After opening up a fancy new retail store in Union Square, Apple no longer needs its original San Francisco store on 1 Stockton Street — but it won’t be empty for long. New plans reveal there is demand for the space from one of Apple’s partners.
The former Apple store opened to great fanfare just 12 years ago, and until just last week, when Apple opened the doors of its spectacular Union Square outlet, it was the company’s flagship San Francisco store.
But almost all traces of Apple have disappeared. There are no logos on the exterior of the building. The glass staircase is gone. There is no interior. Huge silver panels can still be seen on the outside of the building, but they probably won’t last long.
A memo from the San Francisco Planning Department reveals that T-Mobile now wants to occupy this retail space, and has big plans for an overhaul.
“The scope of work includes removal of the existing façade and construction of a new façade clad in smooth and dimensional terra cotta rainscreen with aluminum frame windows and storefront,” the memo reads.
“The terra cotta will transition from dimensional texture at the base of the building to flat at the cornice. Metal‐clad projecting cornices will define the second floor window sill and top of the building.”
Renders of the store, prepared by FRCH, reveal what T-Mobile’s changes will look like. The images show various angles of the store, and how it will appear when lit up at night.
Photo: FRCH/T-Mobile
T-Mobile requires approval before it can go ahead and make all these changes, so there’s no guarantee the carrier will end up occupying Apple’s old store. But it’s certainly interested, and it clearly has no plans to adopt the Apple Store’s iconic look.
Photo: FRCH/T-Mobile
