Metreon
Encyclopedia
The Metreon is a shopping center located in downtown San Francisco
at the corner of 4th Street and Mission Street
. It is a four-story 350,000 square foot (33,000 m²) building built over the corner of the underground Moscone Center
convention center. Metreon opened on June 16, 1999, as the first of a proposed chain of Sony
"urban entertainment centers", aggregating dining, gaming, music, exhibitions, shopping, and movies. Sony intended the ambitious 85 million dollar project to be not only a theme park and gallery for Sony products but a way to reinforce a hip image for the Sony brand.
In 2006 Metreon was sold to Westfield
, a mall developer, and it was refashioned as a food-oriented mall. In 2011, with few exceptions, remaining businesses in the mall were closed. Westfield has announced a major renovation with an emphasis on dining, including Target Corporation
creating a large downtown department store
that will take up the second floor. The new center is expected to be completed by 2012.
The Metreon's original attractions included a movie theater including both standard and IMAX
screens, a multimedia edutainment
presentation involving audio-animatronics
and 3-D film
based on the famous book The Way Things Work
by David Macaulay
, a play area for young children based on Maurice Sendak
's popular children's book Where the Wild Things Are
(sharing a floor with an In the Night Kitchen
themed restaurant), and an arcade and bar, the Airtight Garage
, based on French comic artist and graphic designer Jean "Moebius" Giraud
's graphic novel
of the same name and featuring all original games.
In October 2001 Metreon, in partnership with Sony's anime
television network, Animax
, was host to an anime
festival, in which numerous anime titles were broadcast across its Action Theatre. As a hub for Sony products, the Metreon often hosted special events for the public when new products were released. Consumers flocked to the Metreon for high-demand items such as the PlayStation 2
or PSP
.
Although Sony opened two additional centers in Tokyo
and Berlin
in 1999, the original center failed to turn the expected profit. Despite promising first-year foot traffic of six million, one million ahead of pre-launch projections, by the summer of 2001 "The Way Things Work" was closed and a major tenant, the Microsoft
store, exited in late 2001. The other major exhibit, "Where the Wild Things Are," closed sometime after July 2004.
The Airtight Garage's games proved unpopular, with the exception of HyperBowl, a 3D obstacle course bowling game featuring air-supported bowling balls used as trackball
s, and they eventually were gradually replaced by other, better-known games, until the arcade was finally closed, then reopened as "Portal One," which preserved the decor, full bar, and Hyperbowl but was otherwise a more typical arcade. Sunday May 13, 2007 was Portal One arcade's last day of operation. The arcade was relaunched again as a Tilt.
The 16-screen Loews (now AMC
) theater was a success, becoming one of the most profitable theaters in the country and claiming much of the Metreon foot traffic; the lease agreement did not apportion ticket or concession sales to Metreon, however.
By 2002, there were persistent rumors that Sony wished to pull out of management of the property. In February 2006, Metreon was sold to The Westfield Group
, the owner of the nearby Westfield San Francisco Centre
shopping mall
, and Forest City Enterprises
, a real estate development company.
In early 2009, Sony announced that it would be closing the Sony and PlayStation stores, the last flagship stores located in the mall. Following the announcement, on March 3, 2009, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency approved plans from owners Westfield Group and Forest City Enterprises
to renovate Metreon into a "restaurant-centric" mall. Expected modifications include relocation of the Fourth and Mission street entrance to the center of the block and the installation of a food terrace facing Yerba Buena Gardens. The San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center and the "Tavern on the Green" restaurant were projected tenants. Tavern on the Green, however, entered bankruptcy on September 11, 2009, "throwing into doubt" the plans for the Metreon location.
A seven-day-a-week farmers' market operated as an interim tenant in the former Discovery Channel Store space between May and November 2009. It closed in November 2009.
Target
plans to open its first San Francisco store in the Metreon in 2012. Target is leasing 99,677 square feet, and construction has started.
The Sanraku sushi restaurant is located in the Metreon. There were also a bookstore, and a food court
. As part of Westfield's major renovation, a new and expanded food court known as "the Dining Terrace" will be added and will replace the original food court. Sanraku Sushi and Jillian's are both expected to stay, with Jillian's eventually expanding inside the Metreon. Also, the current AMC Metreon 16 theatre will stay and undergo some renovations, including a new main entrance and a brand-new box office.
movie theater
operated by AMC Loews Cineplex
, and Jillians, a restaurant, are the only attractions remaining open as Target moves in.
