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in the Vicinity of Seventh & Mission Streets South of Market industry found cheaper sites on which to build foundries, coal and gas works, slaughterhouses, and warehouses. These businesses needed workers, and they came from a cosmopolitan group that had come to the city with the Gold Rush: Bavarians, Poles, Chinese, Chileans, French, Germans, Irish, Americans, and many others from all over the world. While the middle class tended to move farther from the city center in the 1850s, the working class sought housing close to work; thus, economic and social classes were separated. The worker's dense settlements near the old city center segregated them from social groups who moved to new parts of the city. Contributing to these crowded conditions were the prevailing high land and rental rates. A typical worker could either go beyond the city limits or move himself and his family into a dilapidated building located in a filthy land lot or alley. These conditions abounded in the San Francisco of the 1850s and 1860s and were exemplified by the settlements of the working class south of Market Street. Powell Street had its first inhabitants in 1847 and by 1852 a limited omnibus service served the middle class. Street planking was widespread and the southwestern portion of Mission Street was labelled "Plank Street" in the early 1850's. Transit facilities, begun in 1854, operated between North Beach and South Park (Rincon Hill). By the 1860s, the professionals and merchants had deserted the city center. The more wealthy merchants built their homes on hills, leaving a minority of the middle class to live among the workers. City Growth and a Cosmopolitan Ethnicity The 1860s brought fortunes from silver mining to the city. Consequently, city services were expanded to areas in the vicinity of Seventh & Mission streets. Among these developments were a school at Market and Fifth Streets, a Market Street railroad, and by the late 1860s, a horse-drawn street railway system that enabled the user to pay a five-cent fare and transfer to virtually any part of the city. Horses did well on level sufaces, while the hills would wait for the invention of the cable car by Andrew S. Hallidie of London in 1873. Residential development often followed the routes of newly laid tracks. Senator Leland Stanford reportedly owned the franchise for the cable car line that surrounded the Seventh & Mission study area, and this was one reason for choosing the Seventh & Mission location for the new Post Office and Federal Court House.  View
Birdseye view of San Francisco, 1868 View
Birdseye view of San Francisco and surrounding country, 1876. View
Birdseye view from the bay looking southwest, 1878While all of these changes affected the Seventh and Mission study area, the South of Market district continued to be devoted to wholesaling, small manufacturing, and alley residential buildings. A photograph held in the California Historical Society archives is captioned: "South of the Slot was more than a name of a district, it defined a whole segment of San Francisco life. The South of Market boys and girls lived in a crowded cluster of frame houses interspersed with and surrounded by small factories, warehouses, and railroad yards." Jessie Street, an alley that once ran through the study area, as well as Stevenson Street, are good candidates for this description; they contained many wooden buildings. View
Assessors Map of Block 3703, showing locations of Jessie, Stevenson, Mission,
and Market Streets [38 K]In the jargon of the City's history, the Seventh and Mission study area, Block 3703, lay "South of the Slot." Wrote Jack London: The Slot was an iron crack that ran along the center of Market Street, and from the Slot arose the burr of the ceaseless, endless cable. North of the Slot were theater, hotels, and shopping districts, banks and respectable houses. South of the Slot were the factories, slums, laundries, machine shops, boiler works, and the abodes of [the] working class [from Cherny 1986:53].In 1900, one out of every five people in San Francisco lived between Market and Townsend Streets, from the waterfront to Eleventh Street. Those boundaries, however did not enclose a homogenous work or living place. Closer to the wharves were the boiler factories and foundries, the homes of sailors and waterfront workers, the breweries and multiplicity of saloons. The most desirable sites in the neighborhood were occupied by saloons. San Francisco had more sailors than any other American city, even more than New York. As one looked to areas west and toward the Eleventh Street boundary, despite the many single male "lodgers," there were more women and families proportionately than in other areas of the city. Sailors were not the only single men in the boarding houses; lumbermen from Alaska and miners who came to the city with their "stake" swelled the "lodger" population. They lived mostly east of Sixth Street, and the census data of 1900 show a pattern