If the buildings in the Financial District could talk, they wouldn't stop blabbering. But buildings do not speak, so architects use ornamentation to do some of the talking. What story might the unicorn in front of the Royal Globe Insurance building tell? Its concrete horn seems elaborate and out of place in downtown San Francisco, but as detail and adornment have been replaced by the conventionality of modernism, that which seems decorative becomes more appreciated.

We root for the preservation of buildings out of reverence for history, and because historic gems and their ornamentation add much needed texture to the modern skyscrapers of downtown. So, next time you find yourself in the FiDi, look up and pay attention to the details right above your head.