{"nrhp_refnum":"86003514","name":"Pacific Gas and Electric Company Substation J","other_names":["Station J"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"565 Commercial and 568 Sacremento Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Francisco","county":"San Francisco","state":"CA","lat":37.79408372800003,"lon":-122.40252293099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-12-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former electric substation at 565 Commercial Street and 568 Sacramento Street in San Francisco's financial district, made of two adjoining buildings built in 1908 (Sacramento Street) and 1914 (Commercial Street), now a four-story office building.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an outstanding example of the consistent architectural theme Pacific Gas and Electric Company adopted for its substations. The larger 1914 Commercial Street building is an early example of the windowless Beaux Arts \"City\" type, designed by Frederick H. Meyer. The smaller 1908 building shows utility structures before that theme was adopted. It is also San Francisco Landmark No. 142 and an anchor of a local conservation district.","narrative":"Two adjoining brick buildings, built as electric substations in the heart of San Francisco's financial district, now form a small four-story office building. The smaller Sacramento Street building dates from 1908 and was designed by the utility's engineering department, with Henry C. Vensano signing the permit. The larger Commercial Street building followed in 1914, designed by architect Frederick H. Meyer. Its windowless Beaux Arts facade has corner rustication, generous moldings and a cartouche over a giant entry, and its frieze names the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The design reflects a company-wide architectural theme meant to project strength and reliability. Later uses included a bag warehouse, a cabaret and a restaurant annex. The interiors were lost through repeated remodeling, but the facades, brick side walls and basement survive. The new upper floors are set back to keep the older facade prominent. The property is also San Francisco Landmark No. 142 and anchors a local conservation district.","period_of_significance":"1908-1932","architect_builder":"Frederick H. Meyer (1914); Henry C. Vensano (engineer, 1908)","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts (Commercial Street facade); early 20th-century industrial with Romanesque elements (Sacramento Street facade)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Occupied; converted in the early 1980s to a four-story office building, with the original facades, side walls and basement retained and restored. The interiors were completely reworked.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.875332-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/86003514.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861236","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-francisco/pacific-gas-and-electric-company-substation-j-86003514/"}