140 New Montgomery

Last updated
140 New Montgomery
140 New Montgomery from Salesforce Park.jpg
From Salesforce Park in April 2021
Location map San Francisco Central.png
Red pog.svg
Location within San Francisco
Former names
  • The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company Building
  • The Pacific Bell Building
Alternative names
  • The Pacific Telephone Building
  • The Telephone Building
  • Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. Coast Division Offices
Record height
Preceded by 225 Bush Street
Surpassed by Russ Building
General information
Type Mixed-use
Architectural style Art Deco
Location
Coordinates 37°47′13″N122°24′00″W / 37.7868194444444°N 122.399905555556°W / 37.7868194444444; -122.399905555556
Construction startedJanuary 1, 1924;100 years ago (1924-01-01)
Completed1925
OpenedMay 30, 1925
Renovated1980s (façade)
Cost US$4 million (equivalent to $69.5 million in 2023)
OwnerPembroke Real Estate Inc.
Height
Architectural435 feet (132.7 meters)
Tip460 ft (140.2 m)
Antenna spire460 ft (140.2 m)
Roof435 ft (132.6 m)
Top floor413 ft (125.9 m)
Dimensions
Other dimensions147.00 ft (44.81 m) length x 160.00 ft (48.77 m) width
Technical details
Structural systemsteel
Floor count26
Floor area295,000 sq ft (27,400 m2)
Lifts/elevators10
Design and construction
Architect(s)
[1]
Architecture firm Miller and Pflueger
Designations
  • San Francisco Category I Historic Building
  • LEED Gold
Website
140NM.com
References
[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

140 New Montgomery Street is a 26-floor Art Deco mixed-use office tower located in San Francisco's South of Market district, close to the St. Regis Museum Tower and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. [2] Constructed in 1925 as a modern headquarters for The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., it was originally known as The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company Building or simply the Telephone Building, [2] [1] and, after 1984, as The Pacific Bell Building or The PacBell Building.[ citation needed ]

Contents

When it opened on May 30, 1925, The Pacific Telephone Building was San Francisco's first significant skyscraper development, and was the tallest building in San Francisco, until the Russ Building matched its height in 1927 at the time of its completion. [2] [11] [12] The building was the first high-rise south of Market Street, and along with the Russ Building, remained the city's tallest until it was overtaken by 650 California Street in 1964. It was the first high rise located on the west coast to be occupied solely by a single tenant. [12]

AT&T sold the building in 2007. As of 2013, Internet company Yelp was the main tenant. [14] [15] Yelp moved out in 2021 following a rise in remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

The building was designed to consolidate numerous smaller buildings and outdated offices into a modern headquarters for The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., and as a result, was designated as the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. Coast Division Offices by the company, though referred to colloquially as The Telephone Building. [16] [11]

The building's architecture was influenced by Eliel Saarinen's Tribune Tower design, in particular regarding the setbacks on the higher floors. [1]

In reference to the Bell System - which The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. was a member of at the time of construction - the façade featured bell motifs in many locations, most notably surrounding the arch over the main entrance doors on New Montgomery Street. The decorations near the base and in the lobby also include references to the candlestick telephone and the pneumatic tube, some of the most modern communication technologies in use at the time. [1] After the breakup of the Bell System (AT&T) in 1984, [17] and the formation the Regional Bell Operating Companies, also known as the Baby Bells, Pacific Telephone changed its name to Pacific Bell.

Statues of eight eagles (each 13 feet (4.0 m) in height) perch atop the tower's crown. [18] [19] The building has an L—shaped floor plan, and the architecture decoratively incorporates spotlights to show the exterior's terra cotta ornamentation day and night. [16] The lobby is decorated with images of plants, clouds, unicorns, and phoenixes and has a plaster ceiling inspired by Chinese brocade. [20]

In 1929, Sir Winston Churchill visited the building and made his first transatlantic telephone call, phoning his London home. [21] [22] [8]

For 44 years until 1978, the top of the roof was used to convey official storm warnings to sailors at the direction of the United States National Weather Service, in the form of a 25 feet (7.6 metres) long triangular red flag by day, and a red light at night. [8]

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake did only minor damage to the building, affecting parts of the terracotta cladding and requiring the eight eagle sculptures to be replaced with fiberglass replicas. [1]

