Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, Historic skyscraper in Financial District, San Francisco, United States
The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences is a 95-meter tower with 24 floors featuring Richardsonian Romanesque design elements in San Francisco's Financial District. Its restored 1890s exterior facade contrasts with contemporary residential amenities and services inside.
The building was constructed in 1890 by architects Burnham and Root as the Chronicle Building, making it California's first skyscraper. Its conversion to a private residential tower decades later reflected broader changes in urban real estate development.
The building's name changed with its use: after the Chronicle moved to Fifth and Mission in 1924, it became the de Young Building, then the Old Chronicle Building. Its 1962 aluminum, glass and porcelain cladding was removed in the 2004 restoration, and it reopened in November 2007 as the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences.
The residences occupy the upper floors above the 1890 Old Chronicle Building at Market and Kearny streets in the Financial District. The building is private residential property, so interiors, the club lounge and parking are not open to visitors. The restored brick and sandstone facade can be viewed from the sidewalk, and the location is served by nearby public transit.
The wooden clock tower that once rose to 218 feet was destroyed in 1905, when fireworks set off for Mayor Eugene Schmitz's re-election celebration ignited it. It was never rebuilt; two floors were added along Market Street instead. The building is San Francisco Landmark No. 243, designated in 2004.
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