National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco

National Register #99000894
Second and Howard Street District
121-198 2nd Street
579-612 Howard Street
116 Natoma
111-163 New Montgomery
Built Various Years

Before the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, the area that was to become the Second and Howard Street District contained mostly smaller buildings, about a third of them frame. There were quite a few dwellings and lodging houses, a glove factory, a patent medicine factory, a book bindery, plumbers, some restaurants, more saloons, and a large number of stores not specifically identified on the Sanborn map of 1905.

The earthquake and subsequent three day fire totally destroyed the District. If any walls were left standing, they were later demolished for the construction of the buildings that form the District.

The Second and Howard Street District is comprised of 310 acres containing nineteen contributing buildings.

We are using the names the buildings had in 1910 or the names of a primary tenant in that year.

 

Name Year Address Remarks Sort Address Sort Name
Rapp Building1907121-131 Second StreetReid Brothers, architects!Street 02 121Rapp Building
Excelsior Glove Factory1907132-140 Second StreetJohn Cotter Pelton, architect!Street 02 132Excelsior Glove Factory
Frederick Post Company1906133-137 Second StreetWilliam Curlett, architect!Street 02 133Frederick Post Company
Rincon Building1907141-145 Second StreetJohn Cotter Pelton, architect!Street 02 141Rincon Building
Pacific Glove Works1908149-155 Second StreetJohn A. Ettler, architect!Street 02 149Pacific Glove Works
Dean Electric Company1909156-160 Second StreetArchitect unknown!Street 02 156Dean Electric Company
Marcus Modry Building1907163 Second StreetHenry C. Farley, contractor!Street 02 163Marcus Modry Building
Electric Building1906165-173 Second StreetJohn Cotter Pelton, architect!Street 02 165Electric Building
Empire Glove Company1907168 Second StreetHermann Barth, architect!Street 02 168Empire Glove Company
Building at 182-198 Second Street1909182-198 Second Street and 600 Howard StreetArchitect unknown. See photo at top of page.!Street 02 182Building at 182-198 Second Street
American Chicle Company1907191-197 Second Street and 590-598 Howard StreetRoss & Burgren, architects!Street 02 191American Chicle Company
United Sheet Metal Works1910579 Howard StreetRoss & Burgren, architectsHoward 579United Sheet Metal Works
R. W. Kinney Building1906580 Howard StreetA. W. Smith, architectHoward 580R. W. Kinney Building
Peters Cartridge Co.1912583-587 Howard StreetW. J. Miller, architectHoward 582Peters Cartridge Co.
Building at 589-591 Howard Street1906589-591 Howard StreetFrank S. Van Ttees, architectHoward 589Building at 589-591 Howard Street
Merritt Building1907606-612 Howard StreetReid Brothers, architectsHoward 606Merritt Building
N. Clark & Sons Building1909116 Natoma StreetCunningham & PoliteoNatoma 116N. Clark & Sons Building
Standard Building1907111-121 New Montgomery StreetReid Brothers, architectsNew Montgomery 111Standard Building
Greenwood Block1907137-163 New Montgomery StreetHenry A. Schulz, architectNew Montgomery 137Greenwood Block
United Sheet Metal Works
579 Howard Street
Built 1906
Photographed 15 December 2019

Ross & Burgren designed this four-story, stucco clad brick building. the historic integrity is good except for T-bar window sash, modern store fronts and wiggly blade sign.

When we photographed the building, it housed Kate O'Briens Irish Pub.

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R. W. Kinney Building
580 Howard Street through to Minna Street
Built 1906
Photographed 12 January 2020

Architect A. W. Smith designed this four-story, brick-clad building. Design features include light tan brick, heavy galvanized iron cornice with modillion blocks and historic blade sign. A deeply recessed floor was added in 1998.

1910 Tenants were R. W. Kinney Co. (plumbing supplies) and Western Press.

The tallest tower in the photograph is the Salesforce Tower with sixty-one floors and a height of 1,070 feet. The second tallest tower is 181 Fremont with fifty-six floors and a height of 821 feet to the tip of the spire. The suspension bridge connects the Salesforce Transit Center to the Bay Bridge and is dedicated to buses.

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Peters Cartridge Co. Building
583-587 Howard StreetPeters Cartridge Co.
Built 1912
Photographed 15 December 2019

1910 Tenants were

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589-591 Howard StreetPeters Cartridge Co.
Built 1906
Photographed 15 December 2019

1910 Tenants were

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N. Clark & Sons Building
116 Natoma Street through to Minna Street
Built 1909
Photographed 15 December 2019

Cunningham & Politeo designed this three-story building which is clad in painted terra cotta. Design features include matching street elevations on Natoma and Minna and a tight row of circular garlands on fascia.

N. Clark & Son owned a factory in the city of Alameda which manufactured architectural terra cotta, pressed brick, Spanish roof tile, sewer pipe, drain tile and chimney pipe.

