North Beach in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Hotaling Building

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, December 12, 2020

1. Hotaling Building Marker

Inscription.
Built in 1866 and occupied by A.P. Hotaling & Co., this building housed the largest liquor repository on the West Coast. It survived the 1906 earthquake and fire due to a mile long fire hose laid from Fisherman's Wharf over Telegraph Hill by the U.S. Navy. This prompted the famous doggerel by Charles Field:
"If, as they say, God spanked the town
for being over frisky,
why did he burn the churches down
and save Hotaling's Whisky?"

Erected 1992 by E Clampus Vitus, Yerba Buena Chapter No. 1.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Disasters. In addition, it is included in the E Clampus Vitus series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.

Location. 37° 47.786′ N, 122° 24.172′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in North Beach. Marker is at the intersection of Jackson Street and Hotaling Place on Jackson Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 451 Jackson Street, San Francisco CA 94111, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Banking Firm of Pioche et Bayerque (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of the Bank of Lucas, Turner & Co. (within shouting distance of this marker); 56 Gold Street

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

(within shouting distance of this marker); Birthplace of Freemasonry in California (within shouting distance of this marker); First Jewish Religious Services (within shouting distance of this marker); The Salvation Army (within shouting distance of this marker); The Black Cat Café (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Graceful Brick Building (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.

Also see . . . Historic American Building Survey Record for the Hotaling Building. Library of Congress entry:
Includes 3 photos and 9 pages of information on the Hotaling Building.Statement of significance: Begun in 1866, it represents an especially fine example of the rich Italianate buildings of brick, with cast iron facades, which dominated commercial design in the 1860s and 1870s. Its builder was Anson Parsons Hotaling, head of A.P. Hotaling Company, wholesale dealers in spirits and tobacco. After a long and active career as the headquarters of the firm, the building entered a period of gradual decline following the fire of 1906. Its revival to glory, in a form which actually far surpassed the ambition of A.P. Hotaling
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, July 18, 2010

2. Hotaling Building Marker - wide view
The marker is visible just to the right of the lamppost.
Company's time, dates from 1952 when the building was acquired by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Lawenda as a center for their wholesale decorative and design firm, Kneedler-Fauchere. This far-sighted and intelligent restoration of a prime group of buildings, on what came to be called Jackson Square (the area east of Montgomery Street), by a group of design and decoration houses, sparked the revival of an historically and architecturally prominent part of San Francisco. (Submitted on February 9, 2011.)

Hotaling Building and Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, December 12, 2020

3. Hotaling Building and Marker - wide view

Jackson Street View image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Roger Sturtevant, April 14, 1934

4. Jackson Street View

This photo, courtesy of Historic American Building Survey (Library of Congress), shows a general view of the south side of Jackson Street in 1934. The Hotaling Building is visible just behind the parked cars. The buildings look much the same today as they did then, albeit with many modernizing touches, as well as additional landscaping.

The Hotaling Building in 1960 (photo courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jack E. Boucher, October 2, 1960

5. The Hotaling Building in 1960 (photo courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey)

The Hotaling Building today image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, July 18, 2010

6. The Hotaling Building today

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 9, 2011, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 1,308 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 15, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 2. submitted on February 9, 2011, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 3. submitted on December 15, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 9, 2011, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.