San Francisco Will Start Dismantling the Vaillancourt Fountain on Monday

After a monthslong battle over the fate of the Embarcadero’s Vaillancourt Fountain, San Francisco officials said they will begin disassembly next week.

The removal of the embattled public art piece has been hotly contested since it was approved via an emergency exemption from environmental review last fall, and supporters have a pending legal challenge to keep it in place. But the city’s Recreation and Park Department said workers will begin labeling the fountain’s parts and bringing equipment onsite on Monday, kicking off the removal process.

Built by sculptor Armand Vaillancourt in the early 1970s, the Embarcadero Plaza fountain has been controversial since its debut — loved by some art historians and San Francisco skateboarders, while others have compared its appearance to dog poop and dynamited debris.

In recent years, the sculpture has suffered from significant corrosion and deterioration, and has been inoperable as a fountain since May 2024. The department said the structure also contains hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead.

In October, Rec and Parks declared it an imminent threat to public safety and obtained emergency permission to remove it, bypassing the typical California Environmental Quality Act review needed to remove such a landmark. The San Francisco Arts Commission, which oversees the fountain as part of the city’s civic art collection, also approved the removal.

A coalition of fountain supporters, including nonprofit groups Docomomo US/Northern California and the Cultural Landscape Foundation, along with skateboarders and some art fans, have tried a number of ways to halt the fountain’s removal, first asking the Board of Supervisors in January to require the environmental review process before disassembly can move forward, and later filing a legal complaint with the San Francisco Superior Court asking for the same.

Earlier this month, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ross denied their preliminary injunction, which would have temporarily halted the removal while the legal case plays out. The hearing date for the legal case is set for August, but following the preliminary ruling, the city attorney’s office said, “There is nothing legal preventing the city from moving forward.”

Susan Brandt-Hawley, an attorney representing the fountain’s supporters, has said, though, that there is no emergency, and the city should leave the sculpture in place until the legal case concludes.

“Yes, the fountain’s condition requires action,” she told KQED earlier this month. “The city has conceded that adequate security can keep the public out of the fountain, and then there’s no danger to the public. The legal case can go ahead to see whether public CEQA review is required or not.”

Still, the removal process set to begin next week will be led by Silverado Contractors, under the supervision of San Francisco Public Works, Recreation and Parks and in consultation with the Arts Commission.

BXP, a real estate development group that is currently working on a larger renovation of the Embarcadero Plaza and neighboring Sue Biermann Park, is also involved.

Rec and Parks spokesperson Tamara Aparton said that in May, workers will begin an “exploratory pilot” to study one or two arms of the structure, which she said is necessary since the sculpture doesn’t match its design drawings.

“This process allows engineers and preservation experts to study the structure in real time and adjust methods as work progresses,” Aparton said via email.

After the initial phase, crews will transition to a more “efficient removal” process, expected to take several months. During that time, Rec and Parks said the Embarcadero Plaza will remain open, and park rangers will provide security in the area.