of deprivation. Children of ten and twelve worked, and women worked as house cleaners. West of Sixth one would find more clerks and low-paid white-collar workers. Overall, half the population in the area at large were foreign born. Before the earthquake and fire of 1906, much of the area consisted of two or three-story wooden rowhouses packed wall-to-wall. Larger masonry buildings stood on Mission Street. Narrow, residential alleys, such as Jessie and Stevenson streets, ran east and west, where wooden buildings and owners' neglect was the rule. In contrast, the Mission District, which began at Twelfth Street and spread west, was primarily an area of families. The Mission District had a population density far below the citywide average and much lower than the densely packed area to the east. Here were found large wooden churches and neighborhood businesses. Thus, we can look upon Block 3703, lying between Sixth and Seventh streets, as transitional; it was densely packed, with many foreign born workers and small businesses, but fewer saloons and no boiler factories. General
View of the Project Area from Stevenson Street, facing southeast. Note
the wood frame buildings east of Stevenson Street (foreground), Jessie
Street (center), and Mission Street (background), ca. 1898 [78 K]. Photo
of the future construction site for the Post Office and Court House
at the corner of Seventh and Mission Streets, looking north. ca. 1900 [45
K].Historical Uses of Block 3703 It may be noted that on earlier City maps, such as the Butler Map of 1850, this block was described in deed records as Block 220. This was the time of large lots and before subdivisions. Still in the l00 Vara Area, its designation was changed to Block 393, and this held till as late as the 1930s. At that time Block 406 lay to the west and 380 to the east. It lay in the San Francisco Planning District X.2 "South of Market" bounded by Market, Ninth, Second and one block east of Townsend. Perhaps better than any written record, photographs taken on the block during the construction of the Post Office and Court House circa 1900 tell us more about buildings there than any other source. On the South side of Mission at Seventh and running along the block toward Sixth we see three-story masonry buildings, with a six-story building at the southeast corner of Mission and Seventh. North of the ca. 1897 construction site is a two-story carriage factory. The sidewalks are wooden planks, the streets cobble or brick. A building on the south side of Mission is apparently wooden. From the foundation footprint of the U.S. Post Office and Court House, two and three-story wooden and brick buildings are seen to the immediate east, while a glimpse east down Jessie Street reveals wooden buildings packed closely together. Looking across Seventh Street from the building site we see two- and three-story wooden buildings, bay windows, and shops on the lower floors. The Odd Fellows Hall stands as a monument on the corner of Seventh and Market. A closer view of Jessie Street which abuts the Court House site displays two and three-story wooden residential structures and lodging houses, packed tightly and, of course, destined to burn. As the census data tell us, foreign born abounded. A picture taken of construction workers, including Irishmen imported specifically to work on the Court House, is among the Court House Library collection. In all likelihood, some of these men lived in the neighborhood. Returning to this portion of Jessie Street abutting the construction site, it was destined to be a parking lot, Lot 84, the Project Area. View
photo of the construction site for the U.S. Post Office and Court House,
ca. 1898. Note Seventh Street (right), Mission Street (background) and
the buildings within the Block 3703 expansion project area (left) [28 K]. View
photo of workmen, including Irishmen, who constructed the U.S. Post Office
and Court House building, ca. 1897-1905. Some of these men may have lived
within the Seventh and Mission study area [68 K].Lot 84 (see Assessor's Map of Block 3703) obviously was composed of several small lots, and we begin to see a move toward this as early as 1947 when a Resolution was passed by the Board of Supervisors on July 2 "to close and abandon a portion of Jessie Street from a line 350 feet southwesterly from Sixth Street to a line 500 feet southwesterly from Sixth Street" (Resolution 6794, Book I, Pg. 107 recorded August 25, 1947, Map 314). This was not the first deletion from Jessie Street since it stood in the way of Court House development as well. Resolution 7252, August 2, 1892, and Resolution 7465, August 2, 1892, enabled this closure. The closure of a portion of Jessie Street was apparently an early move toward eventual clearance of the lot in preparation for a parking lot. However, the history of the consolidation and of the people who took part dates back to at least 1913 when Isador Weinstein bought Lot 1 at the other end of the block and founded his line of Department Stores. The