California Casket Company
Here is another building I can find little information about. There can be little doubt what business the original proprietors were engaged in, but the name is so generic that any web search is thorny with ads and I can get nowhere.
Construction commenced in 1905 and in 1906 it was nearly complete but yet to be occupied. Fire damage delayed completion until 1909. There are aerial photographs of the devastation of 1906. Then, as now, it stood somewhat aloof from its neighbors. Today, it sits in that peculiar no man's land that is Mission Street between 5th and 6th, although it is barely a block south of the Chronicle Building and around the corner from the old Mint.
Despite the evident neglect on the otherwise pretty facade, it is in active use. I have found entries for dozens of tenants -- some current, some past -- including a theatre company, a "Taxi School" and the San Francisco Chefs Association.
