San Francisco, California, in the United States, has at least 482 high-rises,[1] 58 of which are at least 400 feet (122 m) tall. The tallest building is Salesforce Tower, which rises 1,070 ft (330 m) and as of April 2023[update] is the 17th-tallest building in the United States.[2] The city's second-tallest building is the Transamerica Pyramid, which rises 853 ft (260 m), and was previously the city's tallest for 45 years, from 1972 to 2017.[3] The city's third-tallest building is 181 Fremont, rising to 802 ft (244 m).
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San Francisco has 27 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m). Six more skyscrapers of over 150 m are under construction, have been approved for construction, or have been proposed. Its skyline is currently ranked second in the Western United States (after Los Angeles) and sixth in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles.[note 1]
History
- 300–349m
- 250–299m
- 200–249m
- 150–199m
San Francisco's first skyscraper was the 218-foot (66 m) Chronicle Building, which was completed in 1890. M. H. de Young, owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, commissioned Burnham and Root to design a signature tower to convey the power of his newspaper.[4] Not to be outdone, de Young's rival, industrialist Claus Spreckels, purchased the San Francisco Call in 1895 and commissioned a tower of his own that would dwarf the Chronicle Building.[5] The 315-foot (96 m) Call Building was completed in 1898 and stood across Market Street from the Chronicle Building. The Call Building (later named the Spreckels Building, and Central Tower today) would remain the city's tallest for nearly a quarter century.
Both steel-framed structures survived the 1906 earthquake, demonstrating that tall buildings could be safely constructed in earthquake country.[6][7] Other early twentieth-century skyscrapers above 200 feet (61 m) include the Merchants Exchange Building (1903), Humboldt Bank Building (1908), Hobart Building (1914), and Southern Pacific Building (1916). Another skyscraper boom took hold during the 1920s, when several Neo-Gothic and Art Deco high rises, reaching three to four hundred feet (90 to 120 m) in height, were constructed, including the Standard Oil Building (1922), Pacific Telephone Building (1925), Russ Building (1927), Hunter-Dulin Building (1927), 450 Sutter Medical Building (1929), Shell Building (1929), and McAllister Tower (1930).[8]
The Great Depression and World War II halted any further skyscraper construction until the 1950s when the Equitable Life Building (1955) and Crown-Zellerbach Building (1959) were completed. Many of San Francisco's tallest buildings, particularly its office skyscrapers,[9] were completed in a building boom from the late 1960s until the late 1980s.[10] During the 1960s, at least 40 new skyscrapers were built,[11] and the Hartford Building (1965), 44 Montgomery (1967), Bank of America Center (1969), and Transamerica Pyramid (1972) each, in turn, took the title of tallest building in California upon completion. At 853 feet (260 m) tall, the Transamerica Pyramid was one of the most controversial, with critics suggesting that it be torn down even before it was completed.[11]
This surge of construction was dubbed "Manhattanization" by opponents and led to local legislation that set some of the strictest building height limits and regulations in the country.[12] In 1985, San Francisco adopted the Downtown Plan, which slowed development in the Financial District north of Market Street and directed it to the area South of Market around the Transbay Terminal.[13] Over 250 historic buildings were protected from development and developers were required to set aside open space for new projects.[14] To prevent excessive growth and smooth the boom-and-bust building cycle, the Plan included an annual limit of 950,000 square feet (88,000 m2) for new office development, although it grandfathered millions of square feet of proposals already in the development pipeline. In response, voters approved Proposition M in November 1986 that reduced the annual limit to 475,000 square feet (44,100 m2) until the grandfathered square footage was accounted for, which occurred in 1999.[15][16]
These limits, combined with the early 1990s recession, led to a significant slowdown of skyscraper construction during the late 1980s and 1990s. To guide new development, the city passed several neighborhood plans, such as the Rincon Hill Plan in 2005 and Transit Center District Plan in 2012, which allow taller skyscrapers in certain specific locations in the South of Market area.[17] Since the early 2000s, the city has been undergoing another building boom, with numerous buildings over 400 feet (122 m) proposed, approved, or under construction; some, such as the two-towered One Rincon Hill and mixed-use 181 Fremont, have been completed. Multiple skyscrapers have been constructed near the new Transbay Transit Center, including Salesforce Tower, which topped-out in 2017 at a height of 1,070 feet (330 m).[18][19] This building is the first supertall skyscraper in San Francisco and among the tallest in the United States.
Tallest buildings
This list ranks San Francisco skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.
