Grand opening ceremony held for Salesforce tower
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - The new landmark that has changed the skyline of San Francisco was celebrated Tuesday with an official grand opening ceremony.
At 62 stories high and 1,070 feet tall the city's new skyscraper on Mission and Fremont Streets is an architectural marvel of concrete and glass.
Sixty percent of the building is occupied by San Francisco's largest technology employer - Salesforce. Consulting firms and law firms make up most of the rest.
Our KTVU crew checked out the "social lounge," which she likens to a kitchen. Large orange couches with throw pillows adorn the lounge area complete with an enormous flat screen TV. Behind the kitchen island, lies rows of Salesforce coffee mugs, a Peet’s coffee maker, and drawers and canisters chock full of everything from chocolate-covered pretzels and peanuts to granola bars and potato chips. Inside the see-through refrigerator are various sodas, yogurt, veggie sticks and hummus dip. All of the snacks are free, but workers are encouraged to grab lunch elsewhere.
"We actually don't offer free lunch as a company and that again is part of our culture. We think it's really important to go out in downtown San Francisco and be good patrons of local businesses," said Sanclemente.
PHOTOS: San Francisco's tallest building, the Salesforce Tower
At opening remarks Tuesday, CEO Marc Benioff spoke of his company's commitment to San Francisco and the Bay Area. %INLINE%
San Francisco dignitaries including former and current leaders at City Hall, most of the mayoral candidates, and community leaders were there for the opening.
Salesforce has more than 60,000 employees in the city and the new building will house many of them in the 1.4 million square foot structure.
Employees started arriving in January and the move-in process continues throughout this year.
The media event will continue through the day. There will be an official lighting of the artwork that sits at the top of the building and includes 11,000 lights. The art shows street scenes from all over San Francisco.