Following Market Street towards the southwest, at the intersection with Battery Street is the Labor Monument, a vigorous bronze group dedicated to the memory of Peter Donahue of the Union Iron Works. At the southwest corner of Market and Montgomery Streets stands the Palace Hotel, opposite which is the Union Trust Building, the first of the buildings whose steel and concrete frame withstood the fire. Close by, at the corner of Montgomery and Post Streets, are the Crocker Building, another survivor, and the new stone structure of the First National Bank.
At the corners of Kearney and Third Streets rise the Chronicle Building and the tall Spreckels or Call Building, the top of either of which affords a good bird’s-eye view of the city.
Market Street, towards the southwest from the Chronicle Building, contains many large office buildings, including the tall Humboldt Savings Building. At the corner of Fourth Street is the Pacific Building, a huge structure of re-enforced concrete, with a facade of green and brown tiles. In the same block is the Emporium, which has been rehabilitated since the disaster of 1906. On the right, at the corner of Powell Street, is the large Flood Building, another survivor of the fire. It is chiefly occupied by railway offices.
Powell Street leads to Union Square, with the St. Francis Hotel and a Naval Monument commemorating the exploits of the United States fleet in the Philippines during the war with Spain (1898).
At the junction of Market Street with Mason Street is a monument commemorating the admission of California to the Union (1850). To the left, at the corner of Seventh Street, we catch a glimpse of the long frontage of the Post Office with its fine granite carvings. Just beyond this corner, in a small triangular park, is the large Californian Monument, presented to the city by James Lick. The stately monument erected in honor of the achievements of the navy in the Spanish-American war remains uninjured.
The district containing the United States Appraisers Stores and the large new Custom House was spared by the great fire.
The United States Branch Mint, in Fifth Street, at the corner of Mission Street, contains interesting machinery and a collection of coins and relics. The effect of the fire may be clearly seen on the granite at the north end of the building.
Montgomery Street and the southern part of Sansome Street, form the center of the banking district. On the former is the Union Trust Building, and a series of large office buildings, of which the most important are the Mills Building, corner of Montgomery and Bush Streets; the Merchants Exchange, California Street, near Montgomery Street; Kohl Building, corner Montgomery and California Streets; Italian-American Bank, a one-story building with Doric columns, corner Montgomery and Sacramento Streets; and the Bank of Italy, corner Montgomery and Clay Streets. At the northeast corner of Sansome and California Streets rises the tall Alaska Commercial Building, with the handsome Bank of California opposite.
Nob Hill was the name given about 1870 to that section of California Street, between Powell Street and Leavenworth Street, containing many of the largest private residences in San Francisco. Most of these were of wood, and no expense was spared to make them luxurious dwellings, but with unfortunate architectural results. Few relics of these are now extant. The hill is crowned by the huge Fairmont Hotel, opposite which is the Hopkins Institute of Art.
The present fashionable residential quarter is on [620] Pacific Heights, including the western parts of Jackson Street, Washington Street, Pacific Avenue, and Central Avenue.