Salesforce hired a DJ to pump beats for employees on 'move-in' day at its giant new San Francisco tower (CRM)

Salesforce opened its new offices in Salesforce Tower on Monday with fanfare including a live DJ and a photo booth.
At 1,070 feet and 61-stories high, Salesforce Tower is the biggest building in San Francisco. It's completely changed the city's skyline.
Only two floors worth of people moved in Monday, but Salesforce is leasing half of the building.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Salesforce employees moved in to their new home in the recently-erected Salesforce Tower on Monday, greeted by heavy sheets of rain and the rousing beats of DJ Cameron.

Cameron, a local DJ hired by the company for move-in day, eagerly pumped out a soundtrack for the migrating workforce. A pair of staffers nearby manned a photo booth that transformed the wet, newly-arrived employees into animated GIF images that danced alongside an augmented reality bear.

In classic Salesforce style, the scene in the lobby sought to create excitement around a milestone day in the company's history. The 61-story Salesforce Tower is the centerpiece of the $79 billion company's new San Francisco headquarters. The gleaming glass building dominates the San Francisco skyline, underscoring the company's status as one of the city's iconic companies and biggest employers.

Salesforce Tower Despite the fanfare, only two floors of employees at the software company started their work week in the newly opened skyscraper on Monday, according to a woman working in the lobby. And by late morning, there was little foot traffic besides a few people who work for the building.

Salesforce wouldn't confirm a headcount or which teams are moving into the new building. But the company, which employs around 25,000 people, has a lease for half the space in the 61-story building.

Now, employees in San Francisco will spread between five buildings in downtown San Francisco: Salesforce East, Salesforce West, and Salesforce Tower — which are all within a block of one another in the SoMa neighborhood; and Landmark and Rincon, two separate buildings a 5 minute walk and a few blocks from the others.

Everywhere I am in this city, I can see this tower

A few construction workers milled about at the giant tower on Monday morning, arranging furniture near the entrance of the building, which first broke ground for construction in March 2013. One man in a construction helmet said his team is just putting some finishing touches on the building, which towers 1,070 feet above the city.

Founded by outspoken CEO Marc Benioff, Salesforce is known for its unusual workplace amenities. One room on every floor of a nearby Salesforce office building is reserved for meditation, and a coterie of monks in brown robes regularly tend to visitors as the company's annual customer conference.

The top floor of the new tower is called the Ohana Floor, a nod to the company's community-centric culture and Benioff's obsession with Hawaii. (Ohana means "family" in Hawaiian.) Salesforce will allow nonprofit groups and nongovernmental organizations to rent the event space for free.

Benioff was nowhere to be seen at Monday's move in day, and it's not clear if his office will be in the tower.

"I can't tell you how many times people say to me, 'Well, where's your office going to be on the top floor?' I don't have an office on the top floor!" Benioff said at a ceremony for the building in April.

One thing is sure though, Benioff is pleased with the attention the tower is getting: "It seems like everywhere I am in this city or around the Bay, I can see this tower," he said at the April event.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why Boeing 747s have a giant hump in the front