobby and…
8. Transamerica Pyramid & Redwood Park
0.53 MILES
The defining feature of San Francisco's skyline is this 1972 pyramid, built atop a whaling ship abandoned in the gold rush. A half-acre redwood grove…