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Tallest under construction, approved and proposed
Under construction
This lists buildings that are under construction in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least 100 meters (328 ft). Under construction buildings that have already been topped out are also included.
| Name | Image | Height ft (m) | Floors | Use | Year (est.) | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceanwide Center, Tower 1 | 910 (277) | 61 | Office, Residential | unknown[152] | 37°47′24″N 122°23′53″W / 37.79000°N 122.39806°W | ||
| Oceanwide Center, Tower 2 | 625 (191) | 54 | Hotel, Residential | On Hold[156] | 37°47′22.24″N 122°23′53.71″W / 37.7895111°N 122.3982528°W | ||
| 30 Van Ness | 540 (165) | — | Office, Residential | 2025[157] | 37°46′32.4″N 122°25′08.5″W / 37.775667°N 122.419028°W |
Approved
This lists buildings that are approved for construction in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least 100 meters (328 ft).
Proposed
This lists buildings that are proposed in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least 100 meters (328 ft).
| Name | Height ft (m) | Floors* | Year* (est.) | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 Main Street | 992 (302) | 89 | — | 37°47′32.3″N 122°23′46.0″W / 37.792306°N 122.396111°W | |
| 530 Howard Street | 840 (256) | 71 | — |
| |
| The Cube (620 Folsom Street) | 640 (195) | 62 | — | 37°47′06.8″N 122°23′51.2″W / 37.785222°N 122.397556°W | |
| 2700 Sloat Boulevard | 560 (171) | 50 | — | 37°44′09.2″N 122°30′13.3″W / 37.735889°N 122.503694°W |
|
| Central SOMA Tower (636-648 4th Street) | 461 (141) | 46 | — | 37°46′40.1″N 122°23′46.8″W / 37.777806°N 122.396333°W |
|
| Sun Tower[note 2] | 450 (137) | — | — | 37°49′10.66″N 122°22′19.20″W / 37.8196278°N 122.3720000°W | |
| 1481 Post Street | 416 (127) | 36 | — | 37°47′8.65″N 122°25′34.08″W / 37.7857361°N 122.4261333°W | |
| 98 Franklin Street | 365 (111) | 37 | — | ||
| Treasure Island Parcel C2.1 | 345 (105) | 31 | 2027[218] |
|
* Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information regarding building floor counts or dates of completion has not yet been released.
Timeline of tallest buildings
This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in San Francisco as well as the current titleholder, the Salesforce Tower.
| Name | Image | Street address | Years as tallest | Height ft (m) | Floors | Notes / Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery Block | _-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) | 628 Montgomery Street | 1853–1854 | ~50 (15) | 4 | [220][221][222] |
| Old Saint Mary's Cathedral |  | 660 California Street | 1854–1875 | 90 (27) | 1 | [223][224][225][226] |
| Palace Hotel |  | 2 New Montgomery Street | 1875–1890 | 120 (37) | 7 | [note 3][227][228] |
| Chronicle Building |  | 690 Market Street | 1890–1898 | 218 (66) | 10 | [229] |
| Call Building |  | 703 Market Street | 1898–1922 | 315 (96) | 15 | [note 4][230] |
| 225 Bush Street |  | 225 Bush Street | 1922–1925 | 328 (100) | 22 | [231] |
| 140 New Montgomery |  | 140 New Montgomery Street | 1925–1964 | 435 (133) | 26 | [note 5][115] |
| Russ Building |  | 235 Montgomery Street | 1927–1964 | 435 (133) | 31 | [note 5][113] |
| 650 California Street |  | 650 California Street | 1964–1967 | 466 (142) | 33 | [note 6][98] |
| 44 Montgomery Street |  | 44 Montgomery Street | 1967–1969 | 565 (172) | 43 | [53] |
| 555 California Street |  | 555 California Street | 1969–1972 | 779 (237) | 52 | [note 7][26] |
| Transamerica Pyramid |  | 600 Montgomery Street | 1972–2018 | 853 (260) | 48 | [21] |
| Salesforce Tower |  | 415 Mission Street | 2018–present | 1,070 (326) | 61 | [232] |
Notes
- Please note, that San Francisco with 29 high rises according to your numbers is ahead of Dallas. 29 vs 22 Please correct. Added with 10 planned high rises of 500 feet or more, it will in time surpass LA. Including one of well over 1,000 ft.
References
- General
- "San Francisco". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- Specific
External links
- Diagram of San Francisco skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage
- The skyscrapers of San Francisco Video detailing the San Francisco skyline.