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Overview

San Francisco architect A. Page Brown designed the flatiron-shaped Crocker Building at 600 Market Street for a site at the junction of Market, Post and Montgomery Streets. It suffered fire damage after the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 04/18-20/1906, and was rebuilt. It remained in service until 1968, before its demolition to make way for a key mass-transit hub. At the time of its construction, it was said to have been the tallest office building in San Francisco, and described as one of the most elaborate and grand.

Building History

A. Page Brown (1859-1896), the short-lived but highly productive architect, designed the Crocker Building at 600 Market Street for the Estate of Charles Crocker (1822-1888), one of the original "Big Four" of the Central Pacific Railroad. Brown designed a flatiron-shaped building designed to conform to its triangular site at the intersection of Market, Post and Montgomery Streets.

A long and informative article in the San Francisco Examiner newspaper on 01/24/1890 described the history of the project and related details about the site, dimensions, materials and layout of the skyscraper, then projected to be the tallest in the city. It stated of the projects location and history: “The rows of tumble-down one and two-story wooden buildings which now occupy the triangular-shaped lot at the corner of Market, Post and Montgomery streets will soon be torn down, and in their place erected a ten-story building of granite, marble, brick, iron and steel. This new building will be erected by the Crocker Estate Trust, and will be known as the Crocker Building. The estimated cost of the structure is $1,400,000. The ground on which this edifice is to be erected was formerly the property of Mrs. Mark Hopkins, and was purchased from that lady by the late Charles Crocker, the price being paid $600,000. When Mrs. Hopkins was the owner of the property she had several plans of a magnificent building drawn, but for some reason, none of them were satisfactory to her, and when she sold the property to Charles Crocker had a room full of drawings of a building similar to the one the heirs of the dead railroad magnate now propose erecting. After the erection of a building had been determined on by Mr. Crocker plans were received from many of the most prominent architects in the United States, but before any action could be taken Charles Crocker died and was soon followed to the grave by his wife. Then came the formation of the Crocker estate by the heirs, and in following out their plan of action in carrying into execution, as far as possible, the work planned during life by Mr. and Mrs. Crocker, decided to proceed with the erection of the building which will be a [sic] ornament to the architecture of San Francisco and a monument to the projector.” (See “A Massive Monument,” San Francisco Examiner, 01/24/1890, p. 3.)

The 01/24/1890 San Francisco Examiner article described the Crocker Building in some detail: “The building, which is to be ten stories with a half basement, will have a total frontage of 350 feet, 4 ½ inches, divided as follows: Market Street, 158 feet 4 ½ inches; Post street, 174 feet; Montgomery street 18 feet. The average height of the building will be 150 feet, towering twenty-five feet above the Palace Hotel and fifteen feet above the highest building in San Francisco. The building will be absolutely fire proof, and as far as possible earthquake proof. It will be built of marble, granite, brick, iron and steel, and California materials will be used exclusively, with the exception of iron and steel, which as the architect remarked, do not grow in California. Wherever practicable steel will be used in place of iron, to economize as much as possible in weight. The height of the half basement from floor to ceiling will be twelve feet, the first story twenty feet, and above that the average height will be twelve feet. The front part of the basement is to be occupied either as a general ticket office of the Southern Pacific Railway Company or fitted up with vaults for a safe deposit company. The upper ends of the basement on Market and Post streets will be cut up into offices.” The emphasis on the use of local, California-produced materials was important to satisfy local building materials manufacturers and labor unions.

The Crocker-Woolworth National Bank utilized most of the the Crocker Building's first floor. Marble and wood-clad finishes distinguished the banking floor, while the bank also occupied offices on some upper levels. The 1890 San Francisco Examiner report said of the bank's accommodations: “The first floor will be occupied by the Crocker-Woolworth National Bank. Almost half of the first floor will be taken up by this institution, making the largest banking rooms in the city. Here the furnishings will be magnificent, California marble being used almost entirely. The ceiling will be an elaborate panel plastic design in cream tints and gold. Over the vaults the officials of the bank and the Crocker Estate Trust will have offices. The building will be divided in the center by a corridor, finished in marble, twelve feet wide and twenty feet high, extending in a half-curve form from Market to Post streets. From this corridor a marble staircase will lead to the second story. Three elevators will be in use. The space in this part of the structure will be devoted to stores, two on the Market and three on the Montgomery street side. The space under the sidewalk will be used for storage purposes. The second floor and the ones above will be cut up into offices, twenty-seven on each floor. Throughout the building will be lighted by gas and electricity, heated by steam and furnished with all the known modern conveniences. It is the intention to make this a model office building, and the architect says that when completed it will be second to none in the country. California granite will be used in the construction of the first three stories, and above this buff-colored brick."

