The story
San Francisco's most recognizable skyscraper stands where the city's first fireproof building once housed Mark Twain, whose demolition sparked the historic preservation movement.
Everything that was here
- 1972–present · still open
Transamerica Pyramid (site of Montgomery Block)Office Building
San Francisco's most recognizable skyscraper stands where the city's first fireproof building once housed Mark Twain, whose demolition sparked the historic preservation movement.
See the map in 1973 → - 1875–present
Palace HotelHotel
The grandest hotel in the West where Enrico Caruso fled clutching a photo of Teddy Roosevelt as the 1906 earthquake struck.
See the map in 1876 → - 1851–1996
Belli Building (Melodeon Theater)Theater
Built on the muddy shore of Gold Rush San Francisco, this building hosted a future superstar, witnessed Oscar Wilde, and still has tides rising and falling in its elevator shaft.
See the map in 1852 → - 1933–1964
Black Cat CafeBar
This gay bar launched America's first openly gay political campaign and won a landmark Supreme Court case affirming LGBTQ rights to gather in public.
See the map in 1934 → - 1853–1959
Montgomery Block (Monkey Block)Office Building
Where Mark Twain, Jack London, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo all lived, the Monkey Block's demolition helped spark America's preservation movement.
See the map in 1854 → - 1853–1959
Montgomery BlockOffice Building
San Francisco's first fireproof building became a legendary bohemian enclave where Mark Twain, Jack London, and Diego Rivera all worked.
See the map in 1854 → - 1908–1921
Bank of Italy BuildingBank
A working-class Italian immigrant built this Renaissance Revival headquarters to revolutionize banking for ordinary people, creating what would become Bank of America.
See the map in 1909 → - 1875–1906
Palace Hotel (Original)Hotel
The world's largest hotel was financed by a banker who drowned mysteriously the day his bank collapsed—two months before opening day.
See the map in 1876 →
Nearby history
City of Paris Department Store
Forbidden City
The Westin St. Francis
James C. Flood Mansion (Pacific-Union Club)
The Emporium
Grand Opera House
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