| 140 New Montgomery | |
|---|---|
 From Salesforce Park in April 2021 | |
  Location within San Francisco | |
| Former names |
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| Alternative names |
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| Record height | |
| Preceded by | 225 Bush Street |
| Surpassed by | Russ Building |
| General information | |
| Type | Mixed-use |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 37°47′13″N122°24′00″W / 37.7868194444444°N 122.399905555556°W /37.7868194444444; -122.399905555556 |
| Construction started | January 1, 1924; 101 years ago (1924-01-01) |
| Completed | 1925 |
| Opened | May 30, 1925 |
| Renovated | 1980s (façade) |
| Cost | US$4 million (equivalent to $71.72 million in 2024) |
| Owner | Pembroke Real Estate Inc. |
| Height | |
| Architectural | 435feet (132.7meters) |
| Tip | 460 ft (140.2 m) |
| Antenna spire | 460 ft (140.2 m) |
| Roof | 435 ft (132.6 m) |
| Top floor | 413 ft (125.9 m) |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 147.00 ft (44.81 m) length x 160.00 ft (48.77 m) width |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | steel |
| Floor count | 26 |
| Floor area | 295,000 sq ft (27,400 m2) |
| Lifts/elevators | 10 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects |
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| Architecture firm | Miller and Pflueger |
| Designations |
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| Website | |
| 140NM.com | |
| References | |
| [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] | |
140 New Montgomery Street is a 26-floorArt Decomixed-use office tower located inSan Francisco'sSouth of Market district, close to theSt. Regis Museum Tower and theSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art.[2] Constructed in 1925 as a modern headquarters forThe Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., it was originally known asThe Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company Building or simply theTelephone Building,[2][1] and, after 1984, asThe Pacific Bell Building[14] orThe PacBell Building.[15]
When it opened on May 30, 1925, The Pacific Telephone Building was San Francisco's first significantskyscraper development, and was the tallest building in San Francisco, until theRuss Building matched its height in 1927 at the time of its completion.[2][11][12] The building was the first high-rise south of Market Street, and along with the Russ Building, remained the city's tallest until it was overtaken by650 California Street in 1964. It was the first high rise located on thewest coast to be occupied solely by a single tenant.[12]
AT&T sold the building in 2007. As of 2013,Internet companyYelp was the main tenant.[16][17] Yelp moved out in 2021 following a rise in remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The building was designed to consolidate numerous smaller buildings and outdated offices into a modern headquarters forThe Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., and as a result, was designated as the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. Coast Division Offices by the company, though referred to colloquially asThe Telephone Building.[18][11]
The building's architecture was influenced byEliel Saarinen's Tribune Tower design, in particular regarding the setbacks on the higher floors.[1]
In reference to theBell System, of which The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. was a member of at the time of construction, thefaçade featured bell motifs in many locations, most notably surrounding the arch over the main entrance doors onNew Montgomery Street. The decorations near the base and in the lobby also include references to thecandlestick telephone and thepneumatic tube, some of the most modern communication technologies in use at the time.[1] After thebreakup of the Bell System (AT&T) in 1984,[19] and the formation theRegional Bell Operating Companies, also known as the Baby Bells, Pacific Telephone changed its name toPacific Bell.
Statues of eight eagles (each 13 feet (4.0 m) in height) perch atop the tower's crown.[20][21] The building has anL—shaped floor plan, and the architecture decoratively incorporates spotlights to show the exterior's terra cotta ornamentation day and night.[18] The lobby is decorated with images of plants, clouds, unicorns, and phoenixes and has a plaster ceiling inspired by Chinesebrocade.[22]
In 1929, SirWinston Churchill visited the building and made his firsttransatlantic telephone call, phoning hisLondon home.[23][24][8]
For 44 years until 1978, the top of the roof was used to convey official storm warnings to sailors at the direction of the United StatesNational Weather Service, in the form of a 25 feet (7.6 metres) long triangular red flag by day, and a red light at night.[8]
The1989 Loma Prieta earthquake did only minor damage to the building, affecting parts of theterracotta cladding and requiring the eight eagle sculptures to be replaced with fiberglass replicas.[1]
In 2006, AT&T moved out of the building, following its merger with SBC Communications.[1] In 2007, the PacBell Building was sold by AT&T toStockbridge Capital Group and Wilson Meany Sullivan forUS$118 million.[25] In 2008, the new owners filed plans to convert the tower into 118 luxury condominiums. However, those plans were put on hold during the2008 financial crisis, and the building sat empty for nearly six years.[26]
Following a surge in office demand in 2010–2011, Wilson Meany Sullivan changed the plans back to office space.[26] Major renovation work began in February 2012, to improve the building's seismic performance, install all–new mechanical, electric, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems, and preserve and restore the building's historic lobby, at an estimated cost ofUS$80–100 million.[27] In 2012, Yelp announced it had signed a lease on the building's 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of office space through 2020.[28] After two expansions, the company held a total of almost 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) on 13 floors in the fall 2015.[16]
In April 2016, Pembroke Real Estate Inc., aBoston–basedREIT, acquired 140 New Montgomery as part of its portfolio — its second acquisition in San Francisco.[6][29][30][31] According to property records, Pembroke paidUS$284 million for the property, at aroundUS$962 per square foot.[30][31]
In 2021, Yelp did not renew its 2011 lease, and instead subleased a smaller space at nearby350 Mission Street, due to the rise of remote work in the COVID-19 pandemic.[32] As of May 2023, during what the San Francisco Chronicle described as "Downtown San Francisco['s] worst office vacancy crisis on record," the building had a vacancy rate of 32.9%.[33]
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_seen_from_Mission_Street_-_cropped%2c_perspective_transformed.jpg)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Alexander (Aimwell) Cantin was born March 4, 1876, and died in 1964. He is possibly best known for designing a series of Pacific Telephone and Telegraph buildings in San Francisco and collaborated with the firm of Miller and Pflueger on the 26-story, Coast Division Building of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company at 140 New Montgomery Street.
A historic skyscraper in downtown San Francisco, the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph building, empty for almost six years, is about to become a hub of construction activity as aUS$50 million–plus modernization project begins. ... This is a new strategy from the developer, which in 2008 filed plans to turn the tower, also known as the Telephone Building, into 118 luxury condominiums, at an estimated cost ofUS$80 million toUS$100 million.
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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