The Russ Building is a Neo-Gothic office tower located in the Financial District of San Francisco , California . It was designed by architect George W. Kelham , who was responsible for many of San Francisco's other prominent high-rise buildings in the 1920s. The 133-metre (436 ft) building was completed in 1927 and had 32 floors as well as the city's first indoor parking garage. It was the tallest building in San Francisco from 1927 to 1964 and one of the most prominent, along with its 133-metre (436 ft) "twin", the PacBell Building to the south.
30-640: Upon completion, the building was iconic enough that Architect and Engineer wrote, “In nearly every large city there is one building that because of its size, beauty of architectural design and character of its use and occupancy, has come to typify the city itself ... Today the Russ Building takes this place in San Francisco. By its size and location and by the character of its tenants the building becomes indeed—'The Center of Western Progress'.” However, Manhattanization from 1960 to 1990 has shrouded
60-504: A portmanteau to describe the developed cluster of skyscrapers in Santiago, Chile . Downtown Toronto has experienced a construction boom since 2007, primarily in its development of condominiums and other high rise residential towers. In one week of 2014, Toronto's city council approved 755 stories of new development in the city's downtown core. The city's construction boom has continued since then, with many skyscrapers being approved on
90-543: A relevant commercial center, and closed storefronts in the areas in and around the adjacent Union Square. The area is marked by a cluster of high-rise towers in the triangular area east of Kearny Street , south of Washington Street, west of the Embarcadero that rings the waterfront , and north of Market Street . The district includes Northern California's two tallest buildings, the Salesforce Tower and
120-567: A seaport made it the eventual center for European and American settlement. After gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada Foothills in 1848, Yerba Buena's location on the natural harbor of San Francisco Bay acted as a magnet for European and American settlers, as well as gold and job seekers from a multitude of countries. Following Californian independence and American annexation and the California Gold Rush ,
150-688: A weekly basis thanks to relaxed planning laws. The capital city of Colombia has seen skyscraper growth primarily concentrated in the Centro Internacional de Bogotá and Chapinero areas. Bogotá has undergone a revitalization plan that aims to position the Colombian capital as a major hub for international business in Latin America. Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport already handles the largest cargo volume in Latin America with daily cargo and passenger flights from large cities in
180-494: Is sometimes likened to a "southern Manhattan" not only for its high rises, but for its large financial district. Miami is now the US city with the third most skyscrapers (behind New York City and Chicago). The term "Manhattanization" was initially used to describe the construction of large skyscrapers in San Francisco's Financial District in the 1970s. Since then, tall buildings have proliferated in San Francisco. This has expanded to
210-532: The 1906 Earthquake and Fire , as the area's skyscrapers survived. By 1910, the area was largely rebuilt with low-rise, masonry-clad buildings ranging from six to twelve stories in height. During the late 1920s, several Neo-Gothic high rises, reaching 300 to 400 feet in height, were constructed, including the Standard Oil Building , Russ Building , Hunter-Dulin Building , Shell Building , and
240-794: The BART system. The nickname "FiDi" is occasionally employed, analogous to nearby SoMa . The area is commonly referred to as "Downtown" as well, although "Downtown" may include the broader Union Square, Chinatown, Tenderloin , and SoMa districts as well. The District is home to numerous corporate headquarters, including half of San Francisco's eight Fortune 500 companies— Wells Fargo , Salesforce , Visa , and Gap — as well as Levi Strauss , Kimpton Hotels , Dodge & Cox , Prologis , Docusign , Yelp , and SoFi among others; and formerly Bank of America , Bechtel , Pacific Bell , Crocker Bank , Transamerica , Chevron , PG&E , McKesson , URS , and Charles Schwab among others. The headquarters of
270-584: The Pacific Telephone Building . With the onset of the Great Depression and statewide height restrictions due to earthquake fears, few new buildings were constructed, and the district remained relatively low-rise until the late 1950s. Due to new building and earthquake retrofitting technologies, the height restrictions were lifted, fueling a skyscraper building boom. This boom accelerated under mayor Dianne Feinstein during
300-551: The Rincon Center complex. Parks and plazas located there include Sue Biermann Park; Justin Herman Plaza , which is the current location of the city's New Year's festivities, and Transamerica Redwood Park. St. Mary's Square and Portsmouth Square are near the borders of the district, but are usually considered as part of Chinatown. Several consulates are located in the financial district. Countries with consulates in
330-585: The South of Market neighborhood. From 2000 to 2018, more than 15 buildings taller than 30 stories were built. There are now over 160 buildings taller than 73 metres (240 ft). In the context of the California housing shortage , fears of "Manhattanization" have been used by NIMBYs to oppose housing construction. In response, YIMBYs in other states have warned of a "California-style housing crisis" to promote zoning reform. " Sanhattan " has been used as
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#1732775842170360-660: The Transamerica Pyramid . Montgomery Street (sometimes called " Wall Street of the West ") is considered the traditional heart of the district. Under Spanish and Mexican rule , the area had been the site of a harbor named Yerba Buena Cove with a small civilian outpost named Yerba Buena that served to support the military population of the Presidio and the Mission Dolores . The sandy, marshy soils of
390-679: The Transbay Terminal , many height limits were raised in the area. As a result, nearly all new high rise construction since the 1980s (and for the foreseeable future) has taken place South of Market. Notable examples include the JPMorgan Chase Building , 555 Mission Street , 101 Second Street , the Four Seasons Hotel , The Paramount , and the Millennium Tower . According to TRI Commercial,
420-858: The 12th district of the United States Federal Reserve is located in the area as well. Prior to their disestablishment, AirTouch , South Pacific Air Lines , Pegasus Aviation Finance Company , and the Pacific Exchange all had their headquarters in the Financial District. There are several shopping malls in the area, including the Crocker Galleria, the Embarcadero Center , the Ferry Building Marketplace , and
