Seen from Telegraph Hill, the Transatlantic Pyramid is a tapered rocket awaiting launching. From the port, it resembles a pointed hat piercing the sky, luminescent even on the darkest nights or foggiest days. The pyramid is now synonymous with San Francisco’s entrance into the world after WWII, found on postcards, the 2009 reboot of Star Trek’s 23rd Century San Francisco and tourist welcome signs spread across the city.

Although it’s located in the Financial District, the tower is visible from any point within the Bay Area, holding on to the title of tallest building for 30 years. Earning its fame from its novel architecture rather than its height alone, its still interesting to know that the hollow spire that lights up at night is 212ft tall or around 20 stories tall itself. To take a picture of the Transamerica Pyramid is to take a picture of San Francisco’s icon and spirit embodied in a building, an opportunity one can’t easily pass up.