Old San Francisco Mint
- Architect
- Alfred B. Mullett
- Year
- 1874
- Style
- Neoclassical
- City
- San Francisco, CA
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The Old San Francisco Mint, nicknamed the Granite Lady, served as the San Francisco branch of the United States Mint from 1874 until 1937. Designed by Alfred B. Mullett in a conservative Greek Revival style with a sober Doric order, it cost $2,130,512 to build and was completed in November 1874, replacing an 1854 predecessor. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and a California Historical Landmark in 1974.
the building
Surviving the 1906 fire. A well in the building's completely enclosed central courtyard supplied water that helped save the Mint during the fire of 1906, even as the heat outside melted the plate glass windows -- one of the reasons it earned the nickname the Granite Lady.
The E-shaped plan. The building was laid out in an E-shape, with a central pedimented portico flanked by projecting wings, wrapped around the enclosed courtyard that later proved crucial to its survival. The roof stands an average of 52.5 feet high.
the style
Mullett worked in a conservative Greek Revival mode with a sober Doric order, a restrained classical language suited to a federal institution built to project financial solidity.
More on Neoclassicalthe architect
Alfred B. Mullett designed the Old Mint; construction began April 1, 1869, and finished in November 1874 at a cost of $2,130,512.
significance
The Old San Francisco Mint is a National Historic Landmark (1961), a California Historical Landmark (1974), listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a San Francisco Designated Landmark, and has been named to America's Most Endangered Historic Places.
nearby
- Flood Building
- James R. Browning United States Court of Appeals Building
- Contemporary Jewish Museum
- San Francisco Proper Hotel
- Building at 735 Market Street
- Neiman-Marcus Department Store