Market Street Theatre and Loft District

Along roughly 1,200 feet of Market Street near Sixth and Seventh Streets in San Francisco, thirty commercial buildings form a district of theatres, loft stores, offices, hotels, a bank and a lodge. Most date from 1900 to 1926, rebuilt in a consistent Commercial Style after the 1906 earthquake and fire, with terra cotta, brick and steel frames. Twenty buildings contribute to the district; ten are modern intrusions. Two intersections stand out, one centered on the 1922 Golden Gate Theatre by G. Albert Lansburgh and the other on Albert Pissis' 1892 Hibernia Bank. The area served as a secondary downtown, with large furniture and department stores, and as the place where major studios opened first-run films in studio-owned picture palaces. Market Street's 120-foot width also made it a favored parade route. Labor organizer Tom Mooney was photographed atop the Wilson Building during the 1916 Preparedness Day Parade. Ground-floor shops have been altered often, but upper stories largely survive.