The Humboldt Bank Building, Beaux-Arts skyscraper in SoMa, San Francisco, United States
The Humboldt Bank Building stands 19 floors tall at 785 Market Street, featuring Beaux Arts architecture with granite, marble, and terra cotta tile facing over reinforced concrete and steel construction reaching 244 feet in height.
The Humboldt Bank, organized in 1869, moved to 785 Market Street after selling its Geary Street property in 1905 and commissioned a new building. Construction was underway when the 1906 earthquake struck, forcing a redesign with a steel frame of lattice girders, one of the first in the city. The building was completed in 1907–1908.
The bank behind the building was organized in 1869 and occupied premises at 4 Kearny Street and then 16 Geary Street before selling that property in 1905 and moving to 785 Market Street. The bank later merged into Umpqua Bank, which became part of Columbia Bank in 2023.
Located in downtown San Francisco near public transit, the building is currently undergoing conversion from commercial office space to residential apartments while preserving its historic facade and architectural integrity.
The building was originally marketed as 'fireproof' with armor plate safe deposit vaults and featured advanced safety measures including wire glass windows, standpipes on every floor, and concrete-lined elevator shafts with automatic doors.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,781 contributors worldwide.
