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Overview

The Telegraph Landing residential complex was to contain nine buildings originally, although only four were actually completed by 1975. The complex's site was bounded by Chestnut Street on the north, Montgomery Street (west), Lombard Street (south) and Sansome Street (east). Two other blocks to the west, and three to the south were not realized. The two buildings lining Sansome and Chestnut consisted of low-rise townhouses, while the two blocks at 1640 Montgomery and 150 Lombard Street had eight stories each.

Building History

A 1974 article in Architectural Record described the difficulties presented by building on a steep hillside in San Francisco, CA. "Natural landmarks, often important design elements in cities, present urgent design problems in scale and character for any new development nearby. When these problems are understood and sensitively handled, growth and change are acceptable events in urban life. San Francisco's Telegraph Hill presents such a challenge. The residents of the Hill, deeply concerned with conserving those aspects of the area and its surroundings that make it precious to them, have successfully fought down a nnumber of proposals which in their view would have materially altered both character and scale of the neighborhood. But the problems of Telegraph Hill's scale and character are complex; on the Hill itself below Coit Tower, are both single-family houses of varying size, and low-rise apartment buildings, so placed on the slopes that they seem integral with them. At the base of the Hill is the North Waterfront industrial area, with bulkly warehouse buildings rising as high as 90 feet. Of recent years, the most sought-after sites for new development have been at the base of the Hill, where some sites have been razed and others hold only empty buildings." Telegraph Hill residents jealously guarded their views, providing a challenge to developers seeking to build at the hill's base.

The Telegraph Landing complex was envisioned to have 600 residential units built in three phases. Not all of eight buildings originally proposed were completed. The developer wanted "...a residential complex of 600 units at the foot of the Hill,...which would be economical for them to build, satisfy Hill residents, and need no variances from stringent height limits. The solution by architects Bull Field, Volkmann Stockwell--and their handling of conferences with neighborhood groups--met all three requirements, and produced what will be, on completion next year, a handsome, integral part of the Hill community. Elevator penthouses were located in basements, and roof gardens were designed for rooftops of lower buildings to make the view from above as pleasant as possible, an effect enhanced by varied building forms and staggered heights." (See "A new development designed to preserve the scale and context of a special kind of residential area," in Forty Years of American Architecture, [New York: Architectural Record, c. 1975], p. 84.)

PCAD id: 25052