Trinity Properties Reveals Plans for Art-Filled Piazza in Mid-Market District

92-Foot Centerpiece, Venus, by Lawrence Argent, Will Stand at the Heart of Trinity Place’sC’era Una Volta
Unveiling of Venus at 8th and Market Streets Scheduled for Summer 2016

SAN FRANCISCO–Trinity Properties, San Francisco’s leading residential real estate developer and a pioneer in the revitalization of the Mid-Market area, is pleased to announce plans for a large public piazza in the heart of Trinity Place, the 1,900-unit apartment complex on 8th Street between Market and Mission streets. The one-acre piazza will become the permanent home of a singular collection of sculptural art designed by renowned artist Lawrence Argent. The centerpiece of Trinity Place’s piazza will be a spectacular 92-foot stainless steel sculpture, Venus, which is only slightly shorter than the Statue of Liberty as measured from heel to crown. The installation in its entirety is entitled C’era Una Volta – “Once Upon a Time.”

Trinity Place — located in the heart of San Francisco’s burgeoning Mid-Market district, home to tech innovators Twitter, Square, Dolby Labs and Uber — is the vision of legendary San Francisco real estate developer Angelo Sangiacomo. Sangiacomo, who passed away in December 2015 at the age of 91, was an early catalyst of the dramatic changes in the Mid-Market area. He created the piazza and its art collection as a lasting gift to his beloved San Francisco.

Trinity Place comprises four high-rise apartment buildings, designed by the internationally-acclaimed architecture firm Arquitectonica, surrounding a central courtyard that will serve as a public gathering place and walkway that will eventually connect Mission and Market streets.

The centerpiece of C’era Una Volta is the astonishing Venus, Argent’s modern interpretation of the Venus de Milo. Venus will stand 92 feet tall, slightly shorter than the Statue of Liberty (111.5 feet as measured from heel to crown), and will be 35 feet wide at the shoulders. Graceful and expressive, the statue is made of 2,500 stainless steel panels welded together by skilled artisans using a highly specialized technique that renders all seams undetectable. An unveiling is anticipated in the summer of 2016.

“Venus at Trinity Place became this whirling object manifesting like a genie in a bottle coming out of the ground,” said Argent, explaining his design. “Angelo’s taste was very classical. My passion is interpreting the classical through technology, and Angelo and his family had faith in what I designed.”

Other pieces at Trinity Place include a modern interpretation of The Three Graces set among scattered stones meant to evoke images of treasures slowly unearthed; a 20-seat Carrara marble table carved from a single 23-foot slab where people can gather for lunch or to meet friends; seven-foot glass bollards weighing 10,000 pounds each with illuminated hollow centers showcasing sculptures within the glass; a nine-foot white marble dove; bronze gates patterned to replicate the street map of ancient Genoa; and an intricately designed mosaic path through the piazza, connecting Market Street to Mission Street.