A temporary laser art installation has been lighting up the SF skyline, courtesy of Augmented Arts, and honestly? It's pretty great. The kind of thing that makes you stop doomscrolling for five seconds and just look up.

One recent transplant from Philly put it simply: they feel lucky to have landed here in time to catch it. And that's saying something, because moving to San Francisco in 2025 requires either deep pockets, extreme optimism, or both.

Here's the thing about public art done right: it costs a fraction of the city's bloated bureaucratic projects, it doesn't require a five-year environmental review, and it actually makes people feel something about their city. No task force. No $2 million feasibility study. Just lasers, a skyline, and someone with a creative vision.

Contrast that with the way San Francisco typically operates — where a public bathroom costs $1.7 million and a bus shelter takes years to install — and you start to understand why a simple, beautiful art installation feels almost radical. This is what happens when you let artists do their thing without routing everything through seventeen city departments.

We don't know how long this installation will last, and that's part of the charm. It's temporary, it's striking, and it asks nothing of taxpayers. If only more of the city's initiatives could say the same.

So if you haven't seen it yet, go take a look. Put down the phone (after you look up the viewing spots, obviously). Enjoy something in this city that's free, beautiful, and didn't require a ballot measure to approve.

San Francisco is still capable of delightful things. We just wish City Hall would take notes on how to actually deliver them.