The construction timeline would be rapid and continuous with work to occur day and night: "From among the many plans submitted those of A. Page Brown & Co., New York and San Francisco, were selected, and Mr. Brown and his assistants are now engaged in altering the original drawings to suit the ideas of the owners. These changes will soon be completed, and inside of three months, the old buildings will be torn down and the erection of the new one commenced. From the time work is commenced it is estimated that eighteen months will be consumed in the erection of the building. Work will be carried on day and night; at night by the aid of electric lights.” (See “A Massive Monument,” San Francisco Examiner, 01/24/1890, p. 3.) The employment of electric lights to enable work to occur at night communicated the technological currency of the project and its urgency to the Crocker Estate.

As noted on a 1905 Sanborn fire insurance map, the building had steel- and iron-frame construction, that enabled it to withstand the 04/18/1906 Earthquake. Architect Brown observed that all building materials would come from CA, except iron and steel that, he said, "do not grow in California." A note in the West Chester, PA, Daily Local News indicated that a PA iron and steel firm won the contract for the Crocker Building: “The Phoenix Iron Company, of Phoenixville, has been awarded the contract for the iron and steel work of the Crocker building at San Francisco, which will cost $1,250,000 when completed. It will be 10 stories high, and will be one of the largest structures in California. “ (See “Large Contracts,” West Chester Daily Local News, vol. XVIII, no 241, 08/26/1890, p. 3.)

Another newspaper report in 1890 indicated that the Mahony Brothers construction firm was seleted to serve as general contractor for the Crocker Building. It stated: “The contract for the erection of the ten-story Crocker building on the Post and Market street gore has been let to Mahoney [sic] Bros., who will begin work at once. The cost of the building when completed, it is estimated, will be considerably over $1,000,000.” (See “The Crocker Building,” San Francisco Call and Post, 04/09/1890, p. 4.)

The architect specified that its exterior be clad in granite (on lower floors) and tan, pressed brick on the upper stories. A central lobby, trimmed in marble, led to a central stairway (to the second floor) and a bank of three elevators. Near the center of the lobby, Brown positioned a small light well enclosed by skylights. This light well stood next to the elevators that ferried occupants to the upper ten floors. Iron sheets covered the rooftop.

Building Notes

A. Page Brown created a design whose elevations were influenced by Neo-classical Italian palazzi, as well as the Romanesque work of H.H. Richardson. Its triangular shape predated that of the famous Fuller Building (aka Flatiron Building of 1902) in New York City by a decade. The Brown design used the Richardsonian Romanesque arched vocabulary, while D.H. Burnham did not. Burnham also employed a compositional scheme derived from Italian Renaissance precedents but utilized more au courant Baroque ornamentation.

From at least 1895 until 03/1906, Shreve and Company, a venerable jewelry store catering to a wealthy clientele, did business on the southwest corner of the skyscraper's first floor. After that time, just before the San Francisco Earthquake, Shreve completed its own eleven-story, high-rise building at Post and Grant Streets.

In 1895, the William Butterfield auction house occupied space in the Crocker Building, as did the Bruner and Bruner law firm, and the National Life Insurance Company, among others.

In 1909, the Crocker Building remained a favorite location for law firms in San Francisco. According to an advertisement listing San Francisco attorneys, eighteen occupied space in the building at that time. (See "Attorney's Directory," The Recorder [San Francisco], 10/29/1909, p. 14.)

The architect Lewis Hobart(1873-1954) had his first office in the Crocker Building, c. 1908. Hobart and the Crockers would have a long professional relationship.

Thank you to San Francisco historian Steve Ness for correcting several errors with the record on the Crocker Building at 600 Market Street that existed prior to 08/04/2025. Additionally, thank you to Mr. Ness for postcards and the Sanborn fire insurance map image forwarded in his correspondence. (See email from Steve Ness to the author, 08/04/2025.)

Alteration

Fire damage to the Crocker Building, most significant on its lower floors, was repaired and the building reoccupied until the 1960s.

Demolition

The Crocker Flatiron Building was razed in 1968, to make way for the Montgomery Street BART / Muni Station.

PCAD id: 3650