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Standard Building
111-121 New Montgomery Street
Built 1907
Photographed 15 December 2019

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Greenwood Block
137-163 New Montgomery Street
Built 1907
Photographed 15 December 2019

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Post Building and Rincon Building in the Second and Howard Street Historic District Frederick Post Company Building and Rincon Building

Post Building in the Second and Howard Street Historic District

Frederick Post Company
133-137 Second Street
Built 1906
Photographed 15 December 2019

William Curlett designed this four-story building which is clad in light tan brick. Frederick Post Company, a purveyor of blue prints and drawing supplies, was located here in 1910.

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Excelsior Glove Factory
132-140 Second Street
Built 1907
Photographed 15 December 2019

John Cotter Pelton designed this six-story building which is clad dark red brick contrasted with tan brick trim. Design features include roundheaded triple windows on the sixth floor and a large modillioned and dentilled cornice.

Tenants in 1910 were Excelsior Glove Factory, Farnsworth Electrical Works and Hoffschneider Brothers (electrotypers).

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Post Building and Rincon Building in the Second and Howard Street Historic District Frederick Post Company Building and Rincon Building

Rincon Building in the Second and Howard Street Historic District Rincon Building at 141-145 Second Street

All Photographs 15 December 2019
(Click Photos to Zoom)

Rincon Building
141-145 Second Street
Built 1907

The Rincon Building was designed by John Cotter Pelton. The five-story building is clad in terra cotta ornamented with an egg-and-dart enframement and a variation on Greek key design for the spandrels.

In1910, the building was owned by Barker, Knickerbocker and Bostwick. Tenants included American Electric Fuse Company; B.C. Broadwater (mining engineer); Cutler Water Heater Company; Hunt, Mirk and Company (engineers and dealers in machinery); Eugene C. Knowles (metallurgist); Charles W. Merrill (mining engineer); Louis D. Mills (metallurgist); Paris Modes Company (paper patterns for dresses); A.B. Scott (metallurgist); Samuel Watson (printer); and the Westinghouse Machine Company.

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Pacific Glove Works
149-155 Second Street
Built 1908
Photographed 15 December 2019

John A. Ettler designed this stucco-clad, four-story building.

The building had a cornice, but it was removed. Many San Francisco buildings had cornices removed in the last quarter of the 20th century as an earthquake safety measure. This may have been one of them.

Tenants in 1910 were Pacific Glove Works, San Francisco Saddlery Company, and A.J. and J.R. Cook (leather dealers).

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Dean Electric Company
156-160 Second Street
Built 1909
Photographed 15 December 2019

The architect of this six-story, brick-clad building is unknown. Design features include variegated orange to tan brick, bays recessed between piers, and paired double hung windows. The cornice was possibly modified at some point.

1910 tenants included Dean Electric Company, Bailey Specialty Company (manufacturing stationers), H. K. Mulford Company (chemists), National Conduit and Cable Company, and United Workingmen's Boot and Shoe Manufacturing Company.

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163 Second Street in the Second and Howard Street Historic District 149-155 Second Street and the Marcus Modry Building
Marcus Modry Building
163 Second Street
Built 1907
Photographed 15 December 2019

Contractor Henry C. Farley built this unadorned, brick-clad building. The original use of the building is unknown.

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Electric Building
165-173 Second Street
Built 1906
Photographed 15 December 2019

Architect John Cotter Pelton designed this six-story, brick-clad buildin. Design features include modified Chicago windows on the third through sixth floors, fluting on piers, and moldings to box in first and second floors.

The building had a cornice, but it was removed. Many San Francisco buildings had cornices removed in the last quarter of the 20th century as an earthquake safety measure. This may have been one of them.

In 1910, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company was here.

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Empire Glove Company
168 Second Street
Built 1907
Photographed 15 December 2019

Architect Herman Barth designed this three-story, stucco-clad building. Design features include a box cornice, a fascia dipping down below the tops of double-hung windows.

Tenants in 1910 included the Empire Glove Company and The Glafke Company (oil burners and valves).

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Northwest Corner of Second and Howard Streets Northwest Corner of Second and Howard Streets
182-198 Second Street and 600 Howard Street
Built 1907
Photographed 15 December 2019

The building on the northwest corner of Second and Howard was built in 1909. The architect is unknown and the original tenants are unknown,

The adjacent six-story white building (606-612 Howard Street) is the Merritt Building, designed by the Reid Brothers and built in 1907.

The 26-story Art Deco skyscraper in the background is the AT&T building (140 New Montgomery Street) built in 1924. The AT&T Building is not located within the District.

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191-197 Second Street and 590-598 Howard Street
Built 1907
Photographed 15 December 2019

This four-story building, clad in light tan brick, was designed by Ross & Burgren. Design features include rustication at the second floor, corbeled cornice, two corbeled string courses and paired double-hung windows which are deeply recessed.

Tenants have included American Chicle Company, Badische Company (chemicals) and Jesse Moore-Hunt Company (liquor wholesaler).

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Rapp Building by Reid & Reid
19 February 2012
(Click Photo to Zoom)
Rapp Building
121-131 Second Street

The Rapp Building, designed by the Reid Brothers, was built just after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

The 26-story building behind the Rapp Building is 55 Second Street, an office building completed in 2000. The entrance to 55 Second Street is a four story atrium to the left of the Rapp Building in the photograph.

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