Love, love, love San Francisco
San Francisco heart sculptures celebrate their 20-year milestone
With more than 549 sculptures now scattered throughout San Francisco, the hearts also serve another cause: They’ve raised $38 million for San Francisco General Hospital.
We owe a lot to the late Tony Bennett, who left his heart in San Francisco decades ago with a song of the same name. Now there are hearts all over our foggy city, perched on street corners, nestled in parks, and even adorning the facades of buildings; creating their own silent community of art and metal that’s been painted in bold, vibrant colors.
Each heart is designed by local artists to reflect the culture, history, and spirit of our city, and many eventually get auctioned off. With more than 549 sculptures now scattered throughout San Francisco, the hearts also serve another cause: They’ve raised $38 million for San Francisco General Hospital.
This is a gimmick that works for me, albeit not really in a profound way; who doesn’t get a pleasant vibe from these selfie-worthy creations that liven up our oft-derided city streets? It turns out some pretty notable hearts came out of the project, too. Tony Bennett’s sculpture livened up Union Square for many years before recently moving into the Fairmont Hotel, where he first performed I Left My Heart in San Francisco in 1961.
Charles Gadeken — known locally for his glimmering Entwined trees and foliage — also created several hearts for the city. My favorite probably is his steel butterfly sculpture, but he’s also made LED versions before that became his widely-known namesake. Pictured here is an installation outside San Francisco luxury furnishings store Coup D’Etat in 2011:
The hearts have been with us since 2004, and the SFGH Foundation celebrated the moment with a swanky affair this month at The Conservatory at One Sansome.
A cocktail reception and dinner on Feb. 8 saw a speech from Mayor London Breed, a choir performance, and notable attendees that included the always stylish philanthropists Bernard Osher and Barbro Osher, Senator Scott Wiener, San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson, hearts event founder Pam Baer, and Kim Meredith, CEO of the SFGH Foundation.
“This event reflects the generosity and compassionate care in our City, as we work together to provide equity, access, and quality health care for all,” Meredith said.
I honestly only made it to the after party, which gave me very school homecoming and prom dance vibes. An open bar, trays of pommes frites, popcorn bags, Millennial tracks and a lively dance floor filled out the evening, alongside some photobooth staff in red costumes and smaller heart sculptures throughout the space.
The Conservatory always fascinates me in how it can immediately convert from a huge banquet in an expansive space with some of the tallest vaulted ceilings I’ve seen in San Francisco, to a much more intimate one for an after party next door. I’ll hand it to event organizers that it’s quite convenient during rainy season to utilize interconnected and well-heated venue spaces for a soirée of this size.
And it felt like such a treat that the new bar Holbrook House — with its retro decor and light switches to summon bartenders — was included in the party experience.
February is the month of love, and there’s a lot of it to give to San Francisco and its philanthropic causes.
If you missed the annual hearts celebration, you can still take a selfie among our many sculptures throughout the city, and bid on one next year to have a little extra SF love in your home.
Saul Sugarman is editor in chief of The Bold Italic.
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