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Overview

The 1st Naitonal Bank of San Francisco traced its origins to 1870. This building, which is partially intact, was erected at this location in 1908.

Building History

San Francisco architect Willis J. Polk (1867-1924) designed the office tower at 1 Montgomery Street, completed in 1908. It operated as the 1st National Bank until it merged with Crocker Bank to form the "Crocker National Bank" in 1926.

In 1915, Rudolph Spreckels (1872-1958) served as President of the 1st National Bank of San Francisco. James K. Lynch acted as one Vice-President, and J.K. Moffitt as the other (as well as Cashier). The bank had capital of $3 million in 1915, earning a profit of $1.5 million. (See the Crocker-Langley San Francisco City Directory, 1915, p. 5.)

Building Notes

More recently, the Crocker National Bank Building has been known as "1 Montgomery Street."

Altered

The architect Charles E. Gottschalk (1865-1929) designed a new banking hall for the 1st National Bank of San Francisco in 1920, located at 25 Montgomery Street.

The original Indiana limestone cladding material began to crack and chip by the 1960s, necessitating the Crocker-Anglo National Bank to hire architect Milton T. Pflueger (1907-1993) to redesign the exterior. He utilized terra cotta tiles, improving pedestrian safety but altering the original design integrity of the 1908 building.

The upper ten floors of the 1st National Bank Building were removed in 1982, leaving only the first two. The Crocker National Bank made a deal with the City of San Francisco to remove nine floors of this early-century tower in return for a variance to erect a new, 38-story tower at Kearny and Post Streets.