Pinterest has joined Twitter, Zynga, Airbnb and a host of other social-based tech companies in San Francisco after announcing Monday that it would leave Palo Alto — where earlier this year the image-sharing network exploded into one of the fastest growing social networks of all time.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee — who has made drawing tech startups to the city a top priority of his administration — touted Pinterest's move north from Silicon Valley as a victory for the local economy.
"I am thrilled to welcome Pinterest to the 'Innovation Capital of the World,' and am pleased that our efforts to attract and retain the industry's best and most innovative companies are working," he said in a press statement.
Pinterest has signed a short-term lease for a space at Seventh and Brannan streets as it finalizes plans for a long-term relocation to the SoMa district, according to a press release from Lee's office. The release also references "immediate growth" by Pinterest, but does not go into detail.
Airbnb and Zynga are based in the same neighborhood, and Twitter recently moved into a spacious building not far away after threatening to move out of San Francisco unless it got a set of favorable tax breaks from the city.
Pinterest took the social networking world by storm in the early months of 2012 from a nondescript building in suburban Palo Alto. But it's not the only high profile tech company to leave town recently — Facebook moved to neighboring Menlo Park in December after several years in Palo Alto.
Mayor Lee — of the viral "2 Legit 2 Quit" campaign YouTube video fame — also marked the occasion by unveiling his own Pinterest profile.
If you were a hot tech startup where would you rather be headquartered — San Francisco or Silicon Valley? Tell us where and why in the comments.
BONUS GALLERY: The Home Pinterest Left Behind
This is the front of the Pinterest office in downtown Palo Alto.
This is the first thing you see upon entering Pinterest's HQ -- now that's more like it!
Walking in the front door, you'll see this hall with quirky artwork and fan mail on the wall. Desks are on the left and straight ahead are stairs up to a small loft office area.
Originally, the back wall was orange, but they painted it red. Two screens display Pinterest analytics and the homepage, respectively.
Two Pinterest employees discuss their work.
The brother of an employee drew this dino sketch on the wall of the main office.
Several Pinterest employees told us that this is their favorite piece of wall art in the office.
The back room is stocked with junk food and various snacks.
If you visit Pinterest in Palo Alto, they may ask you to have a seat in this cozy little area at the front of the open-concept office.
Office manager Leslie told me the staff loves Dr. Pepper.
Can you see the Nerf dart in these blinds? Those brightly-colored darts are everywhere in the office. Pinterest-ers used to have Nerf guns, but decided that just throwing the darts was easier.
I asked these guys if they have any meetings today. "This is a meeting," one of them replied.
Fan mail is posted on a wall near the front door. The letters range in tone from touching to quirky.
This is one of the secluded offices where smaller meetings are held.
Pinterest employees work in the open-space loft office in Palo Alto.
A Pinterest employee works on the website at the office in Palo Alto, Calif.
A creative fan sent Pinterest these pretty ornaments.
Everywhere you turn in the office, there's something cool to look at --- just like Pinterest.
The upstairs open-air loft office looks down on the bull pen area. Right now, no one sits upstairs, but the company is rapidly growing and will have to look for a new office soon.
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