Vaillancourt Fountain at San Francisco Embarcadero Plaza will be removed

By Jose Fabian

The San Francisco Arts Commission on Monday voted in favor of removing the Vaillancourt Fountain, which has been in the Embarcadero since the 1970s.

It passed with eight votes in favor and five no votes.

In 2024, San Francisco Recreation and Parks announced the Embarcadero Plaza Renovation Project, which would tear down the structure for a new waterfront park.

Then, this summer, a city report concluded it had asbestos, lead and was not ADA-compliant, and it stated that the fountain’s crumbling condition was a public safety issue.  According to San Francisco Recreation and Parks, it’ll cost about $2.68 million to remove but about $29 million to renovate.

Once removed, the fountain will be stored, and the extent of its deterioration will be investigated.

What will happen to it after that is not yet decided, with restoration, repurposing or repair being a few of the possibilities mentioned at the commission’s meeting.