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Building History

This five-story brick building housed the offices of the J.A. Folger and Company, a manufacturing concern that produced bulk-roasted coffee starting in 1872. J.A. Folger, Sr., and his son, J.A. Folger, II, built the coffee brand into the best-selling in the U.S. The company was absorbed by Proctor and Gamble in 1963.

The architect and real estate developer Corwin L. Booth (1915-2008) bought the Folgers Building in 1966, and utilized a portion of it for his architectural firm, Corwin Booth and Associates, Architects, formed the year before. This investment also brought Booth land surrounding the Folger Building, on which he developed two neighboring buildings, 211 Main Street, completed in 1973, and 221 Main Street, finished in 1975.

In 2002, the building was owned by the Booth Family of San Francisco. Since early 2002 the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, occupied offices in the Folger Building. The program was known as "Wharton West."

The University of San Francisco (USF) in 08/2011 purchased the building for approximately $37 million. The local television news station KPIX.com stated at the time of the sale: "The University of San Francisco has announced plans to establish a campus downtown in the historic, red brick Folger Coffee Company Building. USF purchased the historic property at 101 Howard Street for almost $37 million so that it could move some of its business and technology programs into the city’s financial district, said spokeswoman Anne-Marie Devine." (See KPIX-TV.com, "University Of San Francisco Buys Historic Folger Building," published 08/05/2011, accessed 05/24/2021.) The location was also viewed as more accessible by USF by public transit.

Building Notes

A sign reading, "The Folgers Coffee Company" continues to be visible on the side of the building.

Alteration

Corwin Booth and Associates supervised a seismic-renovation of the Folger Building featured in Michael J. Crosbie, “Quakeproofing landmarks: protecting historic buildings from earthquakes without destroying original features,” Architecture, vol, 81, no. 11, 11/1992, pp. 119-123.