Mills Building
- Architect
- Burnham and Root
- Year
- 1892
- Style
- Chicago School
- City
- San Francisco, CA
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The Mills Building and Tower is a two-building complex in San Francisco's Financial District, its original ten-story, 154-foot section designed by Burnham and Root (D.H. Burnham & Company) and completed in 1892 for financial tycoon Darius Ogden Mills. It's considered the city's second skyscraper, after the 1890 Chronicle Building, and one of the few tall buildings to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire. Willis Polk restored it afterward in 1908 and oversaw additions in 1914 and 1918, and in 1932 a 22-story, 302-foot annex, Mills Tower, was added at 220 Bush Street by George W. Kelham and Lewis Parsons Hobart.
the building
Surviving 1906. The original 1892 building was one of the few downtown structures to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire intact enough to be restored rather than rebuilt. Willis Polk handled the repair work in 1908 and went on to oversee further additions to the complex in 1914 and 1918.
Mills Tower annex. In 1932, a 22-story, 302-foot tower was added at 220 Bush Street, designed by George W. Kelham and Lewis Parsons Hobart, roughly doubling the height of the original 1892 building it adjoins.
Chicago School facade. The complex is built in the Chicago school idiom with Romanesque design elements, a combination rarely seen in San Francisco, where the style is otherwise scarce.
the style
The Mills Building follows the Chicago school, the structural-expression style pioneered in commercial towers of that city, here blended with Romanesque ornamental details -- a combination that makes it a rare Chicago School specimen in San Francisco.
More on Chicago Schoolthe architect
The original 1892 building was designed by Burnham and Root (operating as D.H. Burnham & Company), the Chicago firm central to the development of the early skyscraper. After the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco architect Willis Polk restored the building and later oversaw its 1914 and 1918 additions. The 1932 Mills Tower annex was designed by George W. Kelham and Lewis Parsons Hobart.
significance
The Mills Building and Tower is San Francisco Designated Landmark #76, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is a National Historic Landmark. It today houses tenants including SeatMe, Pocket Gems, the New York Stock Exchange, and Newedge.
nearby
- Russ Building
- Merchants Exchange Building
- Commercial Union Assurance Building
- San Francisco Curb Exchange Building
- 555 California Street
- Hallidie Building