In the 21st century

In 2006, AT&T moved out of the building, following its merger with SBC Communications. [1] In 2007, the PacBell Building was sold by AT&T to Stockbridge Capital Group and Wilson Meany Sullivan for US$118 million. [23] In 2008, the new owners filed plans to convert the tower into 118 luxury condominiums. However, those plans were put on hold during the 2008 financial crisis, and the building sat empty for nearly six years. [24]

Following a surge in office demand in 2010–2011, Wilson Meany Sullivan changed the plans back to office space. [24] Major renovation work began in February 2012, to improve the building's seismic performance, install all–new mechanical, electric, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems, and preserve and restore the building's historic lobby, at an estimated cost of US$80–100 million. [25] In 2012, Yelp announced it had signed a lease on the building's 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of office space through 2020. [26] After two expansions, the company held a total of almost 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) on 13 floors in the fall 2015. [14]

In April 2016, Pembroke Real Estate Inc., a Boston–based REIT, acquired 140 New Montgomery as part of its portfolio — its second acquisition in San Francisco. [6] [27] [28] [29] According to property records, Pembroke paid US$284 million for the property, at around US$962 per square foot. [28] [29]

In 2021, Yelp did not renew its 2011 lease, and instead subleased a smaller space at nearby 350 Mission Street, due to the rise of remote work in the COVID-19 pandemic. [30] As of May 2023, during what the San Francisco Chronicle described as "Downtown San Francisco['s] worst office vacancy crisis on record," the building had a vacancy rate of 32.9%. [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transamerica Pyramid</span> Skyscraper in San Francisco

The Transamerica Pyramid is a pyramid-shaped 48-story modernist skyscraper in San Francisco, California, United States, and the second tallest building in the San Francisco skyline. Located at 600 Montgomery Street between Clay and Washington Streets in the city's Financial District, it was the tallest building in San Francisco from its completion in 1972 until 2018 when the newly-constructed Salesforce Tower surpassed its height. The building no longer houses the headquarters of the Transamerica Corporation, which moved its U.S. headquarters to Baltimore, Maryland. The building is still associated with the company by being depicted on the company's logo. Designed by architect William Pereira and built by Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company, the building stands at 853 feet (260 m). On completion in 1972 it was the eighth-tallest building in the world. It is also a popular tourist site. In 2020, the building was sold to NYC investor Michael Shvo, who in 2022 hired Norman Foster to redesign the interiors and renovate the building.

The Pacific Bell Telephone Company (Pac Bell) is a telephone company that provides telephone service in California. The company is owned by AT&T through AT&T Teleholdings, and, though separate, is now marketed as “AT&T”. The company has been known by a number of names during which its service area has changed. The formal name of the company from the 1910s through the 1984 Bell System divestiture was The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. As of 2002, the name “Pacific Bell” is no longer used in marketing, although Pacific Bell is still the holder of record for the infrastructure of cables and fiber through much of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial District, San Francisco</span> Neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States

The Financial District is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States, that serves as its main central business district and had 372,829 jobs according to U.S. census tracts as of 2012-2016. It is home to the city's largest concentration of corporate headquarters, law firms, insurance companies, real estate firms, savings and loan banks, and other financial institutions. Multiple Fortune 500 companies headquartered in San Francisco have their offices in the Financial District, including Wells Fargo, Salesforce, and Gap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Sansome Street</span> Skyscraper in San Francisco, California

One Sansome Street, also known as Citigroup Center, is an office skyscraper located at the intersection of Sutter and Sansome Streets in the Financial District of San Francisco, California, United States, near Market Street. The 168 m (551 ft), 41 floor, 587,473 sq ft (54,578.0 m2) office tower was completed in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Market Plaza</span> Complex of three office buildings at 1 Market Street along the San Francisco Embarcadero

One Market Plaza is a complex of three office buildings at 1 Market Street along the San Francisco Embarcadero. The historic 11-story Southern Pacific Building, also known as "The Landmark", was completed in 1916, and incorporated into the development in 1976 that includes the 43-storey 172 metres Spear Tower, and the 27-storey, 111 metres Steuart Tower. At over 1.5 billion pounds, the complex is considered the heaviest development in San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">333 Bush Street</span> 43-floor mixed-use skyscraper located on Bush in Financial District of San Francisco

333 Bush Street is a 43-floor, 151 m (495 ft) mixed-use skyscraper located on Bush Street in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. The building was completed in 1986 and was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and contains commercial offices as well as seven stories of individually owned residential condominiums. It is one of 39 San Francisco high rises reported by the U.S. Geological Survey as potentially vulnerable to a large earthquake, due to a flawed welding technique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Montgomery Tower</span> Office building in San Francisco

