Golden Era Building, formerly known as the Call Building, is a historic commercial building built in 1852 during the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

, and located at 732-734 Montgomery Street in the Jackson Square area of San Francisco, California. The Golden Era Building has been 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 March 9, 1969; 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 Golden Era Building was constructed in 1852, built on the foundations of an 1849 structure that had been destroyed in the

San Francisco Fire of 1851 The San Francisco Fire of 1851 (May 3–4, 1851) was a catastrophic conflagration that destroyed as much as three-quarters of San Francisco, California. History During the height of the California gold rush, between December 1849 and June 1851 ...

. The cast iron pillars on the exterior of the building are from a remodel in 1892 and were created locally by the Vulcan Iron Works. In 1852, on the ground floor the space initially was occupied by Vernon Hall, which was rented out by fraternal societies and theatre troupes. The building gets its name from the 19th-century literary newspaper, ''

The Golden Era ''The Golden Era'' was a 19th-century San Francisco newspaper. The publication featured the writing of Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard (writing at first as "Pip Pepperpod"), Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Adah Isaacs Menken, Ada Clare, Prent ...

'', which occupied the second floor of the building from December 1852 until approximately 1854. Other tenants of the building included Thomas Day's gas fixtures store (around 1863); and John Monahan and Co., a printing company that did work for the San Francisco Railway and North Pacific Railway (around 1858). The ground floor was later occupied by a crockery shop and a Chinese broom factory. The second floor was later occupied by artist studios.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1852 San Francisco Designated Landmarks 1852 establishments in California

History

See also

References