first store name to appear was that of Sterling Furniture, but in his obituary printed in 1943, he was described as "president and founder of Weinstein Company Inc., operating six department stores and survived by his widow Gertrude who lived at the Fairmount Hotel and a daughter Mrs. Ivan Anexter whose husband is Vice-President of the Chain. He founded the chain with a small store 36 years ago" (S.F. Chronicle, May l, 1943). After his death deed records for his family's holdings could be identified by the name Anexter, Sterling Furniture, Weinstein Investment, and as formation of Lot 84 proceeded, as "1049 Market" and Market Street Venture. His death in 1943 was but a footnote in the story of his firm's activity on Block 3703. Lot 84 was recorded on November 30, 1973. The city lots deleted to form it were listed as follows: 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 36, and 83. All of these lots had been in the hands of the Weinstein Company, listed as "1049 Market" in the 1963 deed records and sold to Peter Joseph, Trustee, on May 1, 1964. All were sold again to Barrett Transportation Inc. on January 31, 1967 (Deeds, Book 114:189). A building permit (294275, 1-28-64) applying for a sign in 1964 was signed by "Owner, Barrett" indicating that Trustee Joseph was actually acting in his behalf in 1964. The address given in those days for the big lot was 1060 Mission. Barrett Transportation deeded the lot to Barrett Garages June 28, 1971 (Deeds Book 535:21). Barrett Garages deeded the lot (84) to Edmound and Helen Barrett on October 10, 1979 and they in turn on that day deeded the lot to Timothy and Carol Barrett (Deeds C873:179 and C873:181). The San Francisco Realty Book 1992-1993 (Assessor's Office) lists Timothy M. and Carol M. Barrett as owners of Lot 84 today. In sum, Lot 84 was put together by the Weinstein heirs and sold to Barrett Transportation whose heirs own it today. It should be noted that Larry Barrett, leasing and garage executive, died in 1970 and a long obituary appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle at the time. Whether we can relate Larry to the data above is not clear. His brother was a major contractor, Barrett Construction, and was used for wrecking buildings in the earlier stages of the parking lot venture in 1959. However, at that time, the Weinstein heirs were the owners. The address was 1060 Mission (Building Permit 220217. 3-18-59). The major task of bringing the lots together had evidently fallen to the Weinstein Investment firm which in October 1, 1963 bought lots 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 36, 46, and 67 under the title of "1049 Market Street" which was the Weinstein Department Store Market Street address. His purchase of property within the lot began as we have seen in 1913. Our task now is to trace the history through deeds and building permits of these lots he or his heirs would need for the consolidation. The above and following data on chain of title was taken from San Francisco Records Department, Sales and Deeds. In 1923 he bought Lot 18. Lots 17-21 lay on the north side of Jessie where the parking lot would one day lie. Lot 19 was a consolidation of lots 20, 43, 44, and 45 confirmed in 1943. Lot 19 had been the property of Charlotte Manor et al. and Henry Robinet in 1914 and lay on Jessie Street. In 1926 Weinstein had bought Lot 21, a lot we can trace back to Sarah Morgan who deeded it to her children in 1924. Lot 23 belonged to several families in 1914: namely, Beirne, O Rourke, Schaefer, McCarthy. In 1919 they sold it to Mae Somers Peterson (one half) and to Mary K. Somers and George B. Somers, (each a quarter). It lay on Jessie Street. On Weinstein's death in 1943 it was in the hands of Sterling Furniture and transferred to Weinstein Investment in 1947. It was merged into Lot 35 (Assessors Map Book 25:3703 n.d.). Lot 22, which lay directly to the north of Lot 40, had belonged to M.M. Smith and Howard Saxe. Lot 36 came from a combination of Lots 37, 38, and 39 in 1922.(Assessor's Map Book 25:3703 n.d.). Edith Kaufman owned 36 in 1942. (Planning Dept. Assessor Block Book n.d.). In 1935, Kaufman shared ownership with the Estate of M. Somers and several of the Petersons, and they sold it to Sterling Furniture (Weinstein) in January of 1946. Somers, Peterson, and Kaufman, the more recent owners appear to have inherited land or to have been in the business of land holding. Further back in time we find names such as Bert and Stella Gasset and Lizzie Morgan and Oliver Blanchard attached to the property which hint at individual ownership or family ownership. Lot 83 was late in formation. Lot 84 or parts of it have been dedicated to parking since at least 1959. The Department of Public Works (DPW) furnished us with all the building permits they held on both the addresses 1064 and 1068. Since the address 1064 now applies to the enlarged Lot 84, the file carried various Mission Street addresses, but did not hold permits from the other streets these lots represented, for