That’s a classic lede on John King’s (pay-walled) architecture review of the soon-to-be remade Metreon in today’s Chronicle:
There’s a rich cultural yarn in the saga of San Francisco’s Metreon, about how a gimmicky and failed world unto itself will be reborn as a place designed to draw strength from the city around it.
Goodbye, virtual bowling alley. Hello, Target!
Add: In fairness, King likes a lot of what mall developer Westfield Group is doing at the Metreon. But the headline gives a clue: “New Metreon boxed in by old mistakes.”
Image: San Francisco Redevelopment Agency