Geneva Office Building and Power House
Also known as: Geneva Car Barn Complex; San Francisco & San Mateo Railroad Co. Office Building
Why it's listed
Located at Geneva and San Jose Avenues in San Francisco, these two adjoining brick buildings are the last survivors of the Geneva Complex, a rail facility built for the city's first electric railway. The Office Building dates from 1901 and combined railroad administrative offices, a dispatch office, a staff lounge and a large assembly hall. Its Romanesque brick walls are accented by a Queen Anne wood turret and bay windows. The Power House, completed in 1903, was heavily rebuilt in 1910 after the 1906 earthquake collapsed its upper brick walls; its upper level is now concrete. The adjoining car barn and shops were demolished in the 1980s. The complex later became the central location for electric rail in the city and passed to municipal ownership in 1944. Both buildings have been unoccupied since the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and were stabilized in 2004. They are recognized for their link to early electric rail transit and the earthquake recovery.
Significance in brief: The buildings are the last remaining historic structures of the once extensive Geneva Complex, which served the city's first electric railway and later became the central location for electric rail in San Francisco. They are tied to the development of electric rail transit and the 1906 earthquake recovery, and they retain enough integrity to convey their architectural significance and historical associations.
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 10000111, listed March 31, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2301 San Jose Ave., San Francisco |
|---|---|
| County | San Francisco |
| Listed | March 31, 2010 |
| Reference number | 10000111 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Romanesque; Late Victorian: Queen Anne |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Unoccupied since damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake; mothballed and stabilized in 2004; in fair to poor condition. Ownership transferred to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department in 2004. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 37.72039, -122.44663 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 10000111.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q61935343
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.