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Building History

The cornerstone for this San Francisco, CA, Headquarters of the Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW) was laid on 02/22/1911, George Washington's Birthday, and was completed by its dedication ceremony on 09/15/1912 at 3:00 PM. This building (and the previous Native Sons' Building that burned in the Great Earthquake and Fire of 04/18/1906) occupied the mid-19th-century site of an early synagogue in San Francisco, Congregation Ohabai Shalome.

Righetti and Headman with E.H. Hildebrand, Associate, designed the 8-story, steel-frame, Class-A office building. They received the commission from the NSGW in 08/1909. Val Frenz, of San Francisco, served as the General Contractor. P.J. Walker, superintendant of construction was Mr. and his foreman Mr. J.S. Fifield.The 1911 cornerstone laid encased that of the 1895 Native Sons' Building.

The building contained a 300-seat theatre, known as the "Stage Door Canteen," durind World War II.

Building Notes

The building's dedication ceremony staged by this politically-connected organization included speeches by the millionaire James D. Phelan (San Francisco's Mayor, 1897-1902 and CA's U.S. Senator, 1915-1921) and James "Sunny Jim" Rolph, Jr., (San Francisco's Mayor, 1912– 1931 and CA's Governor, 1931-1934).

This office tower had a tri-partite, Neo-classical composition, with a clearly articulated base, shaft and capital, done in a Renaissance Revival idiom. The first floor featured rusticated granite sheathing and two main entries, one for office renters and the other for Native Sons. (As with many fraternal clubhouses of the time, this building contained office rental space to generate money for the group. The Native Sons were a wealthy organization that could afford to raise a relatively grand rental property costing about $210,000.) Twelve medallions of key early Californians, such as Father Junipero Serra, General John A. Sutter and General Mariano Vallejo.The shaft was composed of a brick skin and a 5 x 5 matrix of double-hung windows. Five arched windows, set off by terra cotta ornamentation, were positioned between paired columns. A large cornice with an elaborate entablature capped the eaves.

A brochure commemorating the opening of the NSGW Building in 1912, described the interior of the new, high-rise "parlor:" "The building contains one of the largest and best-appointed assembly halls for dances, concerts and entertainments in California; also fourteen well-lighted, handsomely furnished, and artistically arranged lodge rooms; the offices of the Grand Secretary; Library and Reading Rooms. Over the main assembly hall is the largest steel truss ever built in California, and which supports the floors above. The eighth floor is arranged for club room purposes and is admirably designed for this object. The rooms are spacious, high and well lighted, both from above and from the front and sides. In the front an artistic loggia has been placed from which the city to the west may be viewed, while at the rear a pergola, over which vines will be twined, furnishes an artistic, sheltered, open-air places for the members to sit. The Grand Parlor has taken steps to secure all books, data and records bearing upon the history and development of California and these doubtless will be stored here. In time, an Historical Museum will also be maintained within the building." The Native Sons, although xenophobic in their orientation, were instrumental in preserving many important landmarks of 19th century "Early California" (most memorializing Anglo colonization efforts ) beginning in the 1880s.

PCAD id: 15535