@JohnKingSFChron profile picture
John King @JohnKingSFChron

Now retired from @sfchronicle. Still author of "Portal: San Francisco's Ferry Building the Reinvention of American Cities” -- in @wwnorton paperback, 2/25

Joined March 2010
  • Tweets 17,146
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  • Followers 11,183
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John King@JohnKingSFChron
12 Apr 2023
Two years after up w/@wwnorton, I’m nervously thrilled to say my book Portal: San Francisco’s Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities has a Nov. 7 publication date. It’s one landmark's history but also much more… (1/3)
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Emilio Garcia-Ruiz@garciaruize
6 May 2025
Five Pulitzer finalists in four years, best run in @sfchronicle history, better than almost all in our peer set. Our subscribers deserve the best and we are working hard to deliver it. For them, we strive for more. sfchronicle.com/about/newsro…

Chronicle named Pulitzer Prize finalist for a pair of investigations

The Chronicle was honored for uncovering the secret deals that hide police misconduct and documenting the deadly toll of police chases.

sfchronicle.com
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So, so, so well-deserved!
◥◤Kriston Capps@kristoncapps
5 May 2025
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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(And while ... who better to talk about the changing Embarcadero than former mayor Art Agnos -- the person most response for tearing down the elevated freeway that marred S.F.'s waterfront until 1991? I cannot WAIT for this @Booksmith event, 7 p.m. 3/27!) booksmith.com/event/portal25
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I avoid Elon Musk as best I can these days -- no easy task -- but I'm stopping by here to note that 1) my book "Portal: San Francisco's Ferry Building the Reinvention of American Cities" (@wwnorton) is now in paperback and 2) it's on the @sfchronicle best-seller list!
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In the grand scheme of Trumpism's petty and defiantly wrong-headed approach to government, last month's swipe at the Presidio is a minor sin. But the idiocy deserves notice nonetheless -- which explains my first @sfchronicle piece since retiring: sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s…

Why San Francisco’s Presidio is the antithesis of Trumpism

President Donald Trump’s targeting of San Francisco’s Presidio shows his tendencies for petty vendettas and political thuggery, writes former Chronicle urban design critic John King.

sfchronicle.com
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The rare newsroom package where editors come up with the idea and .... it's a good one! 🤠 (P.S. (e)clip and save so that in 2074 you can gauge the Future SF projections for accuracy )
Alex K. Fong 邝士英@alexkfong
27 Nov 2024
We asked AI to visualize the Bay Area. It … got a little weird. Our latest project from @kwonjs_ @ChaseDiFelice and, yes!, @JohnKingSFChron sfchronicle.com/projects/202…
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Looking for a change of pace when folks gather on Thanksgiving and don't want to talk politics? Try this eye-popping survey of what AI gets wrong about SF, from tri-towered Golden Gate Bridges to foliage-shrouded towers. Aka my final @sfchronicle byline: sfchronicle.com/projects/202…

How AI depicts San Francisco — and what it gets wrong

We asked four different generative AI models to depict today’s San Francisco, its residents and how the city would look in 2074.

sfchronicle.com
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P.S. I finished my contribution back in September before retiring. Thrilled to share the byline w/designer extraordinaire @kwonjs_ and AI-savvy newsroom neighbor @ChaseDiFelice
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Who can resist those eyes?
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Nobody's better at celebrating the Bay Area's idiosyncrasies than @peterhartlaub -- and this piece on the pleasure roll of SFO's old-school moving sidewalk is a particular delight: sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti…

SFO’s bouncy moving walkway is famous. Here’s why it’s about to disappear

The fountain of youth exists in the Bay Area, and it’s a 395-foot moving sidewalk inside the San Francisco International Airport. Stroll it while you can.

sfchronicle.com
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What a fun flattering way to stroll offstage after 23 years as Urban Design Critic at @sfchronicle -- a long chat w/@kristoncapps about the job & the city & how lucky I have been. For @citylab: bloomberg.com/news/newslette… via @citylab