The Metreon is also home to the Walk of Game
, which is loosely based on the Walk of Fame — honorees include Shigeru Miyamoto
, Nolan Bushnell
, StarCraft
, Sid Meier
, Mario
, Sonic the Hedgehog
, and Link from The Legend of Zelda series. A special Walk of Game event took place there in 2005 and 2006. It was unknown that it would ever continue and is now most likely obsolete, now that Target is taking up the second floor where the Walk of Game was.
A manager of the Metreon theaters, Kenneth Kintsley, was convicted in 2010 of embezzling $300,000 from the theaters between 2001 and 2004.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
at the corner of 4th Street and Mission Street
Mission Street
Mission Street is a north-south arterial thoroughfare in San Francisco, California that runs from the city's southern border to its northeast corner. The street and the Mission District through which it runs were named for the Spanish Mission Dolores, several blocks away from the modern route. Only...
. It is a four-story 350,000 square foot (33,000 m²) building built over the corner of the underground Moscone Center
Moscone Center
Moscone Center is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. It comprises three main halls: Two underground halls underneath Yerba Buena Gardens, known as Moscone North and Moscone South, and a three-level Moscone West exhibition hall across 4th Street...
convention center. Metreon opened on June 16, 1999, as the first of a proposed chain of Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
"urban entertainment centers", aggregating dining, gaming, music, exhibitions, shopping, and movies. Sony intended the ambitious 85 million dollar project to be not only a theme park and gallery for Sony products but a way to reinforce a hip image for the Sony brand.
In 2006 Metreon was sold to Westfield
Westfield
-Places:Australia:*Westfield, Western AustraliaCanada:*Grand Bay-Westfield, New Brunswick*Westfield, Nova ScotiaEngland*Westfield, East Sussex*Westfield, North Yorkshire*Westfield, Somerset*Westfield, Woking, SurreyNew Zealand:*Westfield, New Zealand...
, a mall developer, and it was refashioned as a food-oriented mall. In 2011, with few exceptions, remaining businesses in the mall were closed. Westfield has announced a major renovation with an emphasis on dining, including Target Corporation
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
creating a large downtown department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
that will take up the second floor. The new center is expected to be completed by 2012.
History
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
screens, a multimedia edutainment
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
presentation involving audio-animatronics
Audio-Animatronics
Audio-Animatronics is the registered trademark for a form of robotics created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise, generally in speech or song...
and 3-D film
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
based on the famous book The Way Things Work
The Way Things Work
The Way Things Work is a book by David Macaulay. It is intended to serve as an entertaining introduction to everyday machines. It covers machines as simple as levers and gears and as complicated as radio telescopes and automatic transmissions...
by David Macaulay
David Macaulay
David Macaulay is an author and illustrator. Now a resident of Norwich, Vermont, United States, he is an alumnus and faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design.- Biography :...
, a play area for young children based on Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...
's popular children's book Where the Wild Things Are
Where The Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short in 1973 , a 1980 opera, and, in 2009, a live-action feature film...
(sharing a floor with an In the Night Kitchen
In the Night Kitchen
In the Night Kitchen is a popular and controversial children's picture book, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and first published in 1970. The book depicts a young boy's dream journey through a surreal baker's kitchen where he assists in the creation of a cake to be ready by the morning...
themed restaurant), and an arcade and bar, the Airtight Garage
Airtight Garage
The Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius is a lengthy comic strip work by the artist and writer Moebius...
, based on French comic artist and graphic designer Jean "Moebius" Giraud
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
's graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
of the same name and featuring all original games.
In October 2001 Metreon, in partnership with Sony's anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television network, Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, was host to an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
festival, in which numerous anime titles were broadcast across its Action Theatre. As a hub for Sony products, the Metreon often hosted special events for the public when new products were released. Consumers flocked to the Metreon for high-demand items such as the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
or PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
.
