Completed in 1904, the Flood Building survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. This 12-story steel-frame building was constructed on the site of Baldwin’s Hotel and Theatre, destroyed by fire in 1898, and later purchased by James L. Flood, son of the Comstock Lode millionaire James Clair Flood.

A number of famous tenants have located in this building. The Southern Pacific Railroad Company, for instance, maintained its headquarters in the building until 1917. The F. W. Woolworth Company store was located on the basement level and first and second floors until it closed in 1996. The Pinkerton Detective Agency had an office in Room 314 of the building and reputedly employed author Dashiell Hammett as an operative.

Credits and Sources:

“Flood Building.”http://www.floodbuilding.com/.

Photographs courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Note: The Flood Building is a San Francisco Landmark (#154).