One Montgomery Tower, part of the Post Montgomery Center complex, is an office skyscraper located at the northeast corner of Post and Kearny Streets in the financial district of San Francisco, California. The 500-foot (150-meter), 38-story tower was completed in 1982, and is connected to the Crocker Galleria mall. It houses around 2,500 office workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russ Building</span> Commercial offices in San Francisco, California

The Russ Building is a Neo-Gothic office tower located in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. It was designed by architect George W. Kelham, who was responsible for many of San Francisco's other prominent high-rise buildings in the 1920s. The 133-metre (436 ft) building was completed in 1927 and had 32 floors as well as the city's first indoor parking garage. It was the tallest building in San Francisco from 1927 to 1964 and one of the most prominent, along with its 133-metre (436 ft) "twin", the PacBell Building to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy L. Pflueger</span> American architect

Timothy Ludwig Pflueger was an architect, interior designer and architectural lighting designer in the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of the 20th century. Together with James R. Miller, Pflueger designed some of the leading skyscrapers and movie theaters in San Francisco in the 1920s, and his works featured art by challenging new artists such as Ralph Stackpole and Diego Rivera. Rather than breaking new ground with his designs, Pflueger captured the spirit of the times and refined it, adding a distinct personal flair. His work influenced later architects such as Pietro Belluschi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">181 Fremont</span> 803-foot mixed-use skyscraper in the South of Market District of San Francisco

181 Fremont is an 803-foot (245 m) mixed-use skyscraper in the South of Market District of San Francisco, California. The building, designed by Heller Manus Architects, is located adjacent to the Transbay Transit Center and 199 Fremont Street developments. 181 Fremont is owned and operated by Jay Paul Company, which was the sole developer of the project. The entire office portion of the building was leased to Facebook to house its San Francisco office and Instagram division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">350 Mission Street</span> Commercial offices in San Francisco, California

Salesforce East is a 30-story skyscraper in the South of Market district of San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">123 Mission Street</span> Commercial offices in San Francisco, California

123 Mission Street, sometimes referenced as the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, is a 124 m (407 ft) 29 floor skyscraper in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco, California, completed in 1986. The tower was developed by Shorenstein Properties and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">450 Sutter Street</span> Commercial offices in San Francisco, California

450 Sutter Street, also called the Four Fifty Sutter Building, is a twenty-six-floor, 105-meter (344-foot) skyscraper in San Francisco, California, completed in 1929. The tower is known for its "Neo-Mayan" Art Deco design by architect Timothy L. Pflueger. The building's vertically faceted exterior later influenced Pietro Belluschi in his similarly faceted exterior of 555 California, the former Bank of America Center completed in 1969.

Miller and Pflueger was an architectural firm that formed when James Rupert Miller named Timothy L. Pflueger partner. Pflueger, at the time a rising star of San Francisco's architect community, had begun his architectural career with architecture firm, Miller and Colmesnil sometime in 1907, under the tutelage of James Rupert Miller. Together, Miller and Pflueger designed a number of significant buildings in San Francisco, including the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company Building which was the city's tallest skyscraper for four decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McAllister Tower Apartments</span> Apartment skyscraper in California

McAllister Tower Apartments, also known as the William Taylor Hotel, is a 28-story, 94 m (308 ft) residential apartment skyscraper at 100 McAllister Street in San Francisco, California. The property is owned and operated by the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. The tower includes mixed-use offices on various floors, and the Art Deco-styled "Sky Room" with a panoramic view on the 24th floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">535 Mission Street</span> Commercial offices in San Francisco, California

535 Mission Street is an office skyscraper in the South of Market district of San Francisco, California, opened in November 2014, with 27 stories rising 378 ft (115 m) above street level. It is adjacent to the Transbay Transit Center site and located on the same block as 100 First Plaza, 555 Mission Street, and 101 Second Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Montgomery Street</span>

New Montgomery Street, formerly Montgomery Street South, begins at Market Street and terminates at Howard Street in the SOMA district of San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">222 Second Street</span> Commercial offices in San Francisco, California

