The hulking concrete structure, built in 1971 in the shadow of the towering Embarcadero Freeway, has long been controversial; since its debut, some residents have deemed it an eyesore, while skaters consider it a landmark<\/a> of their sport\u2019s history in San Francisco. And historians say it\u2019s long been a destination for civic engagement and an emblem of modernist architecture.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a good place for gathering \u2014 for protests, for shows,\u201d said Pretty Sims, whose punk band False Flag held a performance in front of the fountain, partly in protest of the removal last week. \u201cU2 has played there. There\u2019s been so many protests that have happened in Embarcadero Plaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates have been fighting to keep the fountain in place since 2024, when the city first unveiled plans to redevelop the Embarcadero Plaza as a waterfront park \u2014 without the structure. Tensions escalated last year, though, after the Recreation and Parks Department was granted an emergency exemption to the California Environmental Quality Act, easing its path to remove the historic fountain without the long and often cumbersome community engagement process usually required.<\/p>\n In October, the Recreation and Park Department sought an emergency exception to the CEQA process after an engineering firm it contracted to assess the fountain<\/a> found widespread corrosion of the structural steel and concrete, creating a risk of collapse, especially during seismic activity.<\/p>\n Based on the report, the fountain was deemed an imminent safety risk and slated for emergency removal. In November, that plan was approved by the city\u2019s Arts Commission, which oversees the fountain as part of the city\u2019s Civic Art Collection.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.kqed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/09\/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED.jpg\")