Mayor Lee Celebrates Dolby's New Worldwide Headquarters in Central Market

Thank you Kevin for that wonderful explanation. Ladies and gentlemen, as I was listening to Kevin, I really have to tell you what the images are going on in my mind. Christmas has arrived early in San Francisco. And kids, you know what Christmas is? There's a gift right here that for a few moments you saw Kevin describing, some unwrapping of that gift. I know that Supervisor Kim and Supervisor Wiener join me in unraveling what I believe is the gift to all of San Francisco: the revitalization of mid-market. That's a gift. But this one today begins by my acknowledgment, both personally and professionally, as a person who's keen to San Francisco and wanted to be part of the civil rights movement and all the things that we believe in in terms of social values. I know Jane and Scott the same thing. But to say thank you to the Dolby family, Dagmar, to you, and I want to personally acknowledge Ray because I know the company has not only been here for 40 years, we've been innovating for 40 years. So the entire Dagmar family, thank you for this gift with Kevin and with the entire collaboration of employees that are effectuating on a day to day basis the things that Supervisor Kim and I and the board and then Supervisor and Board President David Chiu when we came together to talk about what Market Street meant to us. When I had my election office a few blocks down and I saw everything, I smelled everything, I heard everything, I made myself a promise. Then I relayed that promise to the supervisors, I relayed that promise to good friends like Randy Shaw and others working in the Tenderloin and some of the people that have been here. I said, 'You know, if I have a chance, I'm really gonna do something, but I can't do it alone, and government can't do it alone.' So what we did, Kevin, was we invited artists just like you have. I want to say a welcome to all of the local, the regional, and the international artists that are in the room today because this is the home of Dolby art. I've already learned that term. You've been incredible. I saw some of the images already of some of the incredible art that has been and will continue to be created by local and Bay Area artists from all over the region to be shown and to be embraced here in this room and to be interacted with. Our students, I am waiting for the tour of the labs that will be your inventions. When you have the incredible talent that you have blended with the science and the art that is here, I'm excited to see where that's going to be created because I will probably, I will definitely experience it in theaters and in venues like our museums and our jazz center, opera, the symphony, and the ballet. We're going to experience it because when Dolby started and when they unveiled, I remember that name when it was attached to one of the first incredible cinema experiences all of us had: Star Wars with George Lucas. Remember that? Remember the incredible sound experience we had of that? I'm going arcing back those days for our kids because for all of you, when we as a city blend art, science, and community, that's what living in San Francisco perhaps is about for much the majority of people that came here. We wanted that blend. So when we started looking at Market Street, we invited first and foremost a lot of art folks to come because art people are not afraid of anything. They said, 'Oh yeah, they'll look at space and they'll reinvent it and they'll invite people with new experiences.' We invited the Gray Area Arts Foundation and a number of art organizations too. They took over some of the empty storefronts first and just tried stuff visually, and they led the effort and they gave us an incredible foundation which we invited then more entrepreneurs to come here. Today there's over 18 companies that are here. A number of them of course took advantage of our payroll tax exemption for that for our five blocks here, but Dolby and another company are the two companies that did not. They kind of said they have such faith in not only this area but what they want to contribute that the tax break was not the attraction. It was about what they're about, it's about what the gift that they're about to unwrap for all of us. I am as excited as these kids. I'm looking at this building as a gift to me and to the people that wanted this avenue, the greatest street in our whole city, to be a gift to the rest of the city that blends art, science, and community. And guess what? Embodied in this company that's here is all these attributes. Not only art that's done here, the way it's presented, the invitation by this incredible moving piece of art that is on the walls that kids will be able to actually help create. That's an incredible contribution. The employees, your hours, and I suspect there's thousands in the future because everybody I think will want to have a connection with what Dolby is. Dolby isn't earphones, it isn't just sound. It's probably about presenting a different experience, having that blend with life. Science is at the heart of what you do, and I think understanding that the sensory of human nature is about science as well. It's going to be an incredible invitation to innovate with all these labs. The kinds of things that you're doing here just excites me about what innovation is all about. And ultimately you also have that big heart. It is what San Francisco really is. It's about us sharing not only prosperity but sharing our talents with each other, and then in that sharing, in that collaboration, building on each other for success. I think your giving here, your collaboration with the numerous nonprofits you've named a few, and some of them are incredible in doing incredible work like the Women's Audio Mission, but also St. Anthony's, Glide, all of the agencies that you're touching want to be partners with the employees and the management of Dolby. I think after a year if you don't find me at City Hall and if I'm still the mayor, you'll probably find me at some cinema within walking distance because I am excited to experience myself the new centuries of experience that millions of people all over the world, and I mean the world, and that's why I know Consul General Ren is here because he would love this technology to be embraced in China but all over the world. Because this is what I think Dolby has: a world-class brand and they want to keep building a world experience at world-class levels. This is why we as a city do what we do. This is why we're building a brand new entertainment arena in Mission Bay so we can invite that kind of experience. This is why we invest in jazz centers. This is why people invest in our established wonderful performing arts. But there's more art to come along Market Street, there's more investment, small businesses, large businesses every day. The hundreds of employees here are actually causing hundreds of more activities to be happening, so that you're going to probably find even more small shops. Your impact will have it isn't just the 700, what you impact along the way. This is what we envisioned when we did the Market Street plan. We wanted impact, we didn't want just company's presence, we wanted impact so that we have a multiplier of many other things so that people will walk into a Tenderloin museum because this is where things are happening. They'll go down to the arts organizations along Market Street and understand how homeless people are creating their own art so they can get back into a connection with our communities, or be in the South of Market area with all the incredible inventions and innovations going on, or have some of the best food along the way. I want you to know from my delivery today not just an appreciation but hopefully a vision of how we all want to work together because in this incredible gift is something that I think we can all touch and share. I am going to try with Supervisor Kim and other supervisors to continue having Market Street be a gift for everyone and keep unwrapping gift after gift. It's Dolby and all the things that we do, but now we will effectuate other gifts that go along because I know this is going to be so impactful. I just wanted to explain how I was feeling before I go to the labs and before I have incredible coffee at this wonderful open space that people will see and visualize. But I wanted to give you a sense that that's what Market Street was all about. That's what we wanted to have in the center of our great world-class city: things that would be so impactful to the rest of the world. We have it right here. This is just an incredible gift. So thank you to Dolby, thank you to Dolby Corporation, thank you to the employees and all of their partners, nonprofit. And with that, let me officially declare this to be Dolby Day in San Francisco. Come on out, Kevin. Dagmar, would you come up?