Submitted by Kristi Wachter on
About the Building
225-227 Front Street is a two-story, reinforced concrete commercial building with Gothic Revival-style details.
In July 2007, San Francisco changed its designation from Unrated to Contributory.
History
Shortly after the 1906 earthquake and fire, a new storefront was built at 225 Front. (The address for this lot had previously been 209-211 Front; the street was renumbered after the quake.)
Commercial real estate developer Landry C. Babin hired contractors Lange & Bergstrom to build a brick one-story building with a basement for an estimated cost of $5,982.
By 1908, the building was occupied by a tailor, Vinsenzo Barsotti.
In the 1920s, a rice broker was selling rice here: Roy Van Vliet of Van Vliet & Company.
The building was renovated in 1929. The owner, J. H. Hjul, submitted his own plans for altering the first floor and adding a second story. The estimated cost was $3,600.
In 1941, the building held several wholesalers:
- B. C. Ireland, Inc. - coffee and tea importers and brokers
- Charles Rogers as C. J. Rogers - wholesale liquors
- Schmitten & Company - fruit brokers
- S. A. Winther & Company - importers
20 years later, the building housed commercial artists Kate Art Associates, along with John McCarthy and Son, a drayage and transfer company.
By 1971, McCarthy and Son had been joined by Sir Speedy, a commercial printing company.
Speedway Copy Systems has occupied the building since 1980 (perhaps earlier).
