STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

SF Planning Code § 5

in effect

SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE.

(a) History of the area: For decades after the 1849 Gold Rush, San Francisco was the principal seaport and connection with the outside world for California and the West Coast. San Francisco's expansion and transformation into one of the most important cities in North America is attributable to the eminence of its port which, because of its sheltered location and deep water, became one of the best-suited on the Pacific Ocean. The development of warehouses over a 120-year period along the southern waterfront provides a benchmark from which to view architectural and technological responses to the rapid changes of growing industrial nation state and city. The interdependence of architecture and history can be seen from a look at the evolution of warehouse forms along the southern waterfront. Unlike most other areas of the San Francisco waterfront, the South End District contains an extraordinary concentration of buildings from almost every period of San Francisco's maritime history. Several street fronts - such as Second, Third and Townsend - are characterized by solid walls of brick and reinforced concrete warehouses. With this harmony of scale and materials, the South End Historic District is clearly a visually recognizable place. One-story warehouses were common in the nineteenth century but rare in the early twentieth due to the increasing cost of land. Two of the oldest warehouses in the historic district are one story in height: Hooper's Warehouse (1874) and the California Warehouse (1882). Their horizontal orientation is accentuated through the use of strong cornice lines with decorative brick patterns. Multi-story buildings have been more common along the southern waterfront since the turn of the century. After 1906, almost all new warehouses were constructed to be at least three stories in height, and several warehouses on Second and Townsend Streets reached six stories. The invention of the forklift in the 1930s eliminated advantages which multi-story buildings enjoyed over single-story structures. Since 1945, almost all warehouses constructed in the United States have been one story in height. Many multi-story warehouses and industrial buildings have been converted to other uses or are vacant because they have become obsolete for most warehouse or industrial functions. South End's period of historical significance, 1867 to 1935, comprises the era during which the waterfront became a vital part of the City's and nation's maritime commerce. The buildings of the South End Historic District represent a rich and varied cross-section of the prominent local architects and builders of the period. Four buildings remain from the nineteenth century; another four were constructed in the six-year interval preceding the 1906 earthquake. The majority of the buildings were erected between 1906 and 1929, a period during which trade along the waterfront increased dramatically. Several events shaped this part of San Francisco. The building of Long Bridge in 1865 on the line of Fourth Street south to Point San Quentin or the Potrero district, opened up opportunities for new industrial development in the southern part of the city. The Second Street cut of 1869, through fashionable Rincon Hill, allowed access from downtown to the southern waterfront. The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 (and the eventual extension of railway lines into the area) was the single most important event to impact the district. The fire of 1906 and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 were further impetuses to warehouse construction in this area, as were the seawall and the Belt Line Railway. Prominent figures in San Francisco history have been associated with the district. William Ralston, founder of the Bank of California, builder of the Palace Hotel, and financier of San Francisco and the West, owned property in the district and was a major force in politically engineering the Second Street cut in 1869. William Sharon, a U.S. Senator from Nevada in 1875 - 1881, acquired much of Ralston's estate and also co-owned and built the California Warehouse on the corner of Second and Townsend for Haslett and Bailey in 1882. William P. Aspinwall founded the internationally important Oriental Warehouse (Pacific Mail Steamship Company) in this district during the Gold Rush. John Hooper built Hooper's South End Grain Warehouse at Japan and Townsend Streets in 1874 for California's lucrative grain trade. Hooper was a member of a family known particularly for its lumber trade, with large land holdings just south of the South End Historic District. The leading warehouse firms in San Francisco were those of the Haslett and Lamb families. Samuel Haslett, a native of Ireland, came to San Francisco in the 1870s and became a partner with J.W. Cox at the Humboldt Warehouse on Rincon Point. Haslett's sons continued the business after his death, and Samuel Haslett IV is now president of the firm. Once nationally known in warehousing, the Hasletts built or are associated with seven warehouses in the district. George Lamb founded the South End Warehouse Company in 1905, and later co-founded the drayage and hauling firm of King and Company. South End operated six warehouses in the area at various times. Charles Lee Tilden (1857 - 1950) built 111 - 113 Townsend, a Haslett warehouse, and the Overland warehouse at Third and Townsend Streets. Tilden, a highly successful business entrepreneur, also founded the East Bay Regional Park system in 1934. Charles Norton Felton (1828 - 1914), Senator, Congressman, and early developer of oil in California, is associated with warehouses at 275 Brannan Street and 601 Second Street. The proposed historic district is an important visual landmark for the City as a whole. The large number of intact masonry warehouses which remain to this day are reminders of the maritime and rail activities which helped to make San Francisco a great Turn-of-the-Century Port City. The warehouse district, because of its distinct building forms, is identifiable from many parts of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. Additional historical information may be found in the South End Historic District Case Report No. 89.065L. (Added by Ord. 104-90, App. 3/23/90)

SEC. 6. FEATURES.

