By Design
by Robert Shurell
This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the famous earthquake and fire that brought San Francisco to its knees. The event seemed to stop time, if only for a moment, and life paused. Then, as though awakening suddenly, San Francisco began a rebuilding process that brought the city into the modern age and beyond. We’re still rebuilding, and redeveloping, and have a strong head of steam moving into the future.
The rebuilding process in the devastated South of Market Area began almost immediately, with the first permit for new construction issued only two-and-a-half months after the quake, on July 5, 1906. This permit was for a building at 580 Howard St., between First and Second streets. Now a registered building in the Second and Howard Streets Historic District (listed in the National Register of Historic Places), 580 Howard was designed by architect A.W. Smith and built by the R.W. Kinney Company to house its own plumbing-supply business.
Using the building for plumbing supplies set a trend in the neighborhood. Construction support services soon set up shop for the massive reconstruction that was happening just across Market St. in the financial and downtown retail districts. As such, the buildings in this district aren’t known for their glamorous facades or excessive ornamentation, but rather for solid proportions, good materials and craftsmanship. The same is true of 580 Howard, a brick masonry building constructed of three vertical structural bays—three warehouse floors above a commercial ground floor. The ground floor is a utilitarian storefront and the upper floors have a pair of windows in each structural bay. A coved sheet-metal belt course separates the storefront from the upper floors, and a sheet-metal cornice crowns the fourth floor.
In 1952, the Dahl-Beck Electric Company moved into the building, cantilevering a distinctive neon sign above the entry that changed the character of the building for good and became an icon of the district. When Dahl-Beck moved out in 1990, 580 Howard underwent a massive change. A warehouse in its first 84 years of life, the Dahl-Beck warehouse now serves a new, residential use. Finished in 1998 by Martin Building Company, the 14 live-work lofts and penthouse suite are a testament to the tasteful rehabilitation of an historic building.
To sit at Kate O’Briens across the street (at 579 Howard St., also in the historic district) and regard the Dahl-Beck warehouse, it may not appear that anything has changed within it in the past 100 years—the restoration is that sensitive to the character of the building. The original fire escape remains, with the unique chain-and-pulley operating system still intact, although it is no longer used as a means of egress; and the cast-iron ionic columns still support the storefront’s transom as they’ve done for so many years.
If you cross the street and examine the Dahl-Beck from close up, the old warehouse isn’t quite as “untouched” as you’ve imagined. The western and central bays are occupied with street-front commercial businesses and living units. A recess in the storefront sets the doors back from the sidewalk, and offers occupants both privacy and an up-front face to this busy block of Howard St. The eastern bay is a lobby. Hesitate as you open the entry door—it’s the last wooden door you’ll see for a while. Step beyond the threshold to enjoy a chic, urban lobby.
This unreinforced masonry building received a seismic upgrade in the form of a massive steel-braced frame symmetrically arranged over the entry portal. You’ll notice the acid-stained concrete floor and its high-gloss finish, the muted reds and grays, and interestingly, the sound of running water. You’ll find the water’s source is a wonderful detail at the base of the stair: three scuppers pouring water into a geometric pool. A brick wall commands the eastern side of the lobby. It’s the original exterior bearing wall, and the bricks are the kind you can’t get anymore—big and heavy, with the corners rounded and beat up, and missing bricks patched in with concrete. The timber construction of 15-inch-thick columns makes a statement as well. As you mount the stairs leading to the upper levels, you discover that a steel channel in the guardrail is a stream of water supplying the scuppers below. Walk upstairs and you’ll find yourself in a corridor with a selection of live-work units to explore.
The doors up here are flat-brush finished steel and reinforce an industrial theme. The handrails make no secret of their welded connections; the sconce outside the unit appears hinged, like a simple machine of some sort. Open the door and the loft, too, functions like a machine. Clean lines of steel and hardboard are in open dialogue with rough brick and huge split timbers. Original steel awning windows operate with a notched handle; the notch fits onto the flange of the frame and holds the window open the desired amount.
The window is fun to operate and contributes to a truly unique, enjoyable space. Within the concrete floor, a comfortable radiant heating and cooling system is buried, and ceiling fans supplement the system. A modern kitchen and bath, a mezzanine with steel stairs and a bedroom/meeting room with rolling barn doors complete the loft. The lofts have a jazzy, artsy feel, and tenants feel proud to impress their clients with such a cool working space.
Celebrating its one hundredth anniversary, the Dahl-Beck warehouse at 580 Howard St. is a testament to both the wreckage and the determination from which it was built. Just as San Francisco stood up, brushed itself off and adapted, 580 Howard has adapted for the next century with a new life as a residential building. Most important, in this city of natural beauty, high fashion and fast deals, the building is a statement of historic elegance, modern style and good taste.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Robert Shurell is a project manager and designer with Architectural Resources Group, a firm specializing in historic preservation throughout the western United States. He can be reached for questions or comments at robert@argsf.com. Copyright © 2006 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.