San Francisco is turning out the lights at the 1939 Transbay Terminal. Then they make go boom.

In a strange turn of events, Los Angeles is being credited with better efforts in historic preservation of its landmarks. Also, a pig just flew by my desk.

Photo of San Francisco Transbay Terminal from Mark Pritchard’s photostream

When you get on that swanky new bullet train at Los Angeles Union Station for a weekend excursion to San Francisco, here is what your destination might look like.

Curbed SF has the new renderings for the Transbay Transit Center, which will feature “fountains spurting whenever a bus passes by underneath,” and San Francisco’s modern day version of our own Angels Flight (which may, or may not be re-opened by then). Look for it in the simulated animation at 1:32.
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San Francisco is considering erecting a 1,200-foot tall office tower, displacing L.A.’s 1,018-foot tall Library Tower as the tallest building west of the Mississipi.

The San Francisco building would be part of the Transbay Terminal, which would also feature a park and a hub for a number of mass transit lines, included the proposed California High-Speed Rail, which travel to Los Angeles in 2 1/2 hours. [NBC 11]

When called for comment, Library Tower said it had no plans to buy a sports car, and refused to be envious “of a city with buildings that commonly wears socks and sandals.”

…photo by Veeyawn, used under Creative Commons…