Exit Interview with San Francisco Chronicle Architecture Critic John King

A staff writer for more than 30 years and critic for two decades, King is retiring from his perch as the Bay Area’s leading voice on architecture.

bloomberg.com
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I won't! If I take anything big next year or beyond, S.F. will be the anchor.... even if the street grid IS a pale second to The Hub's 🤠
Anthony Flint@anthonyflint
7 Oct 2024
Every city needs a chronicler, someone who knows the history, the nuances, the possibilities. Don't stray too far @johnkingsfchron sfchronicle.com/sf/article/b… @sfchronicle
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Thanks, Josh! S.F. is far more intriguing than this ink-stained wretch, but what fun for me to scramble and try to catch up these past 23(!) years....
J. Stephens@jrstephens310
7 Oct 2024
On the day of his farewell column, hats off to @JohnKingSFChron , an exceptional, accessible observer and critic of design and all facets of urban life. A great writer befitting a great city. sfchronicle.com/sf/article/b…
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It's official -- I'm now retired from @sfchronicle, the daily that taught me journalism as a reader let me tell stories myself for 32 years. The piece I felt most privileged to write? This tribute to David Perlman when he retired in 2017 at age 99: sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti…

A toast to David Perlman: A journalist and colleague extraordinaire retires

A full 77 years after joining The Chronicle as a copy boy, science writer David Perlman is stepping away from full-time reporting to become the paper’s science editor emeritus.

sfchronicle.com
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Fun from start to finish, at the very comfortable Yerba Buena Bar. One of the reasons I've loved journalism -- great coworkers!
Heather Knight@hknightsf
3 Oct 2024
Great to toast @JohnKingSFChron on his retirement after 32 years at the SF Chronicle! Cheers to a phenomenal career! 🥂 John has always had #TotalSF vibes, right @peterhartlaub?
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Not an easy path -- but the pieces are in place for The (next) City to emerge....
San Francisco Chronicle
@sfchronicle
2 Oct 2024
Retiring urban design critic @JohnKingSFChron takes stock of San Francisco’s troubled state — and sees signs of better times ahead. trib.al/zhLMfgO
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My (free!) farewell column after 23 years -- why I wish I'd been carrying a camera my first day on the gig, and why S.F.'s future is brighter than what the doomsters say: sfchronicle.com/sf/article/b…

San Francisco is changing before our eyes — just like it always has been

John King, the Chronicle’s retiring urban design critic, takes stock of San Francisco’s troubled state — and sees signs of better times ahead.

sfchronicle.com
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Benjamin Schneider
@urbenschneider
2 Oct 2024
In his farewell column, @JohnKingSFChron offers a welcome respite from the San Francisco doom and gloom narrative. It's valuable to consider the ways the city has changed for the better since 2001, as well as all of the good stuff on the horizon. sfchronicle.com/sf/article/b…

San Francisco is changing before our eyes — just like it always has been

John King, the Chronicle’s retiring urban design critic, takes stock of San Francisco’s troubled state — and sees signs of better times ahead.

sfchronicle.com
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What do OpenAI, skid row housing and a glassy fortress above the Pacific have in common? They all appear in my new piece on what 21st Century architecture says about 21st Century SF sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s… via @sfchronicle

These 11 buildings tell the story of 21st century San Francisco, warts and all

Whether they’re office towers or retail temples, cultural institutions or major infrastructure, the new elements in our landscape reveal aspects of what makes San Francisco tick.

sfchronicle.com
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San Francisco Chronicle
@sfchronicle
28 Sep 2024
In the best possible way, San Francisco’s Salesforce Park can feel detached from the tower-spiked district around it — a lush, 5.4-acre garden floating 70 feet above the asphalt streets, writes Chronicle Urban Design Critic @johnkingsfchron trib.al/3qbQxJo
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