The Facts

The Vaillancourt Fountain comes down Monday, ending the 55 year run of the icon/eyesore. It's a fountain that some love, and some love to hate, but it's being removed because it's been completely non-funcitonal since May 2024, and had been slowly degrading for many more years. (And who can forget the green water!)

An official CEQA notice says the 1971 fountain has been inoperable since May 2024 and will be moved to off-site storage for up to three years while the city decides its long-term future. (Yes, the California Environmental Quality Act requires an environmental impact study for the removal of a broken fountain in the middle of a city. California is a weird state.)

The Context

The removal is tied to a 32.5 million redesign of Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park into a larger waterfront civic space across from the Ferry Building, funded by city bond money, private fundraising, and BXP.

On its project page, Recreation and Park describes the effort as a roughly five-acre public space. We previously covered the pending removal in August of 2025, when it was reported that repairs could cost far more than removal.

The GrowSF Take

Your author counts himself among the many who love to hate the fountain, and won't shed a tear over its removal. The promised usable, welcoming waterfront plaza will be a big upgrade over preserving an eyesore.