Mission Brewery
Also known as: American Agar Company; American Agar and Chemical Company
Why it's listed
Built in 1912-1913 as the Mission Brewery, this pair of connected buildings at 1715 Hancock Street in San Diego combines a small office building with a large tower structure of brick and stucco. Architect Richard Griesser, whose family firm specialized in breweries, designed it in the Mission Revival style at the owners' request, with arched windows, espadana parapets and a stuccoed ground floor. The nomination describes it as the first Mission style brewery in the United States and the only industrial application of the style in San Diego. The brewery closed in 1918, and during the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 the building served as an isolation hospital, using the old brewery laboratory. From 1923 it housed the American Agar Company, an early seaweed-processing plant, which operated there until 1933 and again from about 1941. Much of the interior is now vacant and deteriorated, though the exterior appearance is largely unaltered.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is the only Mission Revival industrial building in San Diego and the first Mission style brewery built in the United States. It also served as an isolation hospital during the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic. It later housed one of the early agar production plants, which processed seaweed.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 89000805, listed July 6, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1715 Hancock St., San Diego |
|---|---|
| County | San Diego County |
| Listed | July 6, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89000805 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1913-1918: 1923-1933 (industry); 1918-1919 (health/medicine) |
| Architect / builder | Griesser, Richard |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Health/Medicine, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most of the tower building's interior is vacant and some walls are in poor condition; the western addition and five tin sheds are no longer extant. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 32.74178, -117.18392 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 89000805.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6019470
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.