MARKET  STREET
page 6 of 20

THE INTERSECTION OF MARKET, KEARNY,
GEARY  and THIRD STREETS
At the beginning the twentieth century, this intersection was known as Newspaper Corners, because San Francisco's three biggest newspapers were headquatered here.
The San Francisco Chronicle was based here until the mid-1920s.  The building is currently undergoing a major renovation; when it re-emerges in late 2007, it will be the new Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences.
The Hearst Building is the former home of the San Francisco Examiner.  In the twenty-first century, the Exmaniner is still around, but is now a free tabloid.
Unlike the buildings on the other three corners, the Mutual Savings Bank building was never a newspaper office.  Technically, it wasn't even on the corner until the 1960s, when that small white building in the left picture was torn down, and the Mutual building expanded outward onto the newly-vacant lot. 
The Claus Spreckels Building, better known as the Call Building, was the longtime home of the San Francisco Call newspaper.  The Call is long gone, and so is the building's distinctive dome. An ill-advised remodeling in the late 1930s rendered the building unrecognizable.  It is currently known as the Central Tower.
NEXT PAGE

Back to the previous page

The Market Street menu page

The Idiosyncratic Guide to San Francisco main menu

The Dashiell Hammett Website

The mikehumbert.com homepage

Text and photographs (excluding those in public domain) ©2005, 2006 - all rights reserved