The Colombo Building, also known as the Drexler Building or Drexler-Colombo Building, is a historic commercial building built in 1913, and is located at 1–21 Columbus Avenue in the

Jackson Square Historic District Jackson Square Historic District is an area in downtown San Francisco, California. It dates back to the city's earliest years and the 1849 gold rush, and is known for its historic commercial buildings in the classical revival and Italianate styl ...

in San Francisco, California. With The Colombo Building is listed as a

San Francisco Designated Landmark This is a list of San Francisco Designated Landmarks. In 1967, the city of San Francisco, California, adopted Article 10 of the Planning Code, providing the city with the authority to designate and protect landmarks from inappropriate alteration ...

since August 23, 2002; a listed

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

since January 31, 2008; is listed as one of the National Register of Historic Places since January 31, 2008; and is part of the Jackson Square Historic District which was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971.

History

The site of the building was the original location for the

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian language, Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', , informally referred to as ''Bankitalia'') is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Italy within the Eurosystem. It was the Italian central bank from ...

, founded in 1904 by

A. P. Giannini Amadeo Pietro Giannini (), also known as Amadeo Peter Giannini or A. P. Giannini (May 6, 1870 – June 3, 1949) was an American banker who founded the Bank of Italy, which eventually became Bank of America (1904-1998), Bank of America. Giannini is ...

. During the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

, the building was destroyed. In 1913, the two-story building was commissioned by

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Elise Drexler (1866–1951), and was designed by architects

Reid & Reid Reid & Reid, also known as Reid Brothers, was an American architectural and engineering firm that was active from 1880 to 1932. Established in Indiana by Canadians, Canadian immigrants, the firm moved to the West Coast of the United States, West ...

in the

Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

-style. It was unusual for women to be philanthropists during this era, and the Columbo building (and Drexler's other commissioned buildings) served as a symbolic path towards in-powering women into independent living. The

Fugazi Bank Building The Fugazi Bank Building, also known as the Fugazi Banca Popolare Operaia Italiana Building, and Old Transamerica Building, is a historic commercial building built in 1909, and located at 4 Columbus Avenue in the Jackson Square Historic District ...

(1909) by architect Charles Peter Paff served as an architectural design reference for the Colombo Building. These two buildings together are framing the gateway to Columbus Avenue and the North Beach neighborhood. The Columbus Savings Bank building, and the former Montgomery Block (now the location of the

Transamerica Pyramid The Transamerica Pyramid is a pyramid-shaped 48-story modernist skyscraper in San Francisco, California, United States, and the second tallest building in the San Francisco skyline. Located at 600 Montgomery Street between Clay and Washingto ...

) are also located at this intersection. The early occupants of the building included the Italian-American Realty; E. Jacopelli and Sons, auto dealers; Caeser Podoni & Company, insurance; and Joe Valvo, barber. It was once the location of Ramparts magazine.

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, enrolling as many as 1 in 35 San Franc ...

had planned to create the Chinatown campus inside the Colombo Building, as the school had bought the property and neighboring property in the 1990s; but that plan was thwarted by

Aaron Peskin Aaron Dan Peskin (born June 17, 1964) is an American former elected official in San Francisco, California. He was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 3 from 2001 to 2009, and again from 2015 to 2025. Distr ...

and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers association.

References

{{Authority control San Francisco Designated Landmarks Commercial buildings completed in 1913 1913 establishments in California Neoclassical architecture in California National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco California Historical Landmarks

History

See also

References