About The Interval and The Long Now Foundation

A Place for Conversation

The Interval is a bar, café, museum, and the home of The Long Now Foundation. Featuring a floor-to-ceiling library of the books you might need to rebuild civilization, mechanical prototypes for a clock meant to last for 10,000 years, art that continually evolves in real time, and a time-inspired menu of artisan drinks.

What is The Long Now Foundation?

“Now” is never just a moment. The Long Now is the recognition that the precise moment you’re in grows out of the past and is a seed for the future. - Brian Eno (Founding board member)

The Long Now Foundation was established in 01996 to creatively foster long-term thinking and responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years.

The Site

The Interval is located in San Francisco at Fort Mason Center, a historic campus of former military buildings within sight of The Golden Gate and Alcatraz.

Ambient Painting

Behind the bar we feature a digital “ambient painting” created by Brian Eno. Governed by an algorithm that rotates through a large selection of image components, its composition of vibrant colors constantly evolves and will go through millions of iterations without repeating.

Chalkboard Drawing Machine

“Otto” is a robotic chalkboard drawing machine by Swiss artist Jürg Lehni commissioned specifically for The Interval. It is often used in conjunction with our speaking events.

The Clock

The Interval houses several artifacts and prototypes for Long Now’s 10,000-Year Clock. The Orrery, located by the front door, is a working planetary display. The Chime Generator prototype was designed to ring a series of 10 bells in a different sequence each day for 10,000 years.

The Manual for Civilization

The Interval is home to a unique library: A few thousand volumes that you might want to have with you if you ever had to sustain or restart civilization. We keep a few hundred of these volumes available on the downstairs shelves.

Bottle Reserve

Arranged on the ceiling above the bar, The Interval’s Bottle Reserve features custom-made bottles filled with a selection of spirits made exclusively for The Interval by St. George Spirits.

The Interval Team

Alexander Rose

Founder and Curator

Alexander “Zander” Rose is the executive director of The Long Now Foundation and project manager of the 10,000 Year Clock Project. He is the creator of The Interval and curator of our speaking series.

Ty Caudle

Beverage Director &
Lead Bartender

Ty spent years catering, voraciously reading cocktail books and bartending manuals, before breaking into the industry. He joined The Interval in 02016 as Lead Bartender under the tutelage of Jennifer Colliau. Now, as Beverage Director, he welcomes the responsibility of honoring the artisans behind every ingredient served at The Interval.

Cameron Eng

Private Events Coordinator

Cameron is an experienced local event producer with a background in art activism, community theater, and film production.

Tre Balchowsky

Consultant

Tre Balchowsky is a communications strategist and a public speaking coach. For the last decade, she has prepared speakers of all kinds, from researchers and technologists to historians and amateurs, to take the stage, from large auditoriums to intimate salons, from IRL to livestreaming. She is also co-founder of Odd Salon, an event series and podcast of "Cocktail Hour Salons for Curious Minds".

Michael McElligott
(aka Mikl-em)

01970 - 02020

Speaking Series Producer
02014 - 02019

See our remembrance on the Long Now blog.

Mikl produced a selection of our Tuesday night "salon talk” lecture series. He was a mainstay of the San Francisco art and theater scene for over two decades as a writer, director, performer, and producer.

The Interval opened its doors in 02014 thanks to 1,122 Charter Donors and the support of these Founding Partners:

Because We Can

St. George Spirits

Fort Mason Center

Internet Archive

“I want to build a clock that ticks once a year. The century hand advances once every 100 years, and the cuckoo comes out on the millennium. I want the cuckoo to come out every millennium for the next 10,000 years.”