A San Francisco Favorite, The Sentinel Building

Cafe Zoetrope — I can't lie, I have a major love for copper things. Especially, old green copper. I first stopped in here with a friend and was completely in love with this massive flatiron-like building named the Sentinel building, also known as Columbus Tower. 

There she is in all of her glory, the Sentinel Building

It's such a striking building with its unique pie-shaped façade. 

I hardly ever get over to North Beach, but this is a spot I like to go to and have a glass of wine and a small bite in the evenings if I’m in the area.

This building has had quite a few caretakers in its 100+ years, many of those caretakers being famous, and not all years were glory days, despite the building’s uniqueness. Construction had finished in 1907 and, unfortunately, by the mid-1900s had deteriorated. The building was renovated, saved, and renamed to Columbus Tower in the late-50s by Dutch investors Rob and Nella Moor, who turned it around and sold it to the Kingston Trio less than 2 years later.

It is currently owned by Francis Ford Coppola, who had renovated it again and changed the name back to the Sentinel Building (I love this- I always think that as caretakers in a building’s life, we should honor and respect the past!).