Hobart Building, Commercial skyscraper on Market Street, San Francisco, United States.
The Hobart Building is a 21-story office tower at 582–592 Market Street, its plan an asymmetric polygon that gives the facade a wedge-like form. Sculpted terra-cotta cladding with Baroque ornament rises in recessed window bays to a rounded, arched crown with a flagpole; the raised letters "HOBART BUILDING" mark the lower stone front.
The Hobart Estate Company built the tower on the site of its earlier offices, completing it in 1914 in only eleven months, which drew accusations of haste. Founder Walter S. Hobart had chosen the spot in the 1880s at the head of 2nd Street. San Francisco designated it a landmark in 1983, and it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
The building's name comes from the Hobart Estate Company, which built it on the site of its earlier offices; founder Walter S. Hobart had chosen the spot in the 1880s at the head of 2nd Street. Its sculpted terra cotta with Baroque ornamentation and its handcrafted brass and Italian marble interior are noted as an example of neoclassical architecture, and it is said to be Willis Polk's favorite of his commercial buildings.
The structure sits on Market Street and continues to function as an office complex. Montgomery Street BART station is nearby, making public transit access straightforward.
The structure holds the designation San Francisco Landmark 162 and exemplifies a three-part vertical composition of base, shaft, and crown. This type of proportional division became a signature approach in early 20th-century tower design.
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