Beautification Awards Overview

Since the early 1970s, the Beautification Awards have recognized individuals, organizations, community groups, and businesses that improve the quality of life in San Francisco. Nominated project have improved the City’s physical environment and has enriched the life of the community. To be eligible, projects must be located in San Francisco and visually or physically accessible to the general public. Nominations are submitted in the spring, and the Awards Committee makes its recommendations to San Francisco Beautiful´s Board of Directors, which selects the winners. The 2011 nominations are due next April.

Here's a complete list of Beautification Award winners since the program began in the early 1970s.

The awards are presented annually at San Francisco Beautiful´s Beautification Awards Dinner, which takes place in the fall. The 2010 Awards Dinner is set for October 13, Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel. The Awards dinner brings together community leaders, activists, and philanthropists to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the award winners. The dinner also serves as a fundraiser for San Francisco Beautiful, drawing sponsors from corporations, foundations, and private individuals.

Plan to celebrate with us at the 2010 Annual San Francisco Beautiful Beautification Awards Dinner on October 13 at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel atop Nob Hill!
Buy your Awards Dinner Tickets today.

2010 Beautification Award Winners

Each year we honor a group of projects that represent the best of San Francisco. Our four 2010 honorees illustrate the depth and breath of San Francisco and San Francisco Beautiful. Four projects; four scales; four quadrants of the city; and four creative ways citizen volunteers have risen to the challenge to make our urban villages greener and more vibrant.

Land’s End Revitalization: California Coastal Trail and Visitor Access Enhancements. The enhancement of this Golden Gate National Parks site was led by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and National Park Service. The project was funded by donors following the lead gifts of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, and is supported by a dedicated group of volunteer Park Stewards.

Cohen Alley, rededicated as The Tenderloin National Forest. Two decades in the making, this alley in the heart of a challenged neighborhood has been transformed, with recent funding from the Art Commission and Mayor’s office, into a garden of redwood trees, performance and public art, classes and activities.

Pennsylvania Garden. Creative vision, ingenuity, knowledge of horticulture and the inspirational leadership of Anne Shaw have transformed a leftover freeway “no man’s land” into an extraordinary collection of drought-tolerant native species, with the support of Caltrans, SF Department of Public Works, and the SF Parks Trust.

Mint Plaza. This former alley is now a public pedestrian plaza, donated to the City by the Martin Building Company, and maintained and managed by the non-profit Friends of Mint Plaza. With movable chairs for frequent events, this sophisticated design provides a new urban stage and a model for underutilized alleys throughout our inner city.

2009 San Francisco Beautiful Beautification Award Winners

"Saving Our City: Beauty has a Place"

La Playa Pocket Park: This pocket park along La Playa at 48th Avenue in the outer Sunset has transformed a litter-filled median strip into a quiet respite. This project was created and is maintained by neighbors and those at the Java Beach Cafe.

ClementinaCares: The landscaping and ongoing maintenance of Clementina, Tehama and Gallagher Alleys in the South of Market was implemented and is maintained by a coalition of neighborhood entities known as ‘ClementinaCares’. Trees, murals, lighting and regular street and sidewalk cleaning have made this area into a family-friendly neighborhood.

Piers 1 1/2, 3 & 5: The restoration of these historic pier structures has created a commercial development space with public waterfront access. The project is the effort of San Francisco Waterfront Partners, LLC and the Port of San Francisco.

SPUR Urban Center: San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association designed and funded the building of a place for the facilitation of public engagement and debate regarding civic and urban design issues important to the future of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The passage of Prop J (2008) creating a Historic Preservation Commission: For the efforts of a coalition who organized themselves as ‘Citizens for Smart Planning’ to draft, fundraise and campaign for the passage of the measure. This award receives the SFB Robert C. Friese Award for Neighborhood Conservation.

Superintendent Brian O'Neill, In Memoriam: The SFB Lifetime Achievement Award to former head of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. O’Neill championed many projects including the Crissy Field restoration and was known for his ‘friend-raising.’