Montgomery Block - Structure and Safety

Structure and Safety

Originally, the four stories Montgomery Block was the tallest building west of the Mississippi river when it was built in 1853. It was designed by architect G.P. Cummings. San Franciscans called it "Halleck's Folly" because it was built on a raft of redwood logs that had been bolted together in a deeply excavated basement on the edge of the bay (which was right at Montgomery St. at that time).

At a cost of US$3 million it was considered the engineering marvel of its time, the first major structure erected on the marshy sand bordering the east side of Montgomery Street at Washington Street. Rising from its deep basement, this block-square building boasted two inner courts, masonry walls more than two feet thick, salons, libraries and billiards parlors protected by heavy iron shutters at every window to prevent destruction from fire that ravaged so many American cities in the 19th century. The 'largest and safest' office building on the Coast originally attracted lawyers, engineers, judges, scientists, business and professional men.

The foundation, excavated by Chinese laborers, was built on top of a huge raft of layered redwood logs and a layer of 12 x12 ship's planking. Critics thought it would either sink in the tidal mudflat or be rafted away on a high tide. The building incorporated cement from England, glass from Belgium, France and Germany, iron fittings, beams, doors and balconies brought around the Horn from Philadelphia, and 1,747,800 bricks. It took 14 months to complete and was at first dubbed the "Washington Block."