Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain · via Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons
City hall · San Francisco, United States
San Francisco City Hall
- Dated
- Dated 1913–15
- Declared purpose
- Seat of city government
- Today
- Survives
- Architect of record
- Arthur Brown Jr., architect (bakewell & brown): about 38 when credited (1912, born 1874). Build time on record: about 2½ years (1913–15).All architects of record →
Hidden history
Found, Not Built
Its dome is taller than the US Capitol's. It's dated to the same years as the 1915 fair, and it went up after the 1906 fire.
Dome higher than the Capitol
It was finished in about two years, during the same rush that produced the 1915 fair.
After the fire
The 1906 City Hall was a ruin. The new one went up as the fair went up.
Questions worth asking
- How did a city still clearing rubble build this and a world's fair at once?
Possible original uses
- Capitol-type civic palace
What the photos show
Surrounding Buildings
Old buildings nearby in San Francisco. Compare the stone, the domes and the dates.
Lost Buildings
Neighbours that were torn down or burned. Tap one for its photos.
Research
Further viewing
Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.
