{"nrhp_refnum":"99000894","name":"Second and Howard Streets District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"121-198 2nd, 579-612 Howard, 116 Natoma, 111-163 New Montgomery","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Francisco","county":"San Francisco","state":"CA","lat":37.787125443000036,"lon":-122.39891598583827,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-07-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A commercial historic district of masonry buildings along Second Street, part of Howard Street, and adjoining stretches of Natoma, Minna and New Montgomery Streets in the South of Market area of San Francisco. The contributing buildings were all built between 1906 and 1912.","why_significant":"The district is significant at the local level under Criterion C, architecture, in the context of San Francisco's rebuilding after the 1906 earthquake and fire. It shows a continuity of building type, scale and style, with Commercial Style buildings that served the construction industry. Over 90% of the buildings contribute, and few comparable groups survive elsewhere in the city.","narrative":"This group of 22 properties lies in San Francisco's South of Market area, along Second Street, part of Howard Street, and the alleys of Natoma and Minna out to New Montgomery Street. Nineteen buildings contribute to the district. All were built between 1906 and 1912, during the rebuilding that followed the 1906 earthquake and fire. They are three to seven stories tall and built of masonry, about half in brick, two in terra cotta and the rest in stucco. Their Commercial Style design uses restrained Renaissance-Baroque ornament, mostly at the cornices. The area served the construction industry, and a 1910 directory lists plumbing suppliers, electrical firms, a terra cotta works, engineers, printers and chemists. Ground floors have often been altered for shops, while upper floors were typically lofts. The district was recognized for its architecture and for the consistent scale and character that survive, with works by architects such as the Reid Brothers and John Cotter Pelton. Two altered buildings and a vacant lot do not contribute.","period_of_significance":"1906-1912","architect_builder":"Multiple: Reid Brothers, John Cotter Pelton, Cunningham & Politeo, Ross & Burgren, A. W. Smith, William Curlett, Herman Barth, Frank S. Van Trees, Henry A. Schulze, Washington J. Miller, John A. Ettler, and others","architectural_style":"Commercial Style with limited Renaissance-Baroque ornament","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Most buildings are in use. The Greenwood Block at 137-163 New Montgomery is described as vacant, boarded up and in poor condition. 580 Howard was converted to residential use in a 1998 rehabilitation, and one lot is a vacant parking lot.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.649947-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/99000894.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000894/a4822add71-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000894/a4822add71-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eddie_Richenbachers_SF_133_2nd.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eddie_Richenbachers_SF_133_2nd.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861301","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q141642353"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-francisco/second-and-howard-streets-district-99000894/"}