| Tiffany Building | |
|---|---|
 The entrance to the Tiffany building in Union Square | |
  Tiffany Bldg. Location within San Francisco Show map of San Francisco Tiffany Bldg. Tiffany Bldg. (California) Show map of California Tiffany Bldg. Tiffany Bldg. (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | 350 Post Street San Francisco,California |
| Coordinates | 37°47′19″N122°24′28″W / 37.78859°N 122.40768°W /37.78859; -122.40768 |
| Completed | 1972; 53 years ago (1972) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 11 |
| Floor area | 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Developer | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |
TheTiffany Building is an eleven-story,[1] 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) building atUnion Square inSan Francisco.;[2] the bottom two floors contain aTiffany & Co. store, while the upper floors contain offices.[3] It is also known as350 Post Street and theQantas Building.
The Tiffany store has 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) of space.[4]Cathay Pacific maintains its North America regional headquarters on the third floor of the Tiffany Building,[5][6] in Suite 300.[7] TheKenmark Real Estate Group, which manages the building, has its headquarters on the building's top floor.[2]
In 1972Skidmore, Owings & Merrill completed the construction of the building which had been destined forQantas.[8] The building followed a 140-foot (43 m) height limit established forUnion Square by the San Francisco Planning Commission.[9] It was designed to be a background building between twoClassical buildings. A guide to the local architecture said that it "looms blandly over the stripped[sic]palazzo that isSaks."[10] Kenneth Halpern said that in relation to the Fitzhugh Building, the Qantas Building matched the color and height and roughly matched the proportions.[11]
At one time theConsulate-General of Australia in San Francisco was located in the building.[12] The Consulate General of Tonga was also previously located in the building before relocating toBurlingame in 2014.[13]
The San FranciscoTiffany & Co. was scheduled to move into its current location in the building in October 1991.Werner & Sullivan built the store. John Loring, a senior vice president and design director for Tiffany & Co. and a committee of the company designed the store. The company planned to include anArt Deco-style granite arch with astainless steel door framed inside and other features common to Tiffany & Co. stores.[4] The store acquired a reproduction of the Atlas clock to place above the entrance. The store, previously at a location on Grant Street, more than doubled in size from 8,000 square feet (740 m2) to 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2). At the time it was the company's second largest store, after theNew York City flagship store.[14]
Qantas Investments US Inc sold the building in early 1996.[15]
TheCathay Pacific North America headquarters moved fromEl Segundo inGreater Los Angeles to the Tiffany Building in 2005.[5][16] The headquarters had only been in Los Angeles for 15 years[5] as they were in San Francisco from the 1970s.[17] Cathay had moved to Greater Los Angeles in 1990.
Before the Cathay Pacific USA headquarters opened in the Tiffany Building, the airline identified over twenty employees including eleven new staff from theSan Francisco Bay Area. Cathay Pacific said "wanted to focus its attention on theNorthern California market due to the cultural and economic ties that the Bay Area has withHong Kong and Northern California'sChinese American community.[5] Cathay Pacific cited the San Francisco to Hong Kong nonstop flight as a factor.[5]
The grand opening of the Cathay Pacific USA headquarters was held on February 15, 2005. It included a ribbon cutting ceremony, aroast pig cutting ceremony, and thelion dance. The dance and pig cutting areChinese customs meant to facilitate good luck.Gavin Newsom, theMayor of San Francisco, proclaimed that day to be "Cathay Pacific Airways Day in San Francisco."[6]
