{"nrhp_refnum":"78000759","name":"Schoenstein and Company Pipe Organ Factory","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3101 20th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Francisco","county":"San Francisco","state":"CA","lat":37.75916038500003,"lon":-122.41188623299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story wood-frame pipe organ factory at 3101 20th Street, San Francisco, completed in 1928 under Louis Schoenstein's supervision for the Schoenstein firm, with contractors Mager Brothers.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the few American factories designed and built solely for pipe organ construction, and home to the third oldest organ building firm in the United States, founded in 1877. It is also cited as a well-preserved small, single-purpose factory, nearly unaltered since 1928, with original studio fixtures and company archives dating from 1877.","narrative":"Built in 1928 at 3101 20th Street in San Francisco, this three-story wood-frame building was designed specifically for making pipe organs. Stucco-covered street sides with tan paint and green trim give it a California-Spanish look, while steel factory windows mark the workshop bays. Offices, a studio, two heavy fabrication shops, a lighter shop and a tall erecting room for assembling and testing organs fill the interior. It houses Schoenstein & Co., founded in 1877 by Felix F. Schoenstein and described as the third oldest organ building firm in the United States. The company has built or restored organs for churches, universities and municipal buildings across the West. Louis Schoenstein oversaw the factory's planning and construction. The building has changed little since 1928, and the studio retains its original furnishings, including a small organ used for early radio broadcasts. Company archives date from 1877. The factory was valued as a rare surviving small, efficient, single-purpose industrial building and as a record of 1920s industry.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Architect unknown; contractors Mager Brothers","architectural_style":"California-Spanish","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as an organ factory; described as extraordinarily well preserved with no alterations since 1928 except one interior room.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.140543-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000759.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000759/712a147683-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000759/712a147683-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Dreamyshade","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schoenstein_Organ_building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Dreamyshade</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:Schoenstein_Organ_building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861297","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoenstein_and_Company_Pipe_Organ_Factory","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133483410"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-francisco/schoenstein-and-company-pipe-organ-factory-78000759/"}