A short biography
The Continental Op
Blood Money
Red Harvest
The Dain Curse
The Maltese Falcon:
The novel
The movie
The 75th anniversary
The Glass Key
The Thin Man
Woman in the Dark
The short story collections
The novels in one
volume
Books about Hammett
Chronology of Hammett's fiction
Hammett's army days
"Dashiell Hammett Place"
Hammett's Post Street
apartment:
A photo tour (2005)
Declared
a landmark (2005)
The Flood Building
The Hammett Suite at Hotel Union Square
Links to other Hammett sites
Contact Mike
mikehumbert.com homepage
This site is dedicated to all the people like Don Herron, Bill Arney, Richard Layman, William F. Nolan, Josephine Hammett Marshall, Julie M. Rivett, Steven Marcus, Joe Gores and others who have kept 1920s San Francisco in the here and now.
Special thanks to Vince Emery for his many helpful contributions to this website.
Entire website copyright 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006 by Mike Humbert.
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In the early 1920s, when Hammett was still sleuthing, the San Francisco branch of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, (the real-life counterpart of the Continental) was also located in a Market Street office building: the James Flood Building.
The Flood Building is a San Francisco landmark. Located on Market next to the Powell Street cable car turntable, it has appeared on picture postcards for the last century. A massive twelve-story structure, its ornate marble hallways contain hundreds of offices, including room 314, the former Pinkerton office.
Recently, I visited room 314, along with fellow Hammett enthusiast Vince Emery. It was currently unoccupied and in the process of renovation, awaiting a new tenant.
314 itself was surprisingly small – only 11 by 17 feet, but it adjoined to offices on either side. Presumably, this room was used as a reception area to greet potential clients. Unfortunately, over the last eighty-or-so years, the building interior has been remodeled and reconfigured countless times; there exists no record showing exactly which offices the Pinks occupied in addition to 314. Still, it’s fun to speculate...
Vince and I decided (based on nothing at all, of course) that the adjoining room immediately to the left was where the operatives waited for assignments and interviewed clients. The room on the right belonged to the supervisor, called the Old Man in the stories. In real life, the boss was Phil Geauque (pronounced Jee-ack).
The Op tells us that the Old Man, after a half-century of detective work had been left with no feelings on any subject. He was equally dispassionate about a weather report or a multiple homicide. It’s difficult to say at this late date if this reflected Geauque’s true personality.
In the 1920s, the view from the window would have been of the old Emporium. Now that area is occupied by the San Francisco Shopping Centre, currently undergoing major remodeling. That entire building is completely obscured behind a huge sheet of white vinyl. Looking from the window of 314, all you see is... white. It will likely stay this way until the Centre’s reopening in 2006.
It’s also interesting to note that John’s Grill, mentioned prominently in The Maltese Falcon, is directly next door the Ellis Street entrance to the Flood building. No doubt, Hammett used to duck out the back door to grab a bite at John’s.
Click here for the official Flood Building website
(Special thanks to Sheila Marko for her invaluable cooperation)
