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Overview

One of the few buildings in Downtown San Francisco, CA, to survive the 04/1906 Earthquake and Fire, the Mercantile Trust Company opened its headquarters in 10/1903. Designed by San Francisco architect Albert Pissis, the Mercantile Trust Company Building stood on the west side of California Street, between Montgomery and Leidesdorff Streets.

Building History

In 04/1908, the San Francisco Examiner discussed the enlargement of the Mercantile Trust Building, the first portion of which was completed before the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. It reported: “The Mercantile Trust was able to resume business after the fire in its own building and did not find it necessary to establish any temporary or branch offices in the unburned district. The banking room fixtures were immediately replaced by temporary fixtures, which were occupied by the banking department during the restoration of the building.”

After noting the bank's survival during the 1906 disaster, the Examiner's writer described the additions made to the building during 1907 and 1908: “The building occupies a site having a frontage of fifty feet on California street. This lot had a regular depth of 114 feet and four inches. In November 1906, the bank purchased from the Selby Smelting & Lead Company the property running from Montgomery street to Leidesdorff street at a right angle to the bank lot and adjoining the lot at the rear. The property purchased was irregular in shape, having frontage of 23 feet on Montgomery street and 35 feet on Leidesdorff street. The Montgomery street frontage of the property acquired was resold. This left a lot on Leidesdorff street having a front of 35 feet by a depth of 55 feet, besides adding 24 feet to the depth of the original banking house site on California street at a cost of nothing for the additional 24 feet. The securing of this additional depth enabled the bank to extend its building 24 feet to the rear, thus providing on the main floor spacious separate offices for the trust department, and in the basement much needed additional vault storage capacity. The officers of the bank have had to work out the problems of constructing practically a new building for the trust department addition, repairing and refitting the main banking room, and at the same time providing offices for the bank and trust departments. All of this has been carried out with but little inconvenience to the patrons of the bank. The main banking room occupies the entire width of the building from the vestibule entrance to the vaults in the rear. This room is one-story in height and is perfectly lighted by a vaulted skylight running lengthwise of the room. One either side of the vestibule entrance are private offices. Above the vestibule is situated the spacious directors’ and stockholders’ room, to which accesss is had by a spiral staircase and an elevator. From this room a view is had of California street on the one side and of the entire banking room from the other side. The new trust department room is situated immediately behind the banking room vaults, and is approached by a public corridor running along the westerly side of the banking room past the bank offices. This room, which occupies a ground space of 32 feet by 50 feet, is finished in the same style as the main banking room, with the exception that the light dome is circular in form.”

Finally, this article provided a detailed description of the bank's new vaults, a feature particularly important to San Franciscans after the quake: “The Mercantile Trust Company of San Francisco has the most complete vault arrangements in this part of the world. The vault system includes three vaults in the Safe Deposit Department, two vaults in the trust department; a total of eight vaults of the highest type of fire and burglar proof construction. The main vault in the safe deposit department is situated immediately under the banking room floor. This vault contains about 5,000 safe deposit boxes, is really a huge steel box, the walls of which are of chrome steel three inches thick; the sides and ends are surrounded by solid masonry walls, rendering the vault absolutely fire proof. Entrance to this vault is had from either end. The entrances are guarded by double sets of massive chrome steel doors. The inner doors are protected by double combinations and are of a thickness of three inches of chrome steel. The outer doors are of chrome steel nine inches in thickness and weigh over 25,000 pounds each. When these huge door are closed and locked by the automatic bolt motor, the vaults are hermetically sealed. The weakness in vault doors constructed according to former methods is at the point where the spindle used to operate the locking bolts and combinations penetrates the door. To overcome this weakness, a method was devised by which vault doors could be locked and unlocked automatically by time clocks without requiring any penetration to be made through the door for locking spindles. To the rear of the main vault is the storage vault for small valuable packages left for safe-keeping. This vault with its foundations supports the banking room vaults immediately above. Behind this storage vault again and occupying the entire space underneath the trust department is the largest storage vault in the West, being twenty-five feet by thirty-six feet in the clear. This vault, constructed of very heavy concrete walls with steel lining and massive double doors, affords absolute protection to its contents. All of the vaults used by Mercantile Trust Company of San Francisco are arranged so that they may be freely patrolled on all sides. Immediately over the smaller storage vault are situated the banking room vaults. These vaults are double vaults, each nine feet by twelve feet in the clear, and are protected by two sets of doors of the same style and thickness as the doors to the main safe deposit vault., which have already been described. Access can be had from one of these vaults to the other vault through a partition door, the combination to which can be opened from either side; this affords the security of two doors to each vault. For the trust department a new burglar proof vault has been constructed upon a level with the main floor. Underneath this burglar proof vault and supporting the same is a storage vault, also for the used of the trust department.” (See “Clearinghouse Adds Strength to City Banking System,” San Francisco Sunday Examiner, 04/19/1908, p. 51.)

Building Notes

The Earthquake and Fire enabled greater concentration of banks and other financial institutions on Montgomery Street, creating what was later called the "Financial District," An article in the San Francisco Examiner of 04/19/1908 said: “One result of the now historic fire of two years ago has been the greater dedication of certain section of San Francisco to the various business and financial institutions. The banking institutions particularly have given the city the distinctively financial district which by reason of its importance as the financial center of the Pacific coast it deserves. In years to come Montgomery street will occupy the geographical and commercial relation to the West that Wall Street now does to the country, for Montgomery street is the Wall Street of San Francisco. A number of large banking institutions, which by reason of their owning property elsewhere in the city or because of plans made before the fire, have located elsewhere in the downtown section, but the number of financial institutions which are building or are still located on Montgomery street is a striking commentary upon the economy of modern business in seeking to save time. Far more than half of the larger banking institutions of San Francisco are located on Montgomery street or very close to it. The junction of Market, Montgomery and Post streets may, perhaps be approximately termed the financial hub of San Francisco.” (See “Wall Street of City,” San Francisco Sunday Examiner, 04/19/1908, p. 51.)

Alteration

As noted above, the Mercantile Trust Company of San Francisco purchased land from the Selby Smelting and Lead Company to enlarge its banking headquarters in 1907 and 1908.

PCAD id: 25406