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Overview

In the 1950s and 1960s, the city of San Francisco became a pioneering venue in the United States for the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. The renovation of 19th century commercial buildings in the city's Jackson Square neighborhood in the late 1950s and early 1960s established developer interest in transforming historic buildings into high-end retail and professional office real estate. Thereafter, in close succession, two waterfront industrial sites, Ghirardelli Square and The Cannery, were rehabilitated by local architects, to wide acclaim. The Union Street Shops, a group of three Italianate residences renovated to become nine storefronts and two restaurants during the period between 1963 and 1965, were renovated just after the start of Ghirardellli Square and before The Cannery's completion. Beverly Willis, the designer for the renovation, like Wurster Bernardi and Emmons (architects for Ghirardelli Square) and Joseph Esherick (The Cannery), attracted broad national attention to the reuse of historic structures, making the city a national leader in historic preservation. Willis went on to become an important advocate highlighting the accomplishments of women in architecture.

Building History

Willis worked on this renovation project between 1963 and 1965 for her clients, William and Dickie Quayle, William and Maggie Lacey and Harry and Mildred Golsum.

PCAD id: 24828