Celebrity architects do their best to be omniscient, never suggesting that any detail of a building catches them by surprise.

But when Daniel Libeskind was in San Francisco to kick off the finalcountdown to the June 8 opening of his Contemporary Jewish Museum, hehad a confession: the restored 1907 power station that serves as theshell for the museum looks better than he expected.

"When it was dirty you didn`t see how stunning and subtle the terracotta was," Libeskind said, beaming, referring to the absurdly ornatewindow frames and doorways of the wall facing Mission Street. "It`s afascinating insight into San Francisco back then."