example, Jessie Street. The file went no further back than 1922. In 1922 George B. Somers built a 2-story concrete building at 1050 Mission, Class C, with stores and lofts with pine joists and girders. The lot had a 125' frontage and was 160' deep. In 1931 Somers Estate gave an address of 1050-1066 Mission for stores they would alter: install tile and window bulkheads. J.L. Ash signed as owner of 1062 Mission in 193l when he applied for a mezzanine floor for his wallpaper store. In 1935 a Mr. Bowman applied for a sign for his Bowman Hotel Supply store at 1058 Mission. In 1936 the Estate of F. Somers Peterson applied for alterations to their store-offices, to install windows for their tenant the Bakery Equipment Co. In 1938 Kindel and Graham at 1058 applied for a sign. The Sullivan Estate applied for an entrance to the parking lot to lead from their stores and hotel to the lot. All walls and ceilings were to be fire-proofed. In 1959 ,we learned above that Sterling Furniture, 1049 Market, AKA Weinstein heirs, hired Barrett Construction to demolish buildings and prepare the lot at 1060 Mission, 350' north of 7th Street on the north side of Mission, for parking. Its present use was described as vacant (Building Permits DPW, 1064 Mission File n.d.). No permits appeared for fencing or paving. The more recent applications, 1977, were devoted to signs. In sum, we see a pattern of lot consolidation, stores, and finally clearing for the parking lot. Lot 40 Lot 40, unlike Lot 84, appeared on city maps as 40 for as far back as this research permitted (Assessor's Map of Block 3703). The present owners of this lot, street address, 1068 Mission, and its 2-story plus mezzanine building are Franklin and Zeva S. Cohn. They bought the property from Sui Yee Keung and Mee Jing in 1982. Prior to the Keung and Jing ownership (1980-1982) the lot had long been the property of A. Dale and Dorothy Wiseman who bought it in 1950 from the Annie Katie Bank. Prior to Bank, the property had been owned, at least in part, by a conglomerate of owners named Strange, Anglo California National Bank, Leon, Ruth, and James Loupe and Ada Dexter (Recorders Office, Deeds and Sales, Book D070:050 and Book D392:1071). Building permits do not tell us when the building was constructed, but it was in place when Wiseman bought the property in 1950. He immediately applied for a permit to resurface the floors. Between 1950 and 1980 Dr. Wiseman, a dentist, made numerous alterations to the existing building. He changed the mezzanine partitions, leased Foster and Kleiser sign space on the side of the building, moved the furnace to the basement, built washrooms, added aluminum siding, attempted to add to the mezzanine space and was not granted permission in 1962, and put in new floors. He ran a dental supply house called The Denticator Co. Inc. (Building Permits, 1068 Mission, DPW, San Francisco). After the Cohn's bought the building they demolished the existing interior in preparation for their own three offices and spent $l50,000 on alterations. In October of that year they declared the building empty as they removed the aluminum facade and installed fire sprinklers, later framing the awnings in 1985. No further permits appear in the file (DPW). Title Search In a general sense, we can trace occupancy for the recent past through chain of title. This has shown the Project Area to have been the locus of stores and parking since lot consolidation commenced in the 1920s. Ownership on the block at large in the 1980s was not all Anglo, and as with Lot 40, oriental names appeared: Wong, Kong, Ho Wai. A century before and a block away to the east on Stevenson lay a center for Chinese laundrymen, many of them. The laundries spilled over onto the 900 block of Mission adjacent to the area (Records of the Bureau of Census, Record Group 29 1880). Taking advantage again of Cherny's research which was presented in a book entitled, San Francisco 1865-1932: Politics, Power and Urban Development, we have a chart of the "Composition of the Work Force, by Occupational Categories and Parents' Place of Birth, 1900" (Cherny 1986:57, see Table). It was taken from the South of Market District and it shows that this district housed many foreign born. A glance at the census data for Block 3703 for the years 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 suggests that a large number of the occupants were foreign born. Therefore, the expansion Project Area contained a mixture of ethnic groups from the lower to middle class economic status. In sum, these families of diverse ethnicity lived in crowded urban conditions and in close proximity to commercial, business, public and religious institutions within and adjacent to the Project Area. Research to date infers that this pattern persisted from the third-quarter 19th century until after the 1906 earthquake, when residential buildings and activities were replaced with commercial and business structures and activities.
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