Although Sony opened two additional centers in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1999, the original center failed to turn the expected profit. Despite promising first-year foot traffic of six million, one million ahead of pre-launch projections, by the summer of 2001 "The Way Things Work" was closed and a major tenant, the Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
store, exited in late 2001. The other major exhibit, "Where the Wild Things Are," closed sometime after July 2004.
The Airtight Garage's games proved unpopular, with the exception of HyperBowl, a 3D obstacle course bowling game featuring air-supported bowling balls used as trackball
Trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor...
s, and they eventually were gradually replaced by other, better-known games, until the arcade was finally closed, then reopened as "Portal One," which preserved the decor, full bar, and Hyperbowl but was otherwise a more typical arcade. Sunday May 13, 2007 was Portal One arcade's last day of operation. The arcade was relaunched again as a Tilt.
The 16-screen Loews (now AMC
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
) theater was a success, becoming one of the most profitable theaters in the country and claiming much of the Metreon foot traffic; the lease agreement did not apportion ticket or concession sales to Metreon, however.
By 2002, there were persistent rumors that Sony wished to pull out of management of the property. In February 2006, Metreon was sold to The Westfield Group
The Westfield Group
The Westfield Group is an Australian shopping centre group undertaking ownership, development, design, construction, funds/asset management, property management, leasing and marketing activities...
, the owner of the nearby Westfield San Francisco Centre
Westfield San Francisco Centre
Westfield San Francisco Centre is an upscale, urban shopping center located in San Francisco, California, managed by the Westfield Group and co-owned by Westfield and Forest City Enterprises. It is anchored by Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, and includes a Century Theatres multiplex, a Bristol...
shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
, and Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
, a real estate development company.
In early 2009, Sony announced that it would be closing the Sony and PlayStation stores, the last flagship stores located in the mall. Following the announcement, on March 3, 2009, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency approved plans from owners Westfield Group and Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
to renovate Metreon into a "restaurant-centric" mall. Expected modifications include relocation of the Fourth and Mission street entrance to the center of the block and the installation of a food terrace facing Yerba Buena Gardens. The San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center and the "Tavern on the Green" restaurant were projected tenants. Tavern on the Green, however, entered bankruptcy on September 11, 2009, "throwing into doubt" the plans for the Metreon location.
A seven-day-a-week farmers' market operated as an interim tenant in the former Discovery Channel Store space between May and November 2009. It closed in November 2009.
Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
plans to open its first San Francisco store in the Metreon in 2012. Target is leasing 99,677 square feet, and construction has started.
The Sanraku sushi restaurant is located in the Metreon. There were also a bookstore, and a food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
. As part of Westfield's major renovation, a new and expanded food court known as "the Dining Terrace" will be added and will replace the original food court. Sanraku Sushi and Jillian's are both expected to stay, with Jillian's eventually expanding inside the Metreon. Also, the current AMC Metreon 16 theatre will stay and undergo some renovations, including a new main entrance and a brand-new box office.
Stores and features
The Metreon 16, an IMAX 3DIMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
operated by AMC Loews Cineplex
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
, and Jillians, a restaurant, are the only attractions remaining open as Target moves in.
The Metreon is also home to the Walk of Game
Walk of Game
The Walk of Game is a year-round attraction in the United States honoring the icons and pioneers of the video game industry, and is located inside Metreon, an entertainment shopping center in San Francisco, California...
, which is loosely based on the Walk of Fame — honorees include Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
, Nolan Bushnell
Nolan Bushnell
Nolan K. Bushnell is an American engineer and entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain...
, StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
, Sid Meier
Sid Meier
Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
, Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
, and Link from The Legend of Zelda series. A special Walk of Game event took place there in 2005 and 2006. It was unknown that it would ever continue and is now most likely obsolete, now that Target is taking up the second floor where the Walk of Game was.
Crime
The Metreon has been the scene of a number of well-publicized shootings. Four people are known to have been shot at the Metreon, in three separate incidents.A manager of the Metreon theaters, Kenneth Kintsley, was convicted in 2010 of embezzling $300,000 from the theaters between 2001 and 2004.
External links
- Island Earth Farmers' Market Website
- The "Where the Wild Things Are" attraction at the Metreon, July 23, 2004. A six-part video on YouTube.