SF dumpster divers discover vintage art in Westin St. Francis’ trash


Craig Canon was in the process of loading his hatchback with dozens of framed historic photos of San Francisco he had just nabbed from a dumpster outside the Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square when SFPD rolled by and microphoned for him to scram. 

The artist’s car was partially blocking traffic on Post Street, and he swiftly obliged the police’s request. 

A few minutes later, the Bay View resident was back inside the steel can, retrieving artwork that the hotel was tossing away Wednesday afternoon. 

Hundreds of pieces of historic artwork tossed from the Westin St. Francis.

Silas Valentino/SFGATE

Hundreds of art pieces were scattered in the dumpster. Some were watercolors of the Ferry Building and City Hall, whereas one piece was a mosaic of antiquated advertisements for Stella Artois. There were mirrors (some smashed) and sconces, plus the entire door for the accounting department. 

The Westin St. Francis in the reflection of a mirror in the dumpster. 

The Westin St. Francis in the reflection of a mirror in the dumpster. 


Silas Valentino/SFGATE

Hundreds of historic artwork tossed from the Westin St. Francis.

Hundreds of historic artwork tossed from the Westin St. Francis.


Silas Valentino/SFGATE

The Westin St. Francis in the reflection of a mirror and a piece of historic artwork placed in the dumpster. (Silas Valentino/SFGATE)

The most common pieces were frames showing a side-by-side look at the Westin’s exterior and interior. Ricardo Negrete, an employee of the hotel for seven years, was tasked with loading the art into a yellow bin and transferring it to the dumpster. He told SFGATE that he was happy dumpster divers were interested. 

“Me personally, I wouldn’t throw this away,” he said. “They said it was time to get rid of them and bring in the new art. I think it sucks to throw all of this away.”

Negrete said that the Westin had remodeled its main building a few years ago, and the vintage artwork had previously adorned the hotel’s hallways and had been seen throughout the historic building. 

Hundreds of historic artwork tossed from the Westin St. Francis.

Hundreds of historic artwork tossed from the Westin St. Francis.


Silas Valentino/SFGATE

Ricardo Negrete loads historic art from Westin St. Francis into the dumpster.

Ricardo Negrete loads historic art from Westin St. Francis into the dumpster.


Silas Valentino/SFGATE

Ricardo Negrete loads historic art from the Westin St. Francis into the dumpster. (Silas Valentino/SFGATE)

“I wish more people could see these,” Negrete added before leaving to grab the next stack of collectible artwork that was destined for the dump. 

When Negrete came back with a fresh stack of items, Canon was there to rummage through them. He grabbed a watercolor of the Ferry Building and finished packing his car with too many frames to count. 

Craig Canon loads his hatchback with dozens of framed historic photos from the Westin St. Francis.

Craig Canon loads his hatchback with dozens of framed historic photos from the Westin St. Francis.

Silas Valentino/SFGATE

Canon had seen a post online about the dumpster as he was en route to Caffe Trieste in North Beach to retrieve a forgotten debit card. He plans to clean up the frames of the dual images and replace them with his own artwork depicting snapshots of the city before he draws illustrations on them. 

“Now I can do a before and after,” he said. “These frames are gold to me.”





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