San Francisco Neighborhoods · Showplace Square
Showplace Square
also Design DistrictSun zoneSan Francisco's design district in the flats northwest of Potrero Hill, where brick warehouses turned interior-design showrooms, tech offices, and breweries — home of the San Francisco Design Center, trading in furniture, fabric, and light.
- Heart of SF's design and showroom trade
- Handsome early-1900s brick warehouse architecture
- Walkable to Potrero Hill and the Mission
- Brewery taprooms and design-district dining
On the map
Open Showplace Square on the map →The story
The district grew up in the early 20th century as a flatland of brick-and-timber warehouses and light industry serving the rail and port economy. In the 1970s developer Henry Adams assembled several adjacent brick buildings (one wing had been cold storage) into the San Francisco Design Center, adding the dramatic glass-roofed Galleria atrium and bringing in the first interior-design showrooms as tenants. The cluster of showrooms gave the area its name, Showplace Square, after the Showplace building. Today the Design Center still houses more than 100 showrooms representing thousands of manufacturers, while the surrounding warehouse blocks have filled with tech offices, breweries, and new live/work lofts.
Things most people don’t know
San Francisco Design Center
The SF Design Center spans two buildings, the Showplace and the Galleria, with over 100 showrooms representing more than 2,000 manufacturers of furniture, fabric, lighting, and more.
The Galleria atrium
Henry Adams joined four brick buildings around a dramatic skylit atrium in the 1970s; the Galleria at 101 Henry Adams St is now a landmark event hall.
Brick warehouse roots
The Showplace building at 2 Henry Adams St dates to about 1915, typical of the district's early-1900s brick-and-timber warehouse stock.
Brewery scene
Ballast Point's San Francisco tasting room and kitchen anchors the 16th Street edge of the district.
Eating and drinking near Showplace Square
Showplace Square is primarily residential — these sit in Potrero Hill, SoMa.
Restaurants
- Niku Steakhouse · 61 Division St
- Dumpling Time · 11 Division St
Bars
- Ballast Point · 705 16th St
Getting around and getting care
Transit. Muni buses 22-Fillmore (to Mission Bay), 19-Polk, 10-Townsend, and 55-Dogpatch serve the district; the 16th St corridor and Mission Bay are nearby.
Nearest hospital. Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, 1001 Potrero Ave (about 1 mi)
Thinking about Showplace Square?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.