Landmark Designation Report: Sailors’ Union of the Pacific, 450 Harrison Street (Draft)

This Landmark Designation Report was prepared for the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission, a seven‐member body that makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding the designation of landmark buildings and districts. From overview: "The Sailors’ Union of the Pacific building at 450 Harrison Street derives its significance through its association with the maritime union that bears its name. The building has served as the headquarters for the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific (SUP) since it was first constructed in 1950. The SUP is the oldest maritime union in the United States, having originated in San Francisco in 1885. SUP had a major impact on the shipping industry and helped to secure the rights of merchants and sailors all along the West Coast. The SUP building is also associated with a person significant to our past, Harry Lundeberg, the Secretary-Treasurer of SUP from 1935 to 1957. 450 Harrison Street also displays a high level of architectural expression. The building was designed by William Gladstone Merchant, a prolific master architect in the San Francisco Bay Area. Merchant worked alongside renowned architect Bernard Maybeck while he was still a student, helping to secure his reputation among the trade. 450 Harrison Street is designed a full expression of the Streamline Moderne style and displays notable similarity to the architect’s design of “Pacific House,” a theme building from the 1939-1940 Panama Pacific Exposition on Treasure Island. The building was designed with specific features to give it the appearance of a ship, such as the small, circular portholes punched into the ground floor." Funding was provided in part by a 2010 Preserve America grant to the City of San Francisco (grant number 06-10-AP-5034) for the Market and Octavia Historic Resource Preservation Project. The grant was administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the program include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.

Landmark Designation Report: Sailors’ Union of the Pacific, 450 Harrison Street (Draft)

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