A skateboarder’s lament: the dismantling of San Francisco’s iconic and divisive fountain

The Vaillancourt fountain, an enormous sculpture in place since the 1970s, has been equally reviled and revered

It was a surreal, fitting end for one of San Francisco's most divisive public artworks: the Vaillancourt fountain, an enormous concrete sculpture looming over Embarcadero Plaza since the 1970s, had burst into flames.

The hulking fountain's angled arms were being dismantled in early May after the city voted to potentially replace it with an open, grassy park - a decision mourned by skateboarders like myself, who argued the city was losing an important piece of its skate culture and architectural heritage.