Shell Building (1929)

Here is one of the great Art Deco skyscrapers of the late 1920's. Though shell motifs adorn the entrance grille, the other oranment is abstract. The detailing is a fine as the crown as the entryway. As in Kelham's Russ Building, the terra-cotta cladding has an appealing rippling texture.

100 Bush Street
George W. Kelham, Architect

Ferry Building (1896-1898)

For many San Franciscans, the Ferry Building is the symbol of the city. It has the commanding position at the head of Market Street, from which its sculpted tower can be seen for blocks. The western front, made of Colusa sandstone, features arcades across the full width of the lower and upper stories. Paired Corinthian columns lend a feeling o fmonumentality to the entrance pavilion. Until the Bay Bridge opened in 1936, this was the Bay Area's main transportation hub. Thousands of passengers riding dozens of ferry boats passed through the building each day, making it the busiest place in the city. It was nearly demolished in the 1950's and then was altered for use as the World Trade Center. From 2001 to 2003, the grand two-story arched nave and the clathri window screens at the entrance pavilion were restored, and the bay side rebuilt when the building was renovatre for use as market hall and offices.

The Embarcadero, opposite Market Street
A. Page Brown, Architect

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Building (1925)

Clad in terra-cotta, textured to resemble granite. The recessed entrance arch contains idealized scultures of PG&E field workers, a bear's head, and produce; rams' heads grace the keystone position of the window arches.

245 Market Street

Bakewell and Brown, Architects

The Matson Building (1921)

Clad in glazed tan terra-cotta with green accents. Nautical images relate to the Matson Steamship Lines - seashells, fish, anchors, and, of course, steamships. Monumental columns at the base, with Ionic capitals outlined by ropes, and arched windows at the top highlight the composition.

245 Market Street
Bliss and Faville, Architects

Crown Zellerbach Building (1959)

This is the purest of the early International-style buildings in San Francisco. The monolithic south wall of the elevator service wing is clad with almost five million one inch square titles of subtly shifing dark colors. The glass walls are tinted green. The lobby is surrounded by sheet glass and has a ceiling of about fifteen thousand small cylindrical lights. The elevator lobby is paneled in patterned marble. The travertine lobby floor continues outdoors as a platform to a circular accordion-shaped roofed and glass-walled pavilion that was originally a Wells-Fargo Branch.

1 Bush Street
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architects (Hertzka and Knowles)

London Paris National Bank (1910)

A blatant example of "facadism" that gutter the interior of a former banking temple now serves only as an entrance foyer for a high-rise (1983); William Pereira and Associates, architects). The facade that remains, however, is a good example of a Classical ccomposition of alternating Ionic columns and arched window openings carved from granite.

1 Sansome Street
Albert Pissis

Pacific Telephone Building (1925)

This and the Russ Building are the best examples of Art Deco skyscrapers in the city. This one has a soaring sculpted quality that is especially evident when seen at a distance. Its tall, arched, and elaborately decorated entry bay containes a perforated golden grille that is a treasure. The building is set on a base of granite, but the upper part is clad entirely of terra-cotta glazed to resemble granite. The vertical piers are variously rounded and chamfered, imparting a scalloped quality. The ornament, especially the torch-like sculptures in the upper stories, is quite original and contributes to the building's soaring effect.

140 New Montgomery Street

Miller and Pflueger, architects (with A.A. Cantin)