(a) Features of Existing Buildings. 1. Overall Form and Continuity. Building height is generally within a six-story range, and many of the oldest structures are one or two stories in height. 2. Scale and Proportion. The buildings are of typical warehouse design, large in bulk, often with large arches and openings originally designed for easy vehicular access. There is a regularity of overall form. The earlier brick structures blend easily with the scaled-down Beaux Arts forms of the turn of the century and the plain reinforced concrete structures characteristic of twentieth-century industrial architecture. 3. Fenestration. The earliest structures have few windows, expressing their warehouse function. They are varied in size, rhythmically spaced, deeply recessed, produce a strong shadow line, and relate in shape and proportion to those in nearby buildings. Larger industrial sash windows began to be incorporated in structures built from the 1920s and onward. Door openings are often massive to facilitate easy access of bulk materials. 4. Materials. Standard brick masonry is predominant for the oldest buildings in the district, with reinforced concrete introduced after the 1906 fire, although its widespread use did not occur until the 1920s. Brick and stone paving treatments on Federal and First and De Boom Streets respectively are extant as well as Beltline Railroad Tracks which run throughout the District. 5. Color. Red brick is typical, with some yellow and painted brick. Muted earth tones predominate in shades of red, brown, green, gray and blue. 6. Texture. Typical facing materials give a rough textured appearance. The overall texture of the facades is rough grained. 7. Detail. Arches are common at the ground floor, and are frequently repeated on upper floors. Flattened arches for window treatment are typical. Cornices are simple and generally tend to be abstract versions of the more elaborate cornices found in downtown commercial structures from the nineteenth century. Most of the surfaces of the later buildings are plain and simple reflecting their function. Some of the earlier brick work contains suggestions of pilasters, again highly abstracted. Where detail occurs, it is often found surrounding entryways. (b) Standards for New Construction and Alterations. 1. Facade Line Continuity. Facade line continuity is historically appropriate. Therefore, setbacks at lower floors and arcades, not generally being features of the South End Historic District, are generally not acceptable. 2. Fenestration and Design Elements for New Construction. In areas with a concentration of buildings characterized by a high proportion of mass to void and deeply recessed openings, vertical orientation and limited fenestration, the design of new construction should relate to those elements. In areas characterized by buildings with industrial style fenestration, new construction should relate to those design elements. 3. Signs. (A) Principal Signs. Only one sign will be allowed per establishment per street frontage. A flush sign with lettering intended to be read from across the street is permitted. On brick surfaces, signs should be mounted with a minimum number of penetrations of the wall, and those penetrations only in the mortar joints. (B) Secondary Signs. One per establishment per street frontage. A secondary sign is intended to be viewed close-up and consists of: (a) Lettering on a door or window which contains only the name and nature of the establishment, hours of operation and other pertinent information. (b) A projecting sign not exceeding two square feet in area used in conjunction with a principal flush sign. (c) Exterior Changes Requiring Approval. Any exterior change within the South End Historic District shall require a Certificate of Appropriateness pursuant to the provisions of Article 10 when such work requires a city permit. In addition, a Certificate of Appropriateness shall be required for cleaning masonry surfaces with abrasives and/or treatment of such surfaces with waterproofing chemicals. Sandblasting and certain chemical treatments detrimental to older brick will not be approved. (Added by Ord. 104-90, App. 3/23/90)

SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS FOR CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS.

The procedures, requirements, controls and standards in Sections 1006 through 1006.8 of Article 10 of the Planning Code shall apply to all applications for Certificates of Appropriateness in the South End Historic District. In addition, the following provisions shall apply to all such applications; in the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the following provisions and Article 10, those procedures, requirements, controls, and standards affording stricter protection to landmarks, landmark sites, and the Historic District shall prevail.

Source: SF Municipal Code PDF (amlegal)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_planning/0-0-0-1Fetched: 7/4/2026