{"nrhp_refnum":"05000001","name":"Baker and Hamilton","other_names":["Pacific Hardware and Steel Company"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"601 Townsend St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Francisco","county":"San Francisco","state":"CA","lat":37.771816682000065,"lon":-122.40156687899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-02-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick and heavy timber warehouse, office and showroom building at 601 Townsend Street in the South of Market area of San Francisco, built in 1904-1905 and designed by Sutton & Weeks for the Pacific Hardware and Steel Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is one of few remaining pre-earthquake buildings of its type in San Francisco, and an example of heavy timber industrial architecture typical of the South of Market warehouse district. It survived the 1906 fire, which destroyed many nearby warehouses, and became an anchor for the warehouse district that grew after the earthquake. It also retains a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Occupying a full block frontage in San Francisco's South of Market area, this three-story warehouse and office building was completed in 1905 for the Pacific Hardware and Steel Company. Architects Albert Sutton and Charles Peter Weeks designed it with load-bearing brick walls, heavy timber columns and beams, a central light well, and a sandstone arched entrance on Seventh Street. A rooftop sign reads \"BAKER HAMILTON, SINCE 1849,\" and a loading dock and rail spur once served freight traffic. The building matters because it is one of the few pre-earthquake structures of its kind left in the city. The 1906 fire destroyed many neighboring warehouses but spared it, and it then anchored the warehouse district that grew during the rebuilding boom. It served as a warehouse until 1981 and was rehabilitated into offices in 2000-2001, with new elements added to be distinguishable from the historic fabric. It is also San Francisco Landmark No. 193.","period_of_significance":"1905","architect_builder":"Sutton & Weeks Architects; Sutton, Albert; Weeks, Charles Peter","architectural_style":"Late 19th & Early 20th Century American Commercial Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Used as a warehouse until 1981, then rehabilitated in 2000-2001 into an office building; current function listed as commerce/business.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.411525-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/05000001.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000001/c43da16472-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000001/c43da16472-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Michael Mangus","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baker_and_Hamilton_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Mangus</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baker_and_Hamilton_Building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861039","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_and_Hamilton_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19865448"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-francisco/baker-and-hamilton-05000001/"}