Dating from 1913, this is the second Masonic Temple in San Francisco. The first was further downtown and was destroyed in 1906. The design is more Florentine Renaissance than Classical in design, with some very rich ornamentation and a host of Masonic symbols.
Since the Masons built a third and yet larger structure atop Nob Hill, this building now houses a variety of City Departments.
The Bank of California Building was built to replace the one destroyed in 1906. It is a perfectly proportioned example of a classic bank temple, modeled - I am told - on the Knickerbocker Trust Building in Manhattan.
The Bank of California was the oldest incorporated financial institution in California and instrumental in the state's early growth. The commission came in part, no doubt, because of a long time business association between the Bank's proprietor, and Bliss's father.
Undoubtedly, the commission that put Bliss & Faville on the map was when Railroad Magnate Charles Crocker called upon the pair to design a new hotel for Union Square. He financed their tour of Grand hotels of Europe to gather ideas.
The first section was completed in 1904. By the standards of the day it was considered "restrained" in appearance.
Although the building was gutted
in the 1906 fires, it was quickly restored and further expanded in 1913. It has seen much history in intervening years,
The Southern Pacific Headquarters building at the foot of Market Street was commissioned and built in 1916, when the railroad was still a force to be reckoned with in California Politics. It is an enormous renaissance palazzo incorporating elements of the Chicago School.
Although the railroad has merged with the Santa Fe and headquarters are now in Los Angeles, the building has undergone a seismic retrofit and the current owners maintain it well.
See the gallery link below for more details of this handsome structure.
Walter Bliss was born in 1872 in Nevada, where his father was a successful entrepreneur. He was sent east to M.I.T. for his education. It was there that he met William Faville, several years his senior, who was born in California, but grew up in New York. After M.I.T. they spent several years working in the celebrated New York firm of McKim, Meade & White, where they no doubt were introduced to neo-classical principles of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
In 1898, they decided to start their own firm, with San Francisco as its base. They continued together until 1925 when they dissolved the partnership amicably; contributing much to the rebuilding of the city in the years following 1906.
The Union Savings Building of 1908 stands at the foot of Grant Street at Market. In many ways it is modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, with its dome and pediment. It is no longer a Bank, but now serves as a clothing store, an example of intelligent re-use of legacy buildings.
I confess I am not very fond of this building, particularly in light of some of the pair's other works, but there are two elements I fell in love with...
This battered bronze side door
I've been trying for some time to come up with a way to share my interest in architectural detail while at the same time telling the kinds of stories that make a blog interesting. I recently hit upon an idea that I think might work. I propose to explore the city one architect at a time.
You won't see many wide-angle views of whole buildings. Most of the images will be detail shots, and the narrative will talk about the architects, their clients, and the background of the buildings.
Tomorrow, some photos.
I've been sharing my photography
on the web for several years. The failure of my old service gives me
the opportunity to start over and rework things a bit.