222 Second Street is a 370-foot (110 m) office skyscraper in the South of Market District of San Francisco, California. It is under lease by social networking company LinkedIn.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Poletti, Therese (2009-01-03). "On Hold in San Francisco. How the Economic Crisis Has Stalled the Renovation of the City's Telephone Building". Preservation . Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2023-05-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Emporis building ID 118764". Emporis . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ "PacBell Building". SkyscraperPage .
  4. ↑ Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. at Structurae
  5. ↑ "140 New Montgomery Street — The Skyscraper Center". SkyscraperCenter.com. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  6. 1 2 "140 New Montgomery — San Francisco — North America". Pembroke.com. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  7. ↑ "Inventory of the A.A. and A.M. Cantin Collection, 1933-1977". OAC.CdLib.org. Retrieved 17 December 2018. Alexander (Aimwell) Cantin was born March 4, 1876, and died in 1964. He is possibly best known for designing a series of Pacific Telephone and Telegraph buildings in San Francisco and collaborated with the firm of Miller and Pflueger on the 26-story, Coast Division Building of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company at 140 New Montgomery Street.
  8. 1 2 3 Nolte, Carl (20 October 1995). "Pac Bell Rings In 70th Birthday of S.F. Headquarters". SFgate.com. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  9. ↑ "Timothy Pflueger — Architect — Then — Design". 140NM.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  10. ↑ "Cantin, Alexander & Mackenzie — Environmental Design Archives, College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley". Archives.CED.Berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 Poletti, Therese; Pavia, Tom (3 September 2008). Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger (1st ed.). New York: Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 59–79. ISBN   978-1-56898-756-9. OCLC   191732382 . Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. CA-2870, "Pacific Telephone Building, 140 New Montgomery Street", 25 photos, 4 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
  13. ↑ Mahjoub, Nina A.; Stringer, Megan; Tremayne, Bill (2015). "Retrofit / Seismic: Sustaining a Historic High-Rise Structure" (PDF). CTUBH Journal (1). Chicago, IL: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat: 34–39. ISSN   1946-1186. JSTOR   ctbuhj. OCLC   183595840 . Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  14. 1 2 Simonson, Sharon (19 August 2013). "Yelp Occupies 140 New Montgomery". TheRegistrySF.com. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  15. ↑ Russ Building, San Francisco . Retrieved 17 December 2018.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  16. 1 2 Smith, Richard C. (September 1925). "The News Letter and the Telephone". San Francisco News Letter (Diamond Jubilee ed.). Retrieved 17 December 2018– via Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.
  17. ↑ Pollack, Andrew (1 January 1984). "Bell System Breakup Opens Era of Great Expectations and Great Concern". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  18. ↑ Bevk, Alex (8 March 2012). "Pacific Telephone Building Scraps Plans For Condos, Moves On To Office Space". SF.curbed,com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  19. ↑ Dineen, J. K. (22 August 2013). Sneak peek: Yelp's new San Francisco HQ set to open . Retrieved 7 December 2013.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  20. ↑ Nyren, Ron (Spring 2023). "7 Dazzling Art Deco Buildings for Architecture Admirers". Preservation Magazine. National Trust for Historic Preservation.
  21. ↑ "Noted Statesman visits Telephone Building" (PDF). The Pacific Telephone Magazine. September 1929. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  22. ↑ "Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company Building — San Francisco, USA Attractions". LonelyPlanet.com. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  23. ↑ Haeber, Jonathan M. (22 June 2009). An Abandoned Skyscraper: The Pac Bell Building. Richmond, California: Chronicas Media. Retrieved 2 January 2019.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  24. 1 2 Poletti, Therese (7 March 2012). "New Call by Developer on Historic Tower". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 9 December 2012. A historic skyscraper in downtown San Francisco, the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph building, empty for almost six years, is about to become a hub of construction activity as a US$50 million–plus modernization project begins. ... This is a new strategy from the developer, which in 2008 filed plans to turn the tower, also known as the Telephone Building, into 118 luxury condominiums, at an estimated cost of US$80 million to US$100 million.
  25. ↑ "140 New Montgomery". 140NM.com. 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  26. ↑ "Yelp signs Pacific Telephone Building lease to 2020". San Francisco Chronicle . 9 May 2012.
  27. ↑ Company Overview of Pembroke Real Estate Inc . Retrieved 17 December 2018.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  28. 1 2 Li, Roland (15 December 2016). "Developers double their money with $350 million SoMA office sale" . San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  29. 1 2 Li, Roland (24 March 2017). "Wilson Meany sells a revamped, historic gem (video)" . San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  30. ↑ Li, Roland (2021-11-05). "Former Yelp headquarters in attracts 6 new tenants as S.F. office market continues recovery". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  31. ↑ Li, Roland; Devulapalli, Sriharsha (2023-05-08). "Downtown S.F. has 18.4 million square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.