450-523: The 1960s. Originally, the expression was sometimes used derisively, but the connotation has changed to a positive one. The term "Manhattanization" has been used to describe the 2003–2008 boom of real estate developments in Miami that brought the construction of more than 50 high-rise buildings throughout the city. As conditions in Latin America destabilized, many of Latin America's elites sought refuge in
480-414: The 1980s, something her critics labeled " Manhattanization ". This caused widespread opposition citywide leading to the "skyscraper revolt" similar to the " freeway revolt " in the city years earlier. The skyscraper revolt led to the city imposing extremely strict, European-style height restrictions on building construction citywide. Due to these height restrictions , lack of buildable lots, and changes in
510-478: The 21st century. " Mainhattan " is a term referring to Frankfurt's skyline , especially that of its central business district , the Bankenviertel . The word is a portmanteau of Main , the river on which Frankfurt lies, and Manhattan , a reference to the inner city area's visually impressive high rises and skyscrapers , a special feature for a European city. The first tall buildings were built in
540-503: The Financial District, driven by remote work since the COVID-19 pandemic , particularly among tech companies. Several owners of office buildings and hotels have defaulted on their loans, raising concerns about the effect on San Francisco's tax revenues and the financial stability of local government services. Many retailers have also cited high levels of crime, open-air drug use, homelessness , doubts about San Francisco's viability as
570-609: The Financial District, including Wells Fargo , Salesforce , and Gap . Since the 1980s, restrictions on high-rise construction have shifted new development to the adjacent South of Market (SoMa) area surrounding the Transbay Transit Center . This area is sometimes called the South Financial District by real estate developers, or simply included as part of the Financial District itself. The early 2020s have seen high office vacancy rates in
600-471: The area boomed rapidly and the Bay shoreline, which originally ended near Montgomery Street, was filled in and extended to The Embarcadero. Gold Rush wealth and business made it the financial capital of the west coast as many banks and businesses set up in the neighborhood. The west coast's first and only skyscrapers , were built in the area along Market Street . The neighborhood was nearly completely destroyed in
630-588: The city, especially in the Brickell area where Latin American money poured into the development of many of the urban center's condos. A second housing market boom took place in Miami from 2012 to present (As of March 2024 ). Along with the over ten thousand residential units added, the downtown area saw a revitalization and an increased prevalence of walking and public transport usage, similar to Manhattan. Miami
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#1732775842170660-516: The early 2000s and again in the 2010s. Another example is the high rise development in Toronto since 2007, as well as rapid development of skyscrapers in Hong Kong and Tokyo since the 1970s, eventually allowing Hong Kong to possess more skyscrapers than New York. The term has even been applied to many smaller US cities that have seen a large spike in downtown high rise rental buildings since
690-424: The emergence of Sand Hill Road in the 1980s, many of the largest venture capital firms held offices in the Russ Building. Manhattanization Manhattanization is a neologism coined to describe the construction of many tall or densely situated buildings, which transforms the appearance and character of a city to what is similar to Manhattan , the most densely populated borough of New York City . It
720-476: The local real estate market, new development in the area has shifted to South of Market Street since the 1980s. The area south of Market, east of Third Street , north of Folsom Street , and west of the Embarcadero is sometimes called the South Financial District , or simply included as part of the Financial District itself. To encourage new development south of Market, and to help fund the replacement for
750-477: The northwest is Chinatown , and to the north is North Beach and Jackson Square . To the east lies the Embarcadero waterfront and the Ferry Building . To the south lies Market Street and the South of Market district. The Financial District is served by more than two dozen Muni bus and rail lines, including one cable car line , as well as Montgomery Street Station and Embarcadero Station in
780-670: The region such as Lima , Santiago de Chile , Miami , Mexico City , etc. Financial District, San Francisco The Financial District is a neighborhood in San Francisco , California, United States, that serves as its main central business district and had 372,829 jobs according to U.S. census tracts as of 2012-2016. It is home to the city's largest concentration of corporate headquarters, law firms, insurance companies, real estate firms, savings and loan banks, and other financial institutions. Multiple Fortune 500 companies headquartered in San Francisco have their offices in
810-600: The tip of the San Francisco Peninsula discouraged the Spanish, and later Mexican governments from establishing a preeminent town there, who focused their pueblo settlement efforts in the Pueblo of San José with its extremely fertile land. It was not until 1835 that the first settlers established themselves on the shore of Yerba Buena Cove, with the first town plan surveyed in 1839. Yerba Buena's potential as
840-415: The tower in a shell of skyscrapers, removing the tower's prominence. The San Francisco Chronicle ' s architecture critic John King described the Russ Building as "the embodiment of Jazz Age romance, a full block of ornate Gothic-flavored masonry that ascends in jagged stages from Montgomery Street with a leap and then a scramble to a central crown". The tower is a California Historical Landmark . Until
870-566: The traditional Financial District provides approximately 30 million square feet (2,800,000 m ) of office space, and the South Financial District offers about 28 million square feet (2,600,000 m ). In the 2020s, the COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated an exodus of business from the downtown core of San Francisco. Adjacent to the Financial District to the west is the Union Square shopping district . To
900-472: Was a pejorative word used by critics of the highrise buildings built in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s, who claimed the skyscrapers would block views of the bay and the surrounding hills. With careful urban planning , the phenomenon became more accepted in time. The term also gained usage as a buzzword for high-density developments in Las Vegas , Los Angeles , Dubai , and Miami in
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