Gump's
250 Post Street
Built 1908

Gump's, a luxury home furnishings retailer, was located here from 1906 until 1995 when it moved to 135 Post Street where it remained until it declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018. In 2019, Gump's reopened here at 250 Post Street under new ownership.

Gump's slogan was "where good taste costs no more."

In 1861, Solomon Gump, an immigrant from Heidelberg, opened a shop which specialized in gold picture frames and mirrors. In 1871, his brother Gustave joined Solomon in the family store, which they renamed S&G Gump: Mirrors, Mouldings, and Paintings.

The brothers started the first art gallery in San Francisco, importing paintings from Europe to fill their gilded frames. During the 1880s, Solomon and Gustave traveled between Europe and San Francisco to purchase art and antiques for their store which they renamed Gump's.

Gump's expanded and moved several times. It was located on Geary Street when it was destroyed by the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

Solomon's son, Lafayette, purchased a half block on Post Street where this building, designed by Clinton Day, was built. The design, derived from a Renaissance palazzo, was reminiscent of San Francisco commercial buildings built during the Gold Rush (for example, the Medico-Dental Building, the Golden Era Building, and other buildings in the Jackson Square Historic District).

Another of Solomon's sons, Abraham Livingston Gump, added more Asian art and furnishings, especially rare objects made of jade.

Gump's remained a family business for over a century until it was sold to publisher Crowell Collier in 1975. Gump's subsequently changed ownership several times.

A statue of Buddha was displayed inside Gump's.

The original bronze statue was acquired in 1928. In 1949, Gump's donated it to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.

The bronze statue was replaced by a large Qing Dynasty gilded wood Buddha carved in the early 19th century. It was the largest of its kind outside a museum.

Wikipedia is our source